Teenagers learn how to lobby

Catholic teens in the Albany Diocese aren't leaving political advocacy to the adults.

On Feb. 11, 45 of them gathered for a "Public Policy Training Day." During workshops, talks and discussions, they learned about issues the Catholic Church in New York State is promoting and gained the skills they'll need to speak to elected officials on March 14, Public Policy Day at the Capitol, an event sponsored by the New York State Catholic Conference.

Some of those issues are educational tax credits, ethical stem-cell research, a ban on cloning, greater access to health care and continued reform of the Rockefeller Drug Laws.

Value of day

"This training is good formation, [not only for] education on the issues but also on the democratic process and our call to work for justice and create a better world," said Michelle Stefanik, assistant director of youth ministry for the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis. "Youth right now may not be able to vote, but that does not mean they are powerless. Youth can still effect change."

New to Public Policy Day this March, said Kathleen Gallagher, pro-life advocate for the New York State Catholic Conference, is a workshop geared toward teens. A featured speaker will be Frances Ercolano, a teen from St. Pius X parish in Loudonville, who will talk about her experiences at previous lobby days.

Mission

The training day began with a keynote on discrimination by Ms. Stefanik and Rev. Robert Longobucco, chaplain at The University at Albany, and continued with workshops on social justice, pro-life and educational issues, and other areas of concern.

"Our mission is to think about the needs of the poor and speak for those people who cannot speak for themselves," said Roseanne DeFabio, assistant superintendent of administrative services for the Catholic School Office.

She was speaking to a group of teens debating Gov. George Pataki's budget proposal of $500 educational tax credits for poor families.

Day's worth

Some of the teens in attendance offered their reaction to the training day:

* Travis Campbell, an 11th grader who attends St. Cecelia's Church in Warrensburg, called the proposed tax credit a "basis" for other measures that can assist the poor.

"The government should care about the education of its people," he explained, and Catholic teens should "get out into their community to advocate more."

* Eamon Rock, a student at Christian Brothers Academy and a parishioner of St. Catherine of Siena Church, both in Albany, said that he probably wouldn't have known about some of the issues if he hadn't come to the training day. "I'll probably learn more every time," he said.

* Theresa Juergens, a student at the Academy of the Holy Names in Albany and a member of St. Teresa's Church in Windham, was interested in the keynote on discrimination.

"It still exists, even though we think we're over that period of time when people discriminated on race and creed," she explained. "It's one of the biggest issues. We have to work on that. People need to feel more united."

Theresa is also interested in championing ethical research using adult stem cells, noting that "embryonic research hasn't developed anything," she said. "Adult stem cells slow down Alzheimer's and more. Why do we still want to do [embryonic research]?"

* St. Catherine's parishioner Lauren Fealey, 15, said that teens at Public Policy Day should keep the poor as the focus of every discussion. She is also an opponent of the death penalty, saying, "It doesn't make sense in terms of justice. It's not a deterrent."

* Susannah Kay and Kathryn DeLay, 11th-grade parishioners of St. Peter's Church in Saratoga Springs, enjoyed hearing the variety of opinions from their peers.

"I'm not sure what I'm expecting" on Public Policy Day, said Susannah. "Everyone here has something in common, which is our faith, but the topics are so diverse. It's great that you can believe one thing very strongly together but have a lot of diversity within that. But you have to think about what is better for others and not just for yourself" when you lobby, she explained.

Kathryn hopes to keep life issues high on legislators' agendas. "It always annoys me that our elected officials are voting on life-and-death matters and don't always take the time to do real research on them," she said.

Advice

Catherine Peake, a Catholic who serves as chief of staff for Assemblyman Joseph Lentol (D-Brooklyn), closed the day with a talk about how teens should present themselves when they lobby in March.

"[We like] people who are thoughtful, who are not scripted," she explained. "The ultimate thing to remember is that [legislators] are welcoming to young people's thoughts. They like to encourage young people to participate."

Mrs. DeFabio advised first-time lobbyists to "keep your message simple and tell them what you want."

(The training day was sponsored by the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, diocesan Catholic Charities, and the New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the bishops on public policy issues.)

(2/16/06) [[In-content Ad]]