FIC Blog

On behalf of the Family Institute of Connecticut–and my own family–I want to wish a most blessed Christmas to all of FIC’s members. It is your generous support–and divine providence–that sustains FIC in our fight for a more family-friendly Connecticut.

2012 is no ordinary Christmas for Connecticut, coming less than two weeks after innocent children and teachers were murdered in an elementary school in Newtown. This horrible event has robbed our secular friends of their Christmas spirit. But for those of us who believe in “the reason for the season,” Christmas, 2012 burns brighter than ever.

The whole reason for Christmas is that God sent a Savior to the world to “deliver us from evil.” Christ’s birth was preceded by Herod’s slaughter of the Holy Innocents. Likewise, God did not cause the Newtown Massacre but we can trust that He is working through it. After all, He came into the world to go to the Cross.

FIC members know there is a cosmic battle taking place between good and evil. That is why we fight for the definition of marriage, the sanctity of human life and the right to religious liberty. These battles are temporal manifestations of that cosmic war, a war whose final victory is assured by the One whose birth we celebrate on Christmas.

Now is a good time to enjoy the company of those for whom we are fighting. May you have a wonderful time with your families during Christmas. And God bless you all during this holy season. (Below is our Christmas photo.)

This card from our friends at the New Jersey Family Policy Council arrived at Family Institute of Connecticut today. FIC is deeply grateful for all the love and prayer poured upon our beloved, heartbroken state citizens this past week.

Light is truly shining out of the darkness of the evil that tragically took place last Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary. Being a Newtown resident with personal attachments to those directly affected and a former alumnus of Sandy Hook Elementary, words cannot express the pain. But the actions that are taking place left and right throughout our community and across the country can speak to the truth that the light in the darkness is shining…and it is shining brightly.

We are speaking of a community that is clothing one another in an unspeakable blanket of love. A beautiful community filled with selfless hearts and benevolent souls. A community that will not be destroyed by evil.

Passing through the town of Newtown and the surrounding towns, hardly a business is seen without a sign expressing words of comfort for the community. Droves of people come out to pray and light candles for loved ones and those they never even knew. Churches are taking action. Compassionate individuals are arming themselves with light.

Numerous relief funds and aid efforts have been launched. Memorial foundations have been created in honor of many of the children’s names who were victims. The U.S. Postal Service added a P.O. Box for those who wish to send letters to the Newtown community. Former graduates of Newtown Public Schools have returned home from college to raise funds for families affected, entitling their mission: Santas for Sandy Hook. The Sandy Hook School Support Fund has been set up via the United Way of Western Connecticut in conjunction with Newtown Savings Bank. Even the popular band One Direction has started a fund.

Nine year old Jenna Eldred of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, started ‘Jenna’s Teddy Bears of Love’ campaign to raise donations to buy a teddy bear for each student at Sandy Hook.

“I think that the teddy bears will make them happy, because they’re really soft and cuddly,” she said.

Several groups and agencies have set up counseling services, such as Lutheran Church Charities based in Illinois. They have set up a comfort dog initiative to console surviving children and victims’ families in which a team of 10 specially trained Golden Retrievers have been sent to console. Lutheran Church Charities President Tim Hetzner states that the dogs “are nonjudgmental. They are loving. They are accepting of anyone.” It is well known that the mere presence of the breed is a soothing source of solace. “The dogs have become the bridge,” said Lynn Buhrke, handler for female golden retriever, Chewie.

Churches are raising funds and holding prayer services and grief counseling for those affected. St. Rose of Lima church in Littleton, NH is creating a prayer book for their sister parish, St. Rose of Lima in Newtown, CT and for the community. Walnut Hill Community Church of Bethel, CT has set up a fund through their ‘Little White Boxes’ campaign every Christmas season, in which a portion of the proceeds this year will go toward the care of those affected.

The community in Newtown and in the surrounding towns is utterly amazing. The town of Monroe has offered up former Middle School, Chalk Hill School, as the new school home for the students of Sandy Hook. Dozens of businesses and individuals are offering their services and help to make the school similar to the school that they know and love in order to bring a sense of security and normalcy back into the children’s lives. Desks and cubbies are being placed exactly as they were. A paint contractor donated paint so that the building will look exactly the way it did.

Everywhere you turn, love is being poured out, service is present, and a true spirit of community is taking place in the midst of such horrific sorrow.

