Catholic Conference bringing pro-family agenda to Statehouse

By Brigid Curtis Ayer

(Listen to this story being read)

Every January, 150 lawmakers, better known as the Indiana General Assembly, descend upon the state Capitol in Indianapolis to conduct some of the state’s most important business.

And every year, the Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC), the Church’s official public policy watchdog and advocate, gears up to bring Catholic principles to the public square by sharing a consistent life ethic that every human being, created in the image and likeness of God, deserves dignity.

Bringing this fundamental moral principle to light in the legislative arena has taken many forms in the past 40 years, including efforts to ban embryonic stem-cell research; reduce abortions; provide basic needs for the poor, disabled and elderly; limit and abolish the death penalty; and protect the family and family life in Indiana.

The family, defined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church as “the original cell of social life” (#2207) will be the focus of a number of the ICC’s legislative initiatives this year.

The Christian family is “a domestic Church [that] is a sign and image of the communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit” (#2204-2205). “The family must be helped and defended by appropriate social measures” (#2209). “The political community has a duty to honor the family, to assist it, and ensure freedoms, … protections, … rights …” (#2211).

Guided by the five Indiana bishops and five lay board members, ICC Executive Director Glenn Tebbe will support several pro-family legislative initiatives, including efforts to extend parental choice in education in the form of tax credits for families sending their children to Catholic schools, increasing Indiana’s minimum wage, working to uphold the sanctity of marriage through a constitutional amendment which defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman, working toward a permanent earned income tax credit for the poor, improving health care for the uninsured, and improving life for immigrant families and children living in Indiana.

The success of the ICC’s pro-family legislative agenda this year will also be determined in part by the willingness of the newly-elected leadership in the House and Senate to have these bills heard in committee, which will allow the proposals to move forward in the process.

Sen. David Long (R-Fort Wayne), the newly elected president pro tempore in the Senate, succeeds the nearly three-decade term of former President Pro Tempore Sen. Bob Garton (R-Columbus), who was defeated in the primary election. In the Senate, the Republicans hold a 33-17 majority.

Rep. Patrick Bauer (D-South Bend) was elected the new Speaker of the House when the Democrats regained a narrow 51-49 majority in the Indiana House of Representatives.

Not only is there new leadership in the House and Senate this year, but there are several new faces elected in 2006 who have become part of the Indiana General Assembly (see story below).

During the next four months, both the ICC and Indiana General Assembly have a full plate. Even though property tax relief, health care reform and education top the list of many legislators this year, state lawmakers are charged by the Indiana Constitution with accomplishing only one duty—passing a new two-year budget package by the April 29 deadline.

“Much of the legislative work done by the Indiana Catholic Conference this year will be overshadowed by the budget-making process,” Tebbe said, “but because the budget affects the dignity of people in Indiana, the conference will be paying close attention to its contents.”

Each week, the Indiana Catholic Conference will publish the “I-CAN Update” on its Web page.

“The conference’s role is to be the eyes and ears for the Catholic Church, to help those interested stay in touch and to enable people to take part in the process,” Tebbe said. “The ‘I-CAN Update’ will provide a summary of legislative actions and should give people sufficient information to follow up on those issues of personal importance.”

In addition to the “I-CAN Update,” archived updates, ICC positions and other background information are also at the ICC Web page at www.indianacc.org. Interested parties may also join the I-CAN network by visiting the ICC Web page. More detailed information regarding the bills and detailed information about the legislative process are available on the Web at www.state.in.us/legislative/session/calendars.html.

Indiana Catholic Conference Executive Director Glenn Tebbe’s report on the week’s legislative activities follows Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein’s weekly radio broadcast at 11:05 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings on Indianapolis Catholic radio station WSPM 89.1 FM.

Indiana Catholic Radio also streams on the Internet and can be heard anywhere in the world by going to www.catholicradioindy.org and clicking on the “Listen Now” button.

(Brigid Curtis Ayer is a correspondent for The Criterion.) †