Praise God for the work He has done through us! Life can win on the ballot where pro-life people are faithful, smart, unified, and unafraid.
Nebraska Catholics should also know the incredible leadership we enjoy from our bishops: Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, and Bishop Joseph Hanefeldt of Grand Island. Their commitment to the truth of the Gospel and the dignity of every human person drives the work of the NCC.
During Advent, we await not only a celebration and a memorial of His birth in Bethlehem, but we prayerfully anticipate His Second Coming in glory as King.
The Nebraska Catholic Conference and Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska, along with other organizations, are fully committed to continued school choice advocacy, because this is what parents and children deserve.
God be praised for His mercy on Nebraska, through the defeat of Initiative 439 and the passage of Initiative 434.
The law written on the heart of each of us will be so attuned to the desires of the Father, that the human law whatever it is will give way to right actions and motivations that God has in store for a people who love Him.
We do not want to wake up on the morning after Election Day and have any regrets about what we could have or should have done before all the ballots were cast. We must “leave it all on the field.”
We must take time to reach out to five people a day and courageously communicate this message to family, friends, fellow parishioners, and other Nebraskans. The race isn’t over yet. Justice demands our involvement. The real lives of human beings—women and babies—demand our involvement.
A small but vocal minority of advocates have recently increased their engagement against both Initiatives 434 and 439. They are urging pro-lifers to “Vote No on Both.” Their efforts to oppose and undermine Initiative 434 are misplaced and could do serious damage to Initiative 434’s ability to defeat Initiative 439, leaving us with unsafe and unregulated late-pregnancy abortions well into the second and third term of a pregnancy.
Praying and fasting will be the most important element of our efforts this election cycle to defeat the pro-abortion industry’s attempt to legalize abortion in Nebraska late into pregnancy (Initiative 439—vote AGAINST) and defeat the efforts of school choice opponents to strip children of their education funding (Referendum 435—vote RETAIN!), all while we uphold commonsense health and safety protections for women and babies (Initiative 434—vote FOR).
We need to spread the word about why people should vote AGAINST Initiative 439. We need to talk with family members, friends, fellow parishioners, and other Nebraskans.
We, as Catholics, have a fundamental moral obligation to stand up for women who find themselves in difficult pregnancies and the unborn.
It’s critically important that you join our Catholic Advocacy Network of Nebraska (CANN) at www.NEcatholic.org. Through CANN, we can provide you quicker updates on these types of issues to make sure you have the best information, as you seek to bear the light of Christ in the public square.
It’s important for Catholics to continue educating anybody and everybody they know about the abortion-related ballot efforts.
I cannot overstate that you are needed to help from now until Election Day to defeat this pro-abortion proposal. Say your prayers, visit NEcatholic.org for more info, and start talking to family, friends, fellow parishioners, and others.
We are going to need an army of volunteers to help defeat the pro-abortion proposal. Please contact our office (402.477.7517) if you are willing to join us in this critical effort.
If 5,000 of us join the 5 for Life Club, we’ll be able to speak to more than half a million people between now and Election Day. This is no small number and could be the difference between a Nebraska that chooses life or a Nebraska that adopts a culture of abortion.
When the Nebraska Legislature passed the Opportunity Scholarships Act in 2023, we became the 49th state in the nation to adopt a school choice program. In just under a year later, we have made another major stride on the school choice front. This new school choice legislation is another major step forward for Nebraska’s children and parents, to ensure they have more opportunities to choose an education that best fits their needs.
We are excited for the passage and signing into law of LB857. We thank Sen. Dungan and Sen. Bosn for their leadership on their respective bills and for the overwhelming support of the Nebraska Legislature, as well as the governor’s signing LB857 into law.
The First Freedom Act that is now law in Nebraska is going to have an important future in our state. It will stand as a clear protection for religious liberty, and send the signal to governmental entities throughout Nebraska that we value religious freedom and it cannot be infringed upon.
The three bishops of Nebraska—through the Nebraska Catholic Conference—stated it is morally permissible for Nebraskans to support this newly proposed initiative language. In reaching this conclusion, the bishops consulted reputable attorneys and moral theologians to help unpack the meaning of the language and its morality.
Right now, we are asking four things from Catholics. First, pray and fast for the defeat of this pro-abortion ballot effort. Second, spread the word by talking to three to five people per week about why this ballot measure is too extreme for Nebraska—and use the one-pagers to help you do this. Third, sign up as a volunteer to use your talents and gifts to help defeat the initiative proposal. Fourth, reach out to the NCC and let us know that you would like us to make a presentation at your parish about defeating the pro-abortion ballot measure.
