Five Things To Remember On April 12

1. HHS has a lot of counting to do.  As of midnight last night, they tallied 358,727 comments filed on the HHS mandate, and still climbing.  The Sunlight Foundation reported that the 147,000 comments filed on the last two versions represented “more comments than any other regulatory proposal on any subject government-wide.”  Now that figure is more two-and-a-half times larger. 

2. Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines, Iowa wrote Secretary of State John Kerry encouraging the Obama administration to sign an arms trade treaty. 

"The Catholic Church has a longstanding commitment to protecting human life and dignity and supporting arms control as a means to this end," wrote Bishop Pates. "As a world leader and a major arms exporter, our nation should set a positive example for other nations to follow in efforts to reduce the flow of weapons into situations that violate human rights and cause terrible suffering."

3.Cardinal William H. Keeler, the retired archbishop of Baltimore, received Boy Scout's highest honor today, the Silver Buffalo Award. Cardinal Keeler was an Eagle Scout as a young man. He is also the former president of the USCCB.

4.The growing number of Hispanics inside the Catholic Church, particularly here in the U.S. means empowering many in leadership roles, this Catholic News Service story says.

5. God loves you.