Bishops set 2000 goals for lawmakers

The complete list includes more than 50 state legislative objectives for this year.

Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of the Albany Diocese wrote of the agenda: "We are called to renew the work of the Gospel: to `bring glad tidings to the poor,...to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free' (Luke 4:18). One way we can respond to this call is by bringing our faith to bear on the critical public policy issues of our time."

The Conference's primary legislative objectives include:

* regarding life issues: a ban on partial-birth abortion, palliative care and pain medication for the terminally ill, and continuing to prohibit physician-assisted suicide;

* in the area of criminal justice: reform of the Rockefeller drug laws and the use of addiction treatment programs for prisoners and as an alternative to incarceration;

* regarding basic human needs: expanding child supports from day care to health care; using Temporary Assistance to Needy Families surplus funds to develop jobs, support working families and monitoring the effects of welfare reform; eliminating the Children and Families Block Grant and increasing funding for at-risk children; and enacting policies to help rural New Yorkers;

* in the area of health care: expanding coverage for the low- and moderate-income uninsured, expanding health-care access for low-income school-aged children and pregnant women, protection of conscience for healthcare providers and opposition to legislation threatening Catholic health care;

* to support families: keeping the current ban on casino gambling; and

* regarding education: supporting an education investment tax credit to encourage private donations to schools.

Many of the issues covered in the agenda, wrote Bishop Hubbard, "speak in a special way to our concerns in the Diocese of Albany. We have tried, for example, to be particularly attentive to issues of economic justice, advocating for welfare reform policies that enhance job opportunities, and provide for adequate job training and benefits for the working poor."

Any legislative responses developed by the Church, the Bishop noted, are "based on a consistent set of principles drawn from Gospel values and Catholic social teaching."

He urged Catholics of the Albany Diocese to respond in three ways: "Study the issues, apply Gospel values and communicate with elected representatives."

In doing so, the Bishop stated, "we can be about God's work as we celebrate 2,000 years of Christianity."

(For a complete agenda or to learn how you can help, contact the State Catholic Conference at 434-6195 or on the web at www.nyscatholicconference.org.)

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