The largest abortion provider in the U.S. is leading and financing an effort to slip a deceptive, dangerous, and demeaning pro-abortion amendment into the Nebraska Constitution.
Any time now, the Nebraska Legislature will debate LB1402, so we can find a new way of guaranteeing children educational freedom. When that moment comes, we are going to need countless Nebraskans to lift their voices in support of school choice.
Visitors at the Nebraska Capitol for committee hearings were present for a wonderful show of solidarity for life and human dignity Feb. 22.
There’s a lot on the line in this session of the Legislature: advancing school choice, defending the pro-life cause, protecting girls sports, assisting the poor, fighting for religious liberty, safeguarding medical conscience rights—the list goes on.
In this first quarter, we have completed bill introduction. Just shy of 600 legislative bills were introduced. This is in addition to the 820 bills that were introduced last year. Many of these “carryover” bills from last year are still active for passage this year.
As bill introductions wrap up, there will be no shortage of more interesting and impactful legislation. Stay tuned… and see you at the Pro-Life Mass and get registered for Catholics at the Capitol. God bless!
We have arrived at the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January, and you all know what that means, right? The Nebraska State Legislature is in full swing and off to the races, as of Wednesday, Jan, 3.
The month of December has the Nebraska Catholic Conference engaged in serious preparations not only to receive Christ into our hearts yet again, but to make sure that our i’s are dotted and our t’s are crossed for the upcoming legislative session.
My prayer is that Nebraskans, in these next 11 months, will know in their hearts and minds how serious a threat this ballot proposal is to innocent human life. Nobody is more vulnerable than preborn babies. And nobody deserves more love and support than a mom in a challenging, difficult, or crisis pregnancy.
Pro-abortionists unveiled ballot initiative language Nov. 16 seeking to establish a “right to abortion until birth” in the Nebraska constitution. Joined by you, the Nebraska Catholic Conference, along with our statewide pro-life friends, Nebraska Family Alliance, Nebraska Right to Life, and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, will be wholly dedicated to defeating this effort as we fight for the very lives of preborn babies and moms.
Being a Christian in today’s culture, and certainly working for the Church, requires getting off the bench, removing any compartmentalization of one’s faith, and “speaking truth in love” in the public square.
If you have ever felt, as I have, that perhaps you have not done enough to bring Christ to your neighbor, this is your opportunity. Resolve to take advantage of it. We will fight a happy fight for babies and mothers—and we will bear witness to the love of God.
On Halloween, abortion extremists in Nebraska announced a trick they’ll play on Nebraskans over the upcoming campaign season: a full-fledged ballot initiative effort to enshrine Roe v. Wade-style abortion protections in the Nebraska state constitution.
The flourishing of law to reflect the common good means we have a great deal of work to do within the culture.
Politics can easily become infatuated with naming one’s enemy. Nothing says what you stand for like saying who your enemy is, and what your enemy doesn’t stand for. You see this, perhaps most clearly, during campaign season. It’s a popular tactic that brings in the votes and the money.
In 2018, the Nebraska Catholic Conference, along with our other pro-life partner organizations, and with the legislative leadership of State Senator Joni Albrecht, helped to pass into law LB1040. This legislation provides for commemorative certificates for nonviable birth.
This year’s Bishops’ Pro-Life Banquet and Conference is on Oct. 6 and 7. And registration closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1.
This last session, the Nebraska Legislature passed LB574 (introduced by Senator Kathleen Kauth of Omaha), which provides two critical protections for human dignity.
Pro-Life Party! The annual Bishops’ Pro-Life Banquet & Conference is just around the corner, and you should register! Pro-lifers from across the state of Nebraska will convene in Lincoln Oct. 6-7 to celebrate all that we have accomplished in this first year since the demise of Roe v. Wade.
This legislation particularly focuses on the poor and vulnerable by prioritizing them for scholarships. We all know students get one shot at their K-12 education, and the Opportunity Scholarships Act makes sure kids succeed at that one shot.
In a post-Roe world, the Church has a special call to walk with moms. First of all, they themselves deserve it. But also, we owe a special reverence and duty to their labor of love to bring more gifts of life into this world.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, Who is the Truth, we are called to be prophetic. This means we are called to speak in a way that moves the hearts of others to the Truth. My prayer for you is that you will be witnesses to the fundamental truths and values that underlie our historic school choice legislation that is under attack.
We’ve been talking a lot about school choice lately, but it’s hard not to. Our recently passed law, to get more scholarships to low-income families, has the power to transform generations of children by offering them more and better educational opportunities. But that legislation is being threatened by opponents who seek to repeal the law. So, what can you do to protect school choice for Nebraska families? I’m glad you asked, because these future scholarship families need your help today!
