Welcome to the Feb. 10, 2021 edition of Just 3 Things, the weekly social action newsletter of the Office of Human Life & Dignity. If this email was forwarded to you, and you'd like to receive it each week, please click here.
Valerie Schmalz
Director
Office of Human Life & Dignity
Archdiocese of San Francisco
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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Californians can go back to church--indoors. With the U.S. Supreme Court ruling of last Friday, the state of California was forced to lift its absolute ban on indoor worship and allow houses of worship to hold services inside. Read the Archbishop's statement here in response. Learn more by clicking on his video statement above. Spoiler alert: The Archbishop says outdoor Masses are still safer if the weather and neighborhood conditions permit.
Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Iraq March 5-8, the first ever papal visit to the land from which Abraham, our Father in Faith, was called by God. "I am the pastor of people who are suffering," Pope Francis said. For years, Pope Francis has expressed his concerns for Iraq's Christians and other religious minorities who have suffered at the hands of Islamic State militants and been caught in Sunni and Shiite Muslim violence. The Christian population of Iraq, once at 1.5 million, is now about 400,000.
The Biden Administration could have an opportunity to bring persecuted Middle Eastern Christians into new discussions, such as the Abraham Accords that are normalizing ties between some majority-Muslim nations and Israel. That's the contention of Robert Nicholson of the Philos Project in an opinion piece published Feb. 5 in the Wall Street Journal. So far Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Morocco have signed bilateral accords with Israel. (Photo of a priest celebrating Mass Dec. 25, 2019, at St. George Chaldean Church in Baghdad. CNS photo/Khalid al Mousily, Reuters)
What's coming up:
- Feb. 17 _ Ash Wednesday
- Feb. 17-March 28 _ 40 Days for Life Lenten campaign. Sign up at 40DaysforLife.org/SanFrancisco or 40DaysforLife/RedwoodCity
- Feb. 20 _ Chinese New Year celebration with 12 noon drive in Mass at St. Anne of the Sunset school yard. Learn more here.
- Feb. 25 _ Human Trafficking webinar at 6:30 p.m.. More info here.
- March 14 _ Respect Life Essay Contest Mass with Archbishop, 11 a.m. St. Mary's Cathedral.
What did you say? Most respondents to last week's poll question would get the Covid-19 vaccine or have gotten it. But a significant minority are not sure or will not. Here are the responses:
I plan to get the vaccine as soon as possible. 26
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I will not get vaccinated. 9
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I am not sure. 8
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I have already received the vaccine. 10
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