Robbie Parker, whose daughter, Emilie, was placed into the hands of the Lord on Friday, offered up beautiful words of power and encouragement, stating, “As we move on from what happened here—what happened to so many people—let it not become something that defines us. But something that inspires us to be better, to be more compassionate and more humble people. Let us please keep the sentiments of love that we feel for our families, and the compassion that we feel for others—even complete strangers—keep them with us at all times, not just in times of sorrow and tragedy.”

These are the type of people who define this community. These are the type of people with whom darkness has tampered with…and it will not win. Surely, light is shining and love is prevailing.

For we know that “We are persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed,” (2 Cor. 4: 9).

I don’t even know what to say. Things like this don’t happen in my quaint hometown. This isn’t supposed to happen to a school I prided myself on attending as a five year old 19 years ago. My heart is sinking. Friends and family I know are affected. We are all beside ourselves as we feel for those who lost precious loved ones. Times like these make me long even more for that awaited day when Jesus will come riding on His horse and wipe away all our tears.

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd,

I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

He restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk

through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD

forever.

Words cannot describe the sadness we at the Family Institute of Connecticut feel upon hearing of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. According to the most recent news reports, twenty-seven people, including eighteen children between the ages of five and ten, have been killed.

Please join us in praying for God’s protection upon all the people of our home state, especially the children, and that He console the victims and their families.

FIC will have more information soon on what can be done for the people of Newtown.

[Update 1: One News Now interviews me on the events in Newtown.]

[Update 2: FIC research assistant Jessica DeVivo, a Newtown native, attended Sandy Hook.]

Much is being made this week, and rightly so, of the remarkable rise of young Art Linares to the State Senate. If, as CT GOP chair Jerry Labriola has asserted, Latino voters and the GOP are closely aligned on social issues, it may be that Art Linares does indeed represent an “emerging Latino political wave.”

If which case, we want to thank Connecticut’s anti-family movement for promoting FIC PAC’s endorsement of Art Linares and inadvertently helping to elect him to the State Senate! The item below was mailed to voters in Linares’ district. Linares won and will be the only new Republican in the next State Senate.

And for the record: 1) FIC didn’t “deny” anything to rape victims, we asked that Catholic hospitals not be forced to provide potential abortifacients. 2) We didn’t ask employers to deny anything in their health plans, we asked that the government not force religious believers and institutions to provide abortion-inducing drugs, which they never had to until 2012. 3) We didn’t ask employers to discriminate on sexual orientation (something outlawed in CT since 1991) we asked that the gender IDENTITY AND EXPRESSION (not orientation) bill not allow men in women’s bathrooms. 4) We don’t oppose marriage equality, we oppose same-sex “marriage.” Our opposition’s “Connecticut values” apparently include lying.

But it is good, in the midst of an otherwise difficult election year, to be able to point to one race where lies did not work. Here’s the other side of that mailer:

Seriously, “give us all pause”? How much did Linares’ opponents spend on this glossy anti-FIC mailer? They couldn’t hire a better copy writer?

(Note: This op-ed, written by me, appeared way back on March 5, 2012 in the Waterbury Republican-American under the headline “Roraback a poor choice for the right.” I will have further thoughts on Sen. Roraback’s defeat in the 5th Congressional race soon. But what I predicted eight months ago is essentially what happened. ~ PW)

The state’s Republican Party has made great strides in reaching out to social conservatives since Tom Foley’s narrow loss in the 2010 gubernatorial race — a loss I attributed at the time to the state GOP’s social liberalism. But the party establishment is about to blow it again, and the reason is Sen. Andrew W. Roraback, R-Goshen.

Party bigwigs believe Roraback’s “moderate” positions make him the most electable of the Republicans running in the 5th House District. But Roraback is not a moderate.

If the Republican Party nominates its most socially liberal legislator to run in what is arguably Connecticut’s most socially conservative House district, it is going out of its way to lose a race that can be won.

Most Connecticut Republicans who are “pro-choice” on abortion will at least support common-sense laws like banning partial-birth abortion or requiring underage girls to notify their parents before obtaining an abortion. But not Andrew Roraback.

As late as 2008, NARAL, the pro-abortion lobbying organization, endorsed Roraback for re-election. NARAL says its “endorsement is given only to those candidates who have requested endorsement and who are deemed by the PAC to be 100 percent pro-choice.” In other words, you cannot support any exceptions to abortion-on-demand.

Roraback not only shared NARAL’s pro-abortion extremism, he wished to be identified with it and actually sought out the group’s endorsement. Indeed, the connection between Roraback’s family and the pro-abortion movement runs deep. Since 1980, NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut has given out the Catherine Roraback Award, named after his cousin, to those who have made a contribution to the right to kill unborn human life.

