Religious freedom is a cornerstone value for all Americans. Promoting Religious Freedom Through Interfaith Dialogue, June’s FOCUS, illustrates how collaborative efforts with individuals of other faiths can help to defend this important value. The FOCUS also highlights the comments given by Most Reverend Allen Vigneron, Archbishop of Detroit, at the November 7, 2017 Interfaith Religious Freedom Conference. Read more…

Faith-based agencies like St. Vincent Catholic Charities serve Michigan's most vulnerable children with love and provide needed support to foster and adoptive families. Unfortunately in 2017, the ACLU sued the State of Michigan to shut down its partnerships with faith-based foster and adoption agencies, putting at risk thousands of children who desperately need homes. In a video from Becket Law, children and families share what is at stake in this case. Read more…

Medical advances such as vaccinations have reduced the rates of many serious diseases in the United States. March’s FOCUS, Vaccinations and the Common Good, highlights Church teaching about vaccinations; examines the impact of vaccines on individuals, schools, and communities across the state; and promotes educated decisions about their use. Read more…

From January 28–February 3, Catholic dioceses around the country will celebrate National Catholic Schools Week. This year’s theme, “Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.,” highlights the important spiritual, academic and societal contributions provided by a Catholic education. Michigan has over 220 Catholic schools making a difference daily in this state. Read more…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced the formation of a new Division on Conscience and Religious Freedom in the HHS Office for Civil Rights. The department also proposed a regulation to protect Americans involved in HHS-funded programs and rescinded a guidance requiring states to provide Medicaid funding to family planning providers that perform abortions. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) applauded the actions, while also encouraging the passage of permanent legislative relief. Read more…

On January 15, Americans will celebrate Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy of confronting injustice, racism, and inequality. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, calls for people of faith to exercise courage and commitment to “[break] the chain of hate” in observance of the national holiday. Cardinal DiNardo’s statement speaks to the “living reality” of racism today and urges the witness of leaders like Dr. King to inspired continued action. A variety of helpful resources are available through the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism. Read more…

On January 18, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will launch the national “9 Days for Life” campaign. This effort calls for Catholics to help create a culture that cherishes all human life, from conception to natural death. The “9 Days for Life” campaign also surrounds the annual Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, which occurs on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade—the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal in the United States. Participants are called to both prayer and action (including the sharing of online resources) unified around each day’s specific “Respect Life” intention. Read more…

Creating a society that recognizes the dignity of every person is a task for all people of faith. The Catholic Church and Catholics across Michigan live this teaching in a number of ways, including by providing alternatives to abortion for expectant mothers, post-abortive counseling, and compassionate and life-affirming care at the end of one’s life. Michigan Catholic Conference’s latest FOCUS publication examines these services, highlights legislative successes that protect human life, and offers ways that Michiganders can recognize the dignity of all persons in their own communities. Read more…

On Tuesday, November 7, Michigan Catholic Conference and the J. Reuben Clark Law Society Detroit Chapter sponsored an Interfaith Religious Freedom Conference, to explore the importance of religious freedom and ways to defend this cherished right. Most Reverend Allen Vigneron, Archbishop of Detroit, and Elder Von Keetch, General Authority and Executive Director of Public Affairs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, joined with several scholars of religious freedom in addressing the crowd of over three hundred people at SS. Peter and Paul Jesuit Church in Detroit. The event included representatives from almost a dozen faiths. Learn more about the event…

During a beatification ceremony in Detroit on November 18, Michigan’s own Fr. Solanus Casey O.F.M. will become one step closer to becoming a saint. This Capuchin friar was known for his humility, compassionate counsel, and dedicated service of those most in need in the Detroit area. Fr. Solanus co-founded the city’s Capuchin Soup Kitchen. His beatification ceremony will be held at Ford Field, and he will be only the second American-born male in history to be beatified. Michigan Catholic Conference welcomes this exciting news for the Catholic Church and for the city of Detroit. Read more…