World itself a voter concern

Dan Misleh, Kevin Appleby and Gerry Flood of the U.S. Catholic Conference's Office of Social Development and World Peace each spoke to The Evangelist on issues affecting the world and its people. The Catholic Conference represents the U.S. bishops on public policy matters.

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

"It is no longer the well-being of any one political, racial or cultural community that must prevail, but rather the good of humanity as a whole," the Pope stated. "This opens a new field of reflection and discussion both for politics and for law....What is needed without delay is a renewal of international law and international institutions...whose basic organizing principle should be the primacy of the good of humanity and of the human person."

In this, Pope John Paul echoed the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which notes that "it is the role of the state to defend and promote the common good of civil society. The common good of the whole human family calls for an organization of society on the international level."

Mr. Flood, volunteer policy advisor for the Catholic Conference, noted that debt forgiveness is the crucial issue during this election year.

"International debt is an issue of concern to the Conference," he said. "We're trying to get Congress to approve full debt relief for poor countries."

He advised Catholic voters to ask candidates whether they are in favor of this plan and whether they would agree that debt relief should not be tied to such other issues as reforming the international monetary fund.

ENVIRONMENT

In their statement on political responsibility, the U.S. bishops outlined more specific goals, including:

* promoting "sustainable economic practices that reduce the current stress on natural systems,"

* making the needy "a priority through a more just and more equitable sharing of the earth's resources,"

* balancing "public and private costs of environmental protection," and

* finding alternative, renewable resources for agriculture and energy.

Environmental issues "seem to be gathering the attention of a lot of people" this election year, according to Mr. Misleh, a Catholic Conference policy advisor.

Since everyone is affected by the condition of the environment, from water needs to pesticide use or disposal of toxic waste, he said, "candidates that address those types of issues should be something Catholics should consider. How do candidates see the environment and handle local environmental problems?"

Mr. Misleh added that voters should be especially concerned with candidates' attitudes toward the effect of environmental problems on the poor. Children, in particular, are affected by lead-based paint in housing and other dangers.

POLLUTION

In it, they asked "our public policy-makers and officials to review public policies and programs for their environmental impact, eliminating actions and policies which are harmful. We urge support for economic development projects that protect better the environment and that consume fewer natural resources."

The bishops also quoted Orthodox Patriarch Bartholemew I of Constantinople, who said: "To commit a crime against the natural world is a sin....For humans to contaminate the earth's waters, its land, its air and its life with poisonous substances -- these are sins."

Mr. Misleh advised voters to ask candidates whether they will seek federal funds to clean up "brownfields" areas -- low-level toxic sites often located in neighborhoods, which may no longer be in use but still require cleanups. Candidates should also be intent on bringing economic viability to those areas and safeguarding the water system against pollution, he said.

FARMING

Several months ago, Archbishop James Keleher of Kansas City issued an even more dire warning: "Our [meat] lockers are filled with food and so are our grocery markets," he said. "We don't realize there's a farm crisis. But I'll tell you this; if we don't solve our farm crisis, there will someday be a food crisis."

Archbishop Keleher also demanded that "we must confront present farm policy, with its bias toward large agribusiness concentration. The USDA [U.S. Department of Agriculture] has 144 recommendations. If [legislators] listen to that,...it would lessen the bias toward industrial agriculture and move research, credit and marketing programs toward supporting independent family farmers."

"Our country has moved from a family farm system to one predominantly controlled by corporate agriculture," Mr. Misleh explained. "The [U.S.] bishops have always been very clear that food is not just another commodity; it's something for life itself. The bishops have supported a family farm system, because that's going to provide the safest, most plentiful food system for people."

Political candidates should be "willing to take a look at the current food system, enforce [existing] antitrust laws and question proposed mergers between some of these large agribusinesses," he said.

MIGRANTS

On the Jubilee Day for migrants and itinerant people, held in March, Pope John Paul II noted that Christ Himself was a migrant.

"Unfortunately, we still encounter in the world a closed-minded attitude and even one of rejection" for migrants, the Pope observed. He advised that "in a complex society like ours which is marked by many tensions, the culture of acceptance must be joined with prudent and far-sighted laws and norms, which allow the most to be made of the positive aspects of human mobility and to provide for its possibly negative aspects."

Also in March, Bishop James McHugh of the Rockville Centre, N.Y., Diocese represented the Vatican in an address to the U.N. Commission on Population and Development on the issue of migrant workers. He asked that migrants' families and dignity be protected.

"Developed nations increasingly depend on migrants to fill the gaps in the work force," said the bishop; "but too often women and children are the victims of virtual abandonment because the efforts for family reunification are absent or ineffective."

Mr. Misleh agreed that migrants often face struggles ordinary workers cannot fathom. "They're not protected by the same labor laws as you and I," he explained. "They often work in terrible conditions; there's no guarantee of work; often, they're undocumented. They're in a very tenuous position and continue to be exploited by some of the growers."

He advised: "Ask candidates if they're willing to support better labor protections for farmworkers [and] better working conditions, and if they're willing to work toward citizenship" for migrants.

IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES

Immigrants, say Church officials, also need and deserve our help. Objecting to proposals to tighten citizenship requirements, Bishop John Cummins of Oakland, Cal., chair of the U.S. bishops' committee on migration, said: "Altering the criteria in a way that would place citizenship out of the reach of more immigrants would be detrimental to us all....It is equally important that automatic citizenship for individuals born in the United States, regardless of their alienage or the status of their parents, be preserved in the law and in the Constitution."

Mr. Appleby, director of migration and refugee policy for the Catholic Conference, offered two suggestions:

* Find out whether candidates would support increasing our protection efforts for refugees, including resettling refugees in the U.S. "The U.S. needs to show leadership in this area," he remarked.

* Ask whether candidates support reforming existing immigration laws that target immigrant families who may have run afoul of the law but have paid their debt to society; and whether candidates support legalization programs for undocumented immigrants who have nonetheless contributed to their communities.

CONCLUSION

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