 Help End the Death Penalty in Ohio
Pope Francis stated a change in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 2018 that the death penalty is now “inadmissible” and that “the Church is firmly committed to calling for its abolition worldwide.” In response to this, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati has asked parishes to support the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center’s efforts to work to abolish the death penalty in Ohio.
The IJPC will have representatives here at Visitation in the foyer after all the Masses on the weekend of May 14th & 15th to offer postcards that you have the option of picking up, signing, and sending to state lawmakers. Two key pieces of legislation – SB 108 and HB 183 – have been introduced that would abolish the death penalty in Ohio. The Ohio Bishops collectively and Archbishop Dennis Schnurr individually have issued statements supporting this legislation, and their voices join a growing state-wide coalition working to end the death penalty. The Archdiocese states: “We encourage all Catholics in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to join in the effort to end this state-sanctioned violence and respect all life, from womb to tomb.”
 Collection for Lighthouse Youth & Family Services – April 30 & May 1
Lighthouse Youth and Family Services is an organization that dedicates itself to helping families, in particular young people, in crisis. With school coming to an end soon, one of Cincinnati's most vulnerable populations, homeless youth, are in great need of our help. We are seeking to collect items for a Lighthouse community outreach program after the Masses on April 30th and May 1st. Lighthouse needs hygiene items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and hand rags as well as nonperishable food items such as granola bars, fruit snacks, chips, water, and protein bars. Lighthouse has also expressed a need for backpacks, specifically combination-locking backpacks. These bags will be filled with the hygiene and nonperishable products as well as helpful resources and then Lighthouse staff will go into the community to distribute the bags to teens and young adults. Boxes to collect donations will be in the Welcome Center from April 30th to Tuesday, May 3rd. On the weekend of the collection, Pam Holtmeier will also be selling Amazon gift cards after Masses for purchasing backpacks.
Questions? Call Amelia Craig Newman at 513-910-5805 or Lynn Hensler at 513-519-3368.
 Reasons for Praying during Lent
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Lenten Prayer to abolish the Death Penalty
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On Friday, March 25th at 12:00pm, our office is partnering with the Social Action office from the Diocese of Cleveland and the Catholic Conference of Ohio to offer a special Stations of the Cross focusing on the death penalty. We encourage all to join us to pray and learn, remembering the life and suffering of Jesus and connecting it to the lives of those who have been killed in state-sanctioned violence.
This will be a virtual prayer service, and you can find it here.
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The USCCB has issued an action alert asking people to contact their legislators and ask them to support the Afghan Adjustment Act, legislation that will provide these refugees with path to become lawful permanent residents.
The national resettlement agencies of the United States, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, together with its Catholic Charities partners and other community organizations, have been hard at work the past few months helping Afghans settle into their new homes. The Afghan Adjustment Act would benefit not only the Afghans themselves but also the NGOs serving them and federal agencies such as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
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Families in Ukraine need your help!
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CRS Catholic Relief Services
Two weeks after Easter, the Catholic Relief Services Collection will be held in our Archdiocese on the weekend of April 30 and May 1. This annual, national collection helps support the work of six organizations: Catholic Relief Services, the USCCB Department of Migration and Refugee Services, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., the USCCB Secretariat for Cultural Diversity in the Church, the USCCB Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development and the Holy Father's Relief fund.
Thank you for your generosity to the Catholic Relief Services Collection.
Catholic Charities of Southwest Ohio
Catholic Charities of Southwest Ohio is looking for help in providing housing to incoming refugees who are being sent here throught the Archdiocese "Refugee Resettlement Program". They are putting out a general request to contact the Catholic Charities office if you have any connections for rental/permanent housing of any size for refugee families. If you would like to inquire further, please contact LaTonya in the Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement Program at 672-3722.
Covenant Corner - St.Leo Parish
Looking for a way to help St. Leo Parish?
St. Leo the Great Food Pantry is always in need of items to help fulfill their increasing needs which have been demanding since the start of the pandemic. You can look for their needs posted on their Amazon Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1Y6S276N39W08?ref_=wl_share.
These are just ideas but the Pantry is always in need of canned food items, boxed food, personal hygiene items, household cleaning supplies, etc.
You can also help with a monetary donation to help supply items needed daily, or to cover the monthly operating cost. The Food Pantry is also in need of volunteers to help serve on Monday, Wednesday, and especially Fridays to help serve the community from noon - 4 p.m. Please contact 513-921-1044 if you are interested or would like to learn more.
Prayer Wall
Prayer has divine power and Visitation has a Prayer Wall on the parish website for anyone to post prayer requests.
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