Catholics press concerns at State Capitol

Sister Maureen Joyce, RSM, executive director of diocesan Catholic Charities, cited concerns about welfare reform proposals, asking for aid in upholding "the sanctity and worth of every man, woman and child, so that each can live with the very basic standards of human dignity."

And in his homily at the forum's liturgy, Rev. Kenneth Doyle, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena parish in Albany, reminded Mass-goers of several frightening statistics: 20 percent of the children in the U.S. live below the poverty level, 30 million Americans have no health insurance and 1.4 million children are aborted each year.

Taking action

A parishioner of Sacred Heart parish in Sidney and first-time attendee, Mark told The Evangelist that he "always had an interest in politics and thought it would be neat" to participate in the forum.

A special workshop for young people on "making a difference" in the world of politics was held during the forum, after which Mark and his peers met with legislators to give their opinions on several major issues.

"I talked about welfare reform and violence in schools," Mark explained. "We met [Assemblyman] Clifford Crouch. He comes from a town right next to mine, so I made him aware of some things that were going on with the high school population that he may not have known about."

His first taste of lobbying has given Mark a hunger for more. "It was fun," he said. "It seemed like the assemblymen really did care about what we had to say."

Successful day

Indeed, she said, despite two setbacks -- the last-minute cancellation of Cardinal John O'Connor of New York, a scheduled speaker, and a bomb scare that caused the entire Legislative Office Building to be evacuated during the afternoon -- much was accomplished during the forum.

Bishop Hubbard called his meeting with Gov. George Pataki and other Catholic officials to discuss issues of concern "a more informal, but candid and lively exchange" than past meetings with either Gov. Pataki or former New York governors.

Issues discussed

* discussed welfare reform, particularly the need for adequate job training for employees reentering the workforce and day care for their children, flexibility about time limits for those searching for a job and a uniform system of time limits for the state;

* thanked the governor for his support of a ban on partial-birth abortion;

* asked for the governor's support in the prohibition of physician-assisted suicide; and

* cited the contributions Catholic schools have made to the state and proposed a voucher system to allow parents to choose their child's school, which, although he did not indicate it happening in the near future, "the Governor said he would explore further," Bishop Hubbard stated.

Changes

Bishop Hubbard also cited the lawmakers' "cordial, warm, gracious acceptance of our agenda," even though the legislators didn't always agree with his position.

However, Bishop Hubbard told The Evangelist, lawmakers may be coming to the realization that Catholic voters "represent quite a large constituency. We're not necessarily a lonely voice; many of our concerns are shared by other constituencies across the state."

With the rapid growth of the Diocese's Public Policy Education Network, the Bishop added, "more and more of our Catholic people are being alerted to the issues and responding not just through works of charity, but by addressing the causes of social injustice in society."

Momentum

For example, Bishop Hubbard said, "given the opportunity, this [partial-birth abortion ban] will pass in the assembly and become law in this state."

He asked that Catholics keep the momentum going on the issue, so that it does not become "shackled by a committee system that will allow powerful committee chairmen to keep an issue from coming to the floor."

Mrs. Gallagher also hoped to see the success of the forum continue "at the local level, that people keep up the dialogue with their local representatives. We really have to keep the pressure on the assembly now."

(03-20-97) [[In-content Ad]]