Roraback also is the only Republican legislator in Connecticut ever to vote in favor of redefining marriage and imposing full same-sex “marriage” on our state.

Attempts to redefine marriage failed every year in the legislature, and same-sex “marriage” was only imposed on Connecticut in 2008 by judicial fiat. In 2009, the legislature, powerless to overturn the court, codified the ruling but added the strongest religious-liberty exemptions in the nation.

In 2005, the legislature passed a civil-union law with an amendment explicitly defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Roraback supported that amendment but flip-flopped in 2007, voting for full same-sex “marriage” in the Judiciary Committee. He was the only Connecticut Republican to vote in favor of full same-sex “marriage.”

Connecticut’s pro-family and pro-life voters have no illusions about our state’s politics. At times, we will vote for candidates who are not 100 percent with us. A candidate who at least supports parental notification, the federal Defense of Marriage Act and other common sense laws can gain our support.

But in the case of Andrew Roraback, the Republican establishment is asking social conservatives to vote for a candidate who is 100 percent against us. We will not do it. And if the GOP thinks social conservatives will vote for Roraback in the general election because we have no choice, they have not learned the lesson of Tom Foley.

After the 2010 election, the Family Institute of Connecticut’s PAC received emails from our members thanking us for not endorsing Foley. They vote pro-life and pro-family foremost, these members told us, but if both candidates are social liberals, they will vote for the candidate least likely to cut their job as a state worker or teacher.

Those are the Connecticut voters you never hear about. They are the urban, or union, yet socially conservative voters who can make the difference in a close race. Tom Foley lost the governor’s race by ignoring them in 2010. Likewise, the Republican Party will lose the most winnable congressional seat in Connecticut in 2012 if its candidate is Andrew Roraback.

Peter Wolfgang is president of the Family Institute of Connecticut Action.

FIC ACTION COMMITTEE

For those not on our email list, the following is the third round of endorsements made by the FIC Action Committee. More endorsements may be made. Many factors went into our endorsements, including candidate questionnaires, voting record, viability, and leadership on key pro-family issues. We are endorsing candidates for General Assembly in 2012. Because FIC Action Committee is a State PAC, we cannot endorse candidates for federal office.

IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT WE DISTRIBUTE THIS LIST TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND VOTE ON NOVEMBER 6TH! CONTACT FIC ACTION COMMITTEE AT 860-548-0066 IF YOU CAN VOLUNTEER TO HELP ELECT ONE OF OUR SEVEN “HOT PICK” CANDIDATES.

State Senate

1. Cindy Cartier, (R-12) – Branford, Durham, Guilford, Killingworth, Madison and North Branford.
2. Chris Coutu, (R-19) – Andover, Bozrah, Columbia, Franklin, Hebron, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Montville, Norwich and Sprague.
3. Sen. Tony Guglielmo, (R-35) – Ashford, Chaplin, Coventry, Eastford, Ellington, Hampton, Pomfret, Stafford, Tolland, Union, Vernon, Willington, and Woodstock.
4. Sen. Rob Kane, (R-32) – Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Middlebury, Oxford, Seymour, Southbury, Thomaston, Roxbury, Watertown, Woodbury.
5. Sen. John Kissel, (R-7) – East Granby, Enfield, Granby, Somers, Suffield, Windsor, Windsor Locks.
6. Malvi Lennon, (R-2) – Hartford, Bloomfield, Windsor.
7. Art Linares, (R-33) – Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Deep River, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Lyme, Old Saybrook, Portland & Westbrook.
8. Sen. Joe Markley, (R-16) – Cheshire, Southington, Waterbury, Wolcott.
9. Sen. Michael McLachlan, (R-24) – Bethel, Danbury, New Fairfield, Sherman.
10. Cheri Ann Pelletier, (R-4) – Representing Bolton, Glastonbury, Manchester & Marlborough.
11. Hector Reveron, (R-3) – East Hartford, East Windsor, Ellington & South Windsor.
12. Sen. Len Suzio, (R-13) – Cheshire, Middlefield, Middletown and Meriden.
13. Sen. Jason Welch, (R-31) – Bristol, Harwinton, Plainville, Plymouth.
14. Sally White, (R-29) – Brooklyn, Canterbury, Killingly, Mansfield, Putnam, Scotland, Thompson & Windham.
15. Sen. Kevin Witkos, (R-8) – Avon, Barkhamsted, Canton, Colebrook, Granby, Hartland, Harwinton, New Hartford, Norfolk, Simsbury, Torrington.

