Committees
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Kentucky’s bishops have established committees of appointed members from each archdiocese and diocese to aid them in their public policy work.
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Ecumenical HandbookThe Catholic Conference released the Ecumenical Handbook in 1995 and the CCK Ecumenical Committee completed work on this revision in December 2003.
Since its release, the ecumenical officers of the four Kentucky dioceses have written six articles, published below as Sunday bulletin inserts. These have been distributed to all Kentucky parishes by Kentucky’s bishops to affirm their commitment to the principles of ecumenism articulated in the Second Vatican Council’s decree Unitatis Redintegratio and that our late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, articulated in his encyclical Ut Unum Sint.
The bishops encourage distribution of these bulletin inserts to all Catholics so that information on the Church’s teaching and practice in ecumenical matters may become better known within our dioceses, congregations, and the hearts of our faithful. Autumn 2005 marked the 40th anniversary of Vatican II’s decree Nostra Aetate which addresses our relations with other world religions.
- Ecumenical Handbook for the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Kentucky Revised
- A People Made One: The 1999 Pastoral Letter of the Catholic Bishops of Kentucky
- Ecumenical Dialogue: A path to truth, love, and reconciliation
- The Sacrament of Baptism in an Ecumenical Context
- Ecumenical Endeavors: Interchurch Marriage
- Ecumenism and the Need for a Reconciled Church
Inmate Beliefs and Practices
The Catholic Conference works to ensure prisoners in Kentucky have access to religious and spiritual experiences during their incarceration in prisons and jails. Here are links to individual chapters of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Technical Reference Manual on Inmate Beliefs and Practices.
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The Health Care Committee organizes an annual meeting for CEOs and others working in Catholic-sponsored institutions that provide health care to Kentucky’s citizens. Papers presented during these events include- Health Care Summit Remarks by Bishop Ronald W. Gainer (Nov. 11, 2010)
- Health Care Summit Summary of Bishop Ronald Gainer (Nov. 4, 2009)
- Bishop Gainer’s Reflections of Hope and Healing (Nov. 5, 2008)
- Marianne Potina Shared Advocacy for the Common Good (Nov. 5, 2008)
- Health Care Summit Speech by Bishop Ronald Gainer (Oct. 30, 2007)
- Mission and Margin by Sister Luann Bender (Nov. 8, 2007)
- Mission and Margin by Sr Judy Raley, SCN (July 30, 2010)
The 2010 health care debate in Congress is over and there is a new law in the United States that, though seriously flawed, did contain elements that eventually will provide health insurance and benefits to millions of U. S. residents. We encourage you to maintain an interest in this important area of human life and dignity and visit the U.S. Conference of Bishop’s health care reform web page for additional information about the Church’s teachings.
The Catholic Conference of Kentucky is also a partner in Kentucky Voices for Health, an organization advocating to increase the number of insured persons in Kentucky.
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Justice For ImmigrantsJustice For Immigrants is a project of the Catholic Bishops of the United States to educate Catholics about the Church’s teachings on immigrants and welcoming the stranger.
Kentucky Bishops Issue Pastoral Statement on Immigration
On August 29, 2006 the four Catholic Bishops of Kentucky issued a pastoral statement related to the immigration reform debate raging throughout the country:
- KY Bishops ask that immigrants, both legal and undocumented, be seen as the image of God (press release)
- Every Man and Woman is the Image of God (pastoral statement)
- Immigration Reform: Recognize that Every Man and Woman is the Image of God (an op-ed article by Bishop John McRaith)
Member-Prepared Articles
To further the education of Catholics on immigration, members of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky’s Hispanic Committee, an advisory group of 12 persons appointed by the four Kentucky bishops, have prepared the following articles. Please download and use them for adult religious formations programs, bulletin inserts, and in other ways that will help us be Christ to others by welcoming the strangers in our midst.
- Comprehensive Immigration Reform Needed Now
- You, Too, Were Once Aliens
- Migration in Light of the Word of God: Why Is the Catholic Church Involved in Immigration?
