Lansing Update: MCC Releases 2024 Election Resources for Catholics
Posted September 6, 2024
Now Available to Read: A Catholic Approach to Voting in the 2024 Election
With the November general election quickly approaching, now is the time for Catholics to prepare to vote as faithful citizens, and Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) is again providing resources to help the faithful.
This week, print copies of MCC’s newest edition of Focus, A Catholic Approach to Voting in the 2024 Election, are arriving at parishes. The digital version is available to read now online.
The publication reminds Catholics that voting is not merely a civic duty, but a moral obligation as well. Voting with a well-formed conscience, one based on the teachings of the Church, is an essential part of living out a life of discipleship in Christ.
Focus encourages all Catholics to pray and form their consciences according to the truth of Church teaching before voting. By doing so, Catholics can be a light to this state and the nation.
To find a print copy of Focus, please inquire at your parish. Parishes may order more free copies by contacting MCC.
MCC Unveils Election Resource Website for Catholics
To further assist Catholic voters to live out their vocation as faithful citizens, MCC has also published an election resources website.
There, Catholics can find conscience formation and prayer resources, links to more information on Catholic social teaching, tips for researching candidates, and a guide to modeling faithful citizenship in the family. There are also links to assist with voter registration, requesting an absentee ballot, and other voting logistics.
Feel free to download and print the resources and to bookmark the election website, which will be available throughout the election season.
Mother Teresa Stood for the Poorest of the Poor, Including the Unborn
This week, the Church remembers the life of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whose feast day is now September 5 after she was canonized by Pope Francis in 2016.
St. Mother Teresa’s life embodied the full scope of Catholic social teaching.
The world remembers Mother Teresa for her work and advocacy among the poorest of the poor. Yet she also understood, as the Church does, that the poorest of the poor also include unborn children, especially those threatened by abortion.
In her speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, Mother Teresa spoke of “the joy acknowledging that the poorest of the poor are our brothers and sisters.” Yet, she also took the opportunity to tell the world that “the greatest destroyer of peace today is the cry of the innocent unborn child,” and condemned in strong terms the evil of abortion.
Mother Teresa’s life and words are a call to all of us to remember this link: That the dignity and sacredness of human life extends to all people at every stage of life, no matter their condition—whether on the streets of Calcutta or in the womb.
To do this, she had a message for everyone: Start in your own home. As she said in her speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize:
“My prayer for you is that truth will bring prayer in our homes, and the fruit of prayer will be that we believe that in the poor, it is Christ. And if we really believe, we will begin to love. And if we love, naturally, we will try to do something. First in our own home, our next door neighbor, in the country we live, in the whole world.”
Legislative Schedule Update
The Senate this week held session Wednesday and Thursday but conducted no official business. The Senate is scheduled for session next week and throughout the rest of September and October.
The House is not scheduled to return to session until next Wednesday, September 11, with additional session days scheduled through the rest of September.
However, with the entire House of Representatives up for election this November, extensive legislative activity is not expected. MCC will keep Lansing Update readers apprised of any legislative activity that may occur this fall.