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A Letter from Monsignor Baker
May 13, 2012

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

On this day in 1917 Our Lady appeared to 3 shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. Her message to them and to the world over the course of several months was one of repentance and prayer.

In 2000 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith provided this summary of Our Lady’s apparitions in Fatima: “Throughout history there have been supernatural apparitions and signs which go to the heart of human events and which, to the surprise of believers and non-believers alike, play their part in the unfolding of history. These manifestations can never contradict the content of faith, and must therefore have their focus in the core of Christ's proclamation: the Father's love which leads men and women to conversion and bestows the grace required to abandon oneself to him with filial devotion. This too is the message of Fatima which, with its urgent call to conversion and penance, draws us to the heart of the Gospel.”

One of the devotions mentioned several times by Our Lady of Fatima is the Rosary. She asked the children to pray the Rosary and to encourage all the faithful to pray it every day. It is truly a prayer that draws us to the heart of the Gospel and one in which we meditate on the major events of our salvation as lived by Jesus and Mary. It helps us say vocal prayers and engages our minds in mental prayer. It can be said privately or with family and friends. Pray the Rosary!

The Siena Society

The Siena Society has been established to build long-term financial stability for our parish or St. John Vianney Regional School; and to encourage, support and celebrate gifts that ensure that our parish remains vital and vibrant for those who come after us. Click here to learn more about this important program.

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Bishop Barres Letter on the Recent US Dept of Health & Human Services Ruling

Click here for a PDF version of the letter in English & Spanish

January 26, 2012

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I write to you concerning an alarming and serious matter that negatively impacts the Church in the United States directly, and that strikes at the fundamental right to religious liberty for all citizens of any faith. The federal government, which claims to be "of, by, and for the people," has just dealt a heavy blow to almost a quarter of those people — the Catholic population — and to the millions more who are served by the Catholic faithful.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees' health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception. Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those "services" in the health policies they write. And almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of their policies.

In so ruling, the Administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our Nation's first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty. And as a result, unless the rule is overturned, we Catholics will be compelled either to violate our consciences, or to drop health coverage for our employees (and suffer the penalties for doing so). The Administration's sole concession was to give our institutions one year to comply.

We cannot — we will not — comply with this unjust law. People of faith cannot be made second class citizens. We are already joined by our brothers and sisters of all faiths and many others of good will in this important effort to regain our religious freedom. Our parents and grandparents did not come to these shores to help build America's cities and towns, its infrastructure and institutions, its enterprise and culture, only to have their posterity stripped of their God given rights. In generations past, the Church has always been able to count on the faithful to stand up and protect her sacred rights and duties. I hope and trust she can count on this generation of Catholics to do the same. Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less.

And therefore, I would ask of you two things. First, as a community of faith we must commit ourselves to prayer and fasting that wisdom and justice may prevail, and religious liberty may be restored. Without God, we can do nothing; with God, nothing is impossible. Second, I would also recommend visiting www.usccb.org/conscience, to learn more about this severe assault on religious liberty, and how to contact Congress in support oflegislation that would reverse the Administration's decision.

Sincerely in Christ,
Most Reverend John 0. Barres
Bishop of Allentown

Reading for Today's Mass