Other issues on bishops' agenda

"The Rockefeller drug laws were well-intended, but in practice, they fail to distinguish between the drug kingpins and those who are the victims," said Bishop Hubbard.

He explained that women and non-violent addicts often end up in prison as a result of the harsh sentences required under current law -- "resulting in an explosion of the prison population."

Bishop Hubbard asked for "restorative justice," such as addiction treatment, rather than punishment for non-violent drug offenders. "We are faced with a golden opportunity to effect change and right wrongs that have been done," he stated.

EDUCATION was the topic for Bishop Henry Mansell of the Diocese of Buffalo. The Catholic Conference asks that $10 million be included in the 2001-'02 state budget for Academic Intervention Services (AIS), which gives students remedial help to pass required Regents tests.

Catholics will also continue to advocate for tuition tax credits, vouchers and other means to recruit and keep trained teachers, Bishop Mansell added. He hoped that teachers in non-public schools would be included in the "Teachers of Tomorrow" training program, noting: "It is part of a wise social policy, part of a wise public policy, to include all the teachers in such a program."

Msgr. Henry Gugino of Catholic Charities in the Buffalo Diocese asked that state lawmakers consider the harmful effects of WELFARE REFORM. Although the welfare caseload has dropped by 50 percent in the past few years, he said, poverty and the demand for assistance from Catholic Charities are on the rise.

"The state can do more," he declared. As an example, he said, "the public assistance grant and the shelter allowance have not been increased in more than a decade. The Church has always supported true welfare reform that lifts families out of poverty. We stand willing to provide the expertise of Catholic Charities" to legislators interested in protecting the needy.

The proposed UNBORN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE ACT was another issue at hand. This legislation, according to panelist Cindy Falice, Respect Life director for the Syracuse Diocese, would protect unborn children from violent acts of aggression by assailants.

When a pregnant woman is killed, she noted, "two lives have been lost. Families will grieve and mourn for the two loved ones, not just one."

She recalled the case of a woman in the Bronx attacked by the father of her child with a hypodermic needle filled with an abortion-inducing drug. "He could not have been charged with any crimes against the child," Ms. Falice said. "This is wrong."

She noted that the proposal is not an abortion bill but covers mothers who have made the decision to keep their children and are attacked by assailants. At a time when the government is concerned about the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome and second-hand smoke on unborn children, she added, it makes sense to enact such a bill.

(03-15-01) [[In-content Ad]]