Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops

Louisiana State Capitol

The
2012 Legislature
is in Regular Session from
Monday, March 12
until
Monday, June 4.

See
Legislative Update, Vol 1

Also see Video
featuring
Danny Loar and Rob Tasman
discussing 2012 legislative issues.

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT
OF THE
GOVERNOR'S SCHOLARSHIP
AND TAX REBATE PROPOSALS

    Because of the scholarship program already in place, Catholic schools are often the only opportunity for economically disadvantaged young people to receive a quality education.

    The Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops therefore supports Governor Jindal's plan to expand statewide the Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence program for the 2012-13 school year. Annual surveys show parents and students in Orleans Parish are very happy with this effective program.

    We also support the Governor’s plan to create a rebate for donations to nonprofit organizations that offer scholarships to low income students to attend private school. These organizations have successfully helped parents place their children in private schools in other states.

USCCB has issued a nationwide bulletin insert for April and May on the critical issue of Religious Liberty .

Read the testimony of
of Bishop William Lori
on behalf of USCCB before the
U.S.House Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform
on February 16, 2012.

Prayer for Protection from Hurricanes

O God, Master of this passing world, hear the humble voices of your children. The Sea of Galilee obeyed your order and returned to its former quietude. You are still the Master of land and sea. We live the shadow of a danger over which we have no control: the Gulf, like a provoked and angry giant, can awake from its seeming lethargy, overstep its conventional boundaries, invade our land and spread chaos and disaster, During this hurricane season we turn to you, O loving Father. Spare us from past tragedies whose memories are still so vivid and whose wounds seem to refuse to heal with the passing of time. O Virgin, Star of the Sea, Our Beloved Mother, we ask you to plead with your Son in our behalf, so that spared from the calamities common to this area and animated with a true spirit of gratitude, we will walk in the footsteps of your divine Son to reach heavenly Jerusalem where a stormless eternity awaits us. Amen.
+Maurice Schexnayder;
Second Bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana
1957