State House of Representatives

1. Rep. Tim Ackert (R-8) – Columbia, Coventry, Vernon.
2. Rep. Al Adinolfi (R-103) – Cheshire, Southington, Wallingford.
3. Mary Alford, (R-79) – Bristol, Forestville.
4. Greg Bachand, (R-85) – Wallingford.
5. Rep. Fred Camillo, (R-151) – Greenwich.
6. Rep. Vincent Candelora, (R-86) – East Haven, North Branford, Wallingford.
7. Rep. Dan Carter, (R-2) – Bethel, Danbury, Redding.
8. Rep. Anthony D’Amelio, (R-71) – Middlebury, Waterbury.
9. Mike France, (R-42) – Ledyard, Preston, Montville.
10. Rep. John Frey (R-111) – Ridgefield.
11. Rep. Mary Fritz (D-90) – Cheshire, Wallingford.
12. Rep. Marilyn Guiliano, (R-23) – Lyme, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Westbrook.
13. Rep. David Labriola, (R-58) – Naugatuck, Oxford, and Southbury.
14. Eva Maldonado, (R-146) – Stamford.
15. Richard Marzi, (D-55) – Andover, Bolton, Hebron, Marlboro.
16. Rep. Lawrence Miller, (R-122) – Shelton, Stratford.
17. Rep. Selim Noujaim, (R-74) – Waterbury.
18. Vincent Pacilieo (R-36) Chester, East River, Essex, Haddam.
19. Rep. Jason Perillo, (R-113) – Shelton.
20. Rep. John Piscopo, (R-76) – Burlington, Harwinton, Litchfield, and Thomaston.
21. Rep. Rosa Rebimbas, (R-70) – Naugatuck.
22. David Rutigliano, (R-123) – Trumbull.
23. Rep. Rob Sampson, (R-80) – Southington, Wolcott.
24. Rep. Bill Simanski, (R-62) – Barkhamsted, East Granby, Granby, New Hartford.
25. Tom Sirard, (R-58) – Enfield.
26. Pablo Soto, (R-83) ­– Meriden.
27. Francky Trofort, (R-145) – Stamford.
28. Lezlye Zupkus, (R-89) – Prospect.

Paid for and approved by FIC Action Committee, Lawrence Taffner, Treasurer

Putting Connecticut “under the Lordship of Jesus.” That is the mission of our friends at the Connecticut Night of Worship, which holds its big event this Saturday, Nov. 3rd at the Shubert Theater in New Haven. If you can, please attend. Details are here.

On October 18th our friends at the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference emailed this statement from Hartford Archbishop Henry Mansell in response to Vice-President Biden’s erroneous statements about the HHS Mandate:

In this month’s issue of The Catholic Transcript I wrote about how in these days in our country, we are coming to realize how our communion with God is facing critical challenges. For the first time in the history of the United States, the federal government is forcing religious institutions to fund and make possible practices that are opposed to our teachings: surgical sterilizations, pills that induce abortion, and contraception. Who knows where it will end?

We are compelled to speak up to issues at stake, to candidates running for office and others who are remaining in office. The fundamental principles which have guided our country from its beginning are in danger. Religious liberty is the first freedom in the Bill of Rights. The threats to it today are outrageous. Our communion with God calls us to act.

Last week at the Vice Presidential debate, a question was asked of the candidates regarding the decision of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to force virtually all employers to include sterilization and contraception, including drugs that may cause abortion, in the health insurance coverage they provide their employees.  Vice President Joseph Biden responded:

“With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No religious institution—Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital—none has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact.”

My friends, this is not a fact. The HHS mandate contains a narrow, four-part exemption for certain “religious employers.” That exemption, contrary to what has been indicated by the Administration, was made final in February and does not extend to “Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital,” or any other religious charity including our own schools, hospitals, or Catholic Charities here in the Archdiocese of Hartford who offer our services to all, regardless of the faith of those served.

The so-called accommodation offered by the Administration does not even come close to relieving our organizations from the obligation to pay for contraception or to be a vehicle for people to get contraception. According to the HHS mandate and the so-called accommodation, we will still be required to serve as a vehicle of health coverage that includes sterilization, contraception, and abortifacients. We will be forced to pay for these things, because the premiums that our organizations (and thus we the Church) are required to pay will still be applied, along with other funds, to cover the cost of these drugs and surgeries.

I and all the bishops in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops continue to urge HHS and the Administration, in the strongest possible terms, actually to eliminate the various infringements on religious freedom imposed by the mandate; and we encourage you all to make your voices heard.

FIC is making your voice heard. Check this post regularly for updates on our religious liberty speaking tour.