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Church takes position on bills
Life issues, immigration top Catholic concerns
By Andrew Junker, The Catholic Sun
April 3, 2008
The Arizona State Legislature passed a partial birth abortion ban March 25 that essentially mirrors the federal ban passed in 2003 that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court last year.
At press time, the bill had yet to reach Gov. Janet Napolitano’s desk. If signed into law, this legislation would allow local prosecutors to enforce the partial birth abortion ban.
“By having a state ban, local prosecutors can enforce the measures,” rather than relying on the U.S. Department of Justice, explained Ron Johnson, executive director of the Arizona Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state’s three dioceses.
Read more about legislation of concern to Catholics
“When the federal government passed its ban and the Supreme Court upheld it last year, that gave us the roadmap of where to go,” he said.
The passage of the partial birth abortion ban came on a busy day for the Arizona Catholic Conference, which looks carefully at “all bills that are of interest to the Church,” Johnson said.
That same Tuesday saw a bill pass the House of Representatives that would ban nurse practitioners from performing abortions.
A measure allowing for payroll deductions for those donating to a school tuition organization through the tuition tax credit program passed the House and a bill that would make permanent the corporate scholarship tax credit for tuition organizations failed.
“We go through every single bill, every single amendment — what’s going to hurt us, what’s going to help us — then we present that to the bishops, and of course we have our own agenda, bills that we push forward,” he said.
With this year’s legislature introducing a record number of bills — somewhere around 1,400, Johnson estimated — the Arizona Catholic Conference has been promoting the Catholic position on the pro-life, sanctity of marriage, immigration, school choice and other fronts.
The legislative session is just about half over and Johnson described the next few weeks as “crunch time.”
Promoting life at the Capitol
On the life front, Johnson also mentioned potential legislation that would codify existing case law for minors seeking an abortion without parental consent. He also mentioned an end-of-life bill aimed at ensuring that nutrition and hydration are provided for severely injured hospital patients.
“You see life attacked all across, but usually at the most vulnerable stages, the beginning of life and the end,” Johnson said. “We’re doing pretty well on both of those, certainly holding our ground and defending against the bad legislation.”
It hasn’t always been that way, said Mike Phelan, director of the diocese’s Marriage and Respect Life office. This past year has been monumental in terms of pro-life advances.
“The Supreme Court decision [upholding the federal partial birth abortion ban] was really the first time any dent has been made against any abortion procedure at all in the 35 years since Roe v. Wade,” he said. “That was a movement in a positive direction.”
At the same time, the past year’s victories don’t lessen the battle to promote Church social teaching, Phelan said. “Everyday, we’ve got to wake up and be ready for it anew.”
One area where the battle is still fierce is immigration.
The Arizona Catholic Conference is working against a number of measures, including provisions that would create a felony crime of trespassing for every illegal immigrant on Arizona soil, a bill that would require landlords to check the immigration status of every potential renter, and a measure that would force illegal immigrants to pay back whatever public benefit they may have received, including K-12 public education.
“Those are the big ones that come to mind, but there are dozens of them,” Johnson said. He predicted that some of these bills could be placed on the ballot in November as referendums.
José Robles, director of the diocese’s office of Hispanic ministry, described Arizona as being “ground zero for immigration.”
“With our proximity to the Mexican border and the heavy traffic between Mexico and here, it can’t help but be what it is today,” he said.
Traveling across the diocese, Robles sees the human faces that these immigration laws effect.
“We meet with people and we talk with them. The fear is very evident,” he said. “Any time you have this sentiment, it impacts the family and the individual.”
When deciding how to approach any political issue, it’s important to consider the fundamental dignity of the human person, Robles said.
This can often put Catholics at odds with the dominant political ideologies in America, but the “Church doesn’t see social justice as something that comes from a political ideology,” Phelan said.
“It comes from the heart of our faith. Our tradition has worked out how the heart of our faith affects our social order, and therefore, how we should affect the social order,” he said. “The primary concern for the Church is the dignity of every human person and the institutions that allow that dignity to flourish.”
Still, bringing the message of the Church to Catholic voters can be complicated, Johnson said.
“It’s somewhat of a difficult job. It’s rare to find anyone, either a legislator or someone in the pews who agrees with all the positions of the bishops,” he said.
“Their primary role as bishops is as a teacher, so I’m always mindful of that,” he said. “They want to educate the faithful of the teachings of the Church and how they apply in certain circumstances. That always comes first and can’t be compromised.”
Documents like pastoral letters from the bishops and the booklet “Catholics in the Public Square,” by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, can help educate lawmakers and voters alike on Catholic social teaching and the hierarchy of issues.
For instance, Bishop Olmsted outlines some non-negotiable issues in “Catholics in the Public Square,” which Catholics in good conscience must agree upon.
Atop that list are the life-issues: abortion, euthanasia, cloning and embryonic stem cell research. The right for parents to educate their children as they see fit also makes the list along with the understanding that marriage is only between one man and one woman.
On that latter issue, Johnson expects a referendum on the ballot in November that would define marriage as such.
What of the other hot-button issues dominating the political climate like immigration and support for the poor?
“Certainly, they’re very important as well, but good Catholics can and do disagree on matters of prudential judgment. The bishops have made a prudential judgment on these issues, and they are very important issues for millions of people in this country,” Johnson said.
“I think it wouldn’t be wise to disregard what the bishops say on these issues just because they’re not non-negotiable,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is help people understand what the bishops are teaching on this and why.”
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