- Migration in the Light of Catholic Social Teaching
- Common Immigration Myths: Beyond the Chips and Salsa
- Immigrant Youth: Resource for Church and State
- The Root Causes of Immigration
- Kentucky Catholic Dioceses Reach Out to Immigrants
- A Brief Summary of U.S. Immigration History
- “Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock”
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Our four Kentucky bishops wrote this cover letter for the publication of the special booklet of prayers for life, Pro-Life Prayer Services for Times of Transition. We deeply appreciate the work of members of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky’s Pro-Life Committee and others in the Catholic community who helped to develop the prayers, provided editorial content, and created the beautiful artwork. We hope all who use these prayers at important stages in life’s moments are brought closer to our Creator, our Savior, and the Holy Spirit that moves us to pray.The collection is available in both PDF and Word versions at the end of this page. In PDF format, users may download the entire booklet or each individual prayer services. Those wishing to adapt these services for particular occasions should download the text booklet and modify them with word processing software.
September 1, 2006
To the Catholic People of Kentucky:
Reverence for Life: The Pursuit of Justice, our 1999 pastoral letter on abortion and the consistent ethic of life, highlighted the essential place for prayer and worship in living the Gospel of life. In the Catholic tradition, participation in the Eucharist is the privileged sacramental celebration that empowers and supports us in our attempts to answer the call to service and the pursuit of justice on behalf of human life from conception to natural death.
The spirituality, however, that enlivens our participation in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church must be rooted in the spirit of prayer and contemplation which should mark our personal practice of the faith.
Living the Gospel of life, in particular, must be sustained by prayer, reflection, and solitude, for these are the indispensable spiritual means by which we as a people of and for life singly and together commune with God and in Christ become ministers of God’s grace — ministers of the Gospel of life.
As our pastoral letter challenges, “How can we expect to have a heart for the long struggle for life unless new hearts are created within us?” In a pre-eminent way, prayer sustains us with the assurance that “God is always ready to answer our prayers for help with the virtues we need to do his will.” (USCCB. Living the Gospel of Life, 1998: n. 27)
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the prayer of petition centers “on the desire and search for the Kingdom to come, in keeping with the teaching of Christ.” In effect, through prayer all the baptized work towards the coming of the kingdom. (CCC n. 2632) Sacred scripture exhorts the followers of Jesus to pray constantly and with perseverance.
In the Gospel of Life Pope John Paul II declared: “A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer…. Let is therefore discover anew the humility and courage to pray and fast so that power from on high will break down the walls of lies and deceit: the walls which conceal from the sight of so many … the evil practices and laws which are hostile to life.” [EV. n. 100]
In accord with the Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities we continue to recommend that our dioceses, parishes, apostolic groups, and formation programs take initiatives “to sponsor programs of prayer and fasting as well as paraliturgical programs” to promote the Gospel of life. In addition to renewed participation in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church, we encourage Catholics to adopt programs of private prayer.
To that end, we are publishing “Pro-Life Prayer Services for Times of Transitions,” a collection of prayer services adaptable to a variety of settings. As a response to important pastoral concerns and needs, it is our hope that these prayer services will truly enhance and enrich the practice of intercessory prayer among our people, an indispensable component for building a new culture of life.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Thomas C. Kelly, O.P., Archbishop of Louisville
Most Reverend John J. McRaith, Bishop of Owensboro
Most Reverend Roger J. Foys, Bishop of Covington
Most Reverend Ronald W. Gainer, Bishop of Lexington
Edward C. Monahan, Executive DirectorThe Pro-Life Committee of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky has prepared this special collection of prayers to help the community of believers pray. To foster wide use, CCK provides these services in individual units and as a complete booklet. Website visitors have our permission to duplicate each or all of them as needed. So you can easily adapt them to meet specific needs, we have provided a text version in Word format. May the grace and peace of God be with those who use these prayers.
- Celebrating the Sanctity of Life
- Uniting Our Suffering with the Cross of Christ
- Prayer with One Who Is Dying
- Entrustment Ceremony for an Adopted Child
- Memorial for the Loss of a Child
- Healing and Reconciliation after Abortion
- Blessing of Pilgrims on the March for Life
- Memorial for Deceased Homeless Persons
- On the Anniversary of a Death
- Vigil at the Time of an Execution
In addition to the individual services in PDF format available, the entire booklet is available in two formats:
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Called by the example of service and compassion from the life of Jesus, the CCK Social Concerns Committee strives to make concrete the gospel values in public and social life. CCK’s Social Concerns Committee is a statewide advisory committee to the Kentucky Roman Catholic Bishops that advances the Church’s social justice doctrine. The CCK Social Concerns Committee’s responsibilities include- identifying and analyzing public policy social doctrine issues and recommending positions on these issues that promote the life and dignity of the human person; family, community and participation; human rights and responsibilities; the needs of the poor and vulnerable; solidarity; and care for God’s creation
- serving as a resource to the CCK executive director on social concerns public policy issues
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