Thank you for visiting our new web site. Click the links above to explore and find information about parish activities, services and more. We will also make the weekly bulletin and common registration forms available on line.

Mission Statement
Founded in 1909 by Father Vincent Marinaro for the spiritual and educational welfare of the Italian and French/Belgium population of Butler, St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Parish is an open, loving and welcoming community of diverse, unified disciples.  Under the protection of our patron St. Michael, the parish is nourished by the Eucharist and the sacraments and is committed to the teachings of the Catholic Church.  As witnesses of Christ, we make God’s love visible through the sharing of our time, talents and treasures in service to the community.  Our parish embraces Gospel values of faith, hope, love and trust through Catholic faith formation.

THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND THE MORAL TEACHINGS OF FAITH

"The right to freedom of religion, both in its private and in its public dimension, manifests the unity of the human person, who is at once a citizen and a believer. It also legitimizes the fact that believers have a contribution to make to the building up of society. Strengthening religious freedom consolidates social bonds, nourishes the hope of a better world, creates favourable conditions for peace and harmonious development, while at the same time establishing solid foundations for securing the rights of future generations. When the Church upholds this human right, she is not claiming any special privileges for herself. She wishes only to be faithful to the command of her divine founder, conscious that, where Christ is present, we become more human and our humanity becomes authentic." -- Homily of Pope Benedict XVI, March 28, 2012, in Cuba.

A great deal of attention is given to the efforts of the federal Dept of Health and Human Services to force Catholic organizations and companies to provide contraception, sterilization, and abortion inducing drugs to their employees. These health-plan regulations would be the first ever attempt by the government to require religious believers to purchase a service or product that runs counter to the moral teachings of their faith.

As the soon to be installed Archbishop of Baltimore Bishop William Lori comments, "The Church cannot, even reluctantly, make arrangements for, facilitate, counsel or instruct people on how to obtain these immoral procedures. To do so would be to participate in the violation of the moral law and thus to act against conscience."

We have prayed, fasted, joined together at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass so that all might affirm the truth, flowing from our Lord's redemptive love on the cross, that the freedom of all faiths to exercise their beliefs, the first amendment of our Constitution's Bill of Rights, might move our society from relativism to that truth where our humanity will indeed authentic and affirming of human life, from conception to natural death.