Catholics gearing up for lobby day at Capitol

Sees 'gutsy move' in bishops' new plan addressing health care for needy

Hundreds of Catholics from across New York State, the state's bishops and Cardinal John O'Connor, archbishop of New York City, will come to Albany March 11 to make their voices heard by Gov. George Pataki and state lawmakers.

The Public Policy Forum, an annual gathering sponsored by the New York State Catholic Conference (the public policy arm of the state's bishops), will give more than 900 Catholics the chance to explore seven targeted objectives:

* a ban on partial-birth abortions;

* funding to enable parents to choose their child's school;

* welfare reform proposals that provide employment opportunities, decent wages and a safety net for those unable to work;

* strengthened legal protection for Catholic health and human service workers and providers;

* opposition to physician-assisted suicide;

* preservation of essential services for the poor and ill in the state budget; and

* opposition to casino gambling.

According to Sister Maureen Joyce, RSM, chair of the Albany diocesan Public Policy committee and executive director of diocesan Catholic Charities, the forum allows legislators to hear from their constituents and allows participants in the Diocese's Public Policy Education Network (PPEN) to "really understand" the issues from a Catholic perspective.

"Legislators are more prone to be interested in what their constituents say than organizations or professional lobbyists," she pointed out.

Kathy Gallagher of the Catholic Conference agreed: "The staff of the Catholic Conference can visit the lawmakers; but when we have the people in the pews giving the same message, it's so much more credible."

Schedule

This year's forum will include two workshops, one on the targeted objectives and another solely for young people interested in seeking change (see related article), in addition to small-group meetings with legislators.

Cardinal O'Connor will be the main celebrant for a morning liturgy, followed by the presentation of Public Policy awards to Attorney General Dennis Vacco, Sen. Hugh Farley (R-Schenectady) and Mildred Shanley, former counsel for Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Brooklyn.

"We have urged people not to make this a one-time event, but an ongoing one," Sister Maureen warned. "If people have services, health clinics or schools in their communities, invite your legislator there. We have a responsibility to keep them informed as to what our opinions are and what's going on in our community."

Effective lobbying

She hopes to see participants as "energized" by the forum to work for change as those who have already done so -- namely, the scores of PPEN members who deluged their representatives with calls during the winter to protest the introduction of casino gambling to the state.

BY the time the legislators voted on the issue in January, Sister Maureen said, "the representatives called us and said, `We've gotten the message. We're going to vote against it. Please tell people to stop calling!'"

The state Senate voted down the casino referendum 41-19, and Bishop Howard J. Hubbard immediately wrote to PPEN members to say, "Let me tell you the reaction of your elected officials. You have made a difference," Sister Maureen said. Participants in the forum will be urged to thank lawmakers who voted "no" to casinos. Budget time

Such a difference is hoped for after the forum, which is scheduled closer to state "budget-crunch" time this year than ever before.

Both Sister Maureen and Mrs. Gallagher called the timing an advantage, since forum planners have had more time to study the impact of welfare reform and other legislation, as well as how the Senate and Assembly are reacting to the changes.

"That issue is near and dear to my heart," Sister Maureen said of welfare reform. "We really have to make it local: As people are transitioned off welfare, do we know in the community that they will have a job? We also need to say that there has to be a consistent application of reform from county to county. The focus is more on the whole issue of economic development than on welfare reform."

The issue of partial-birth abortion is also expected to take precedence at the forum. In the wake of abortion-rights advocate Ron Fitzsimmons' admission that he lied about the frequency and conditions under which partial-birth abortions are performed in the U.S., "we need to capitalize on that," Sister Maureen said. "We always knew [pro-choice advocates] weren't telling the truth, but it's not the same as having the facts."

Growing involvement

Catholic Conference sponsors of the forum are excited about the growing number of new participants from all over New York State, Mrs. Gallagher said, noting: "We see more and more new faces each year. It's a great thing. The people in the pews are coming up to Albany."

The popularity of the forum can be explained by the fact that participants feel they have been listened to by their elected officials and have made a difference, said Sister Maureen. By next year, she hopes to see the number of PPEN members double as a result.

"Once people embrace this idea, it becomes very much a part of their life, and they just do it," she said. "The worst thing would be if people became passive or silent."

(The Public Policy Forum will be held March 11 at the Empire State Plaza in Albany. All forum participants are selected by and invited through diocesan forum coordinators. For more information, contact the Catholic Conference at 434-6195.)

Sees 'gutsy move' in bishops' new plan addressing health care for needy

"This makes sense," she said of the new plan to provide health care to the needy through a joint effort by Catholic hospitals and other entities throughout New York State (see related article). "To have a statewide Medicaid option under Catholic auspices is very consistent with who we are."

New York State has requested that all Medicaid patients be required to enter a managed care program. The reasoning behind the development of the Fidelis Care New York plan was simply that many of those receiving Medicaid are already being served by Catholic Charities agencies, she explained.

Preserving mission

Often, she added, Catholic Charities employees speak with those who have been forced to seek health care at certain institutions because of Medicaid rules. A managed care plan under Catholic auspices will ensure that "someone else isn't going to be dictating to people, `You can't go to that hospital.' That's very disruptive."

Fidelis Care New York will also "preserve the mission of Catholic health care," Sister Maureen said. "Catholic health care brings a special mission, a special charism."

Through their work with those who will benefit from the plan, she said, Catholic Charities workers will become "much more involved and aware" of developments in Catholic health care, enabling them to provide even better services to their clients.

The difference for those using the plan, which already includes all of the Catholic hospitals and many other facilities within the Albany Diocese, is that "people feel you're concerned about them and have holistic concern about their health. People know you're in [the plan] because you care for them," Sister Maureen stated.

'Gutsy move'

She called the new plan "a gutsy move on the part of the New York bishops, to come together and say that Catholic health care is so important and delivering services to the poor is so important that we're going to make this commitment.

"I don't think that's happening anywhere else in the country," she added.

Officials hope to have approval for the plan before July 1, with regional offices operating everywhere from Brooklyn (the plan's birthplace) to Albany. Fidelis Care New York, Sister Maureen said, will have "real local ownership."

In the meantime, she said, officials will work on hammering down the details of the plan: "There are a lot of specifics still being addressed."

(03-06-97) [[In-content Ad]]