Members of the Michigan House of Representatives recently introduced eighteen bills to protect children and others from abuse. Over the next several weeks, these and other bipartisan measures will go before the House Law and Justice Committee for further consideration from lawmakers. To combat the appalling presence of sexual abuse in society, Michigan Catholic Conference will support legislation in the committee that protects children and creates safe environments.
The Central Michigan Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (CMPRSA) presented Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) with four awards during the 2018 PACE Awards on Thursday evening, April 12. This year’s celebration, held at The Cadillac Room in Lansing’s REO Town, recognized mid-Michigan’s best public relations and communications tactics and campaigns produced during 2017. Michigan Catholic Conference received CMPRSA’s highest honor for excellence in public relations, the Pinnacle Award, in three categories: annual reports, newsletters, and video programs. Staff also received an Excellence Award in the websites category.
On March 14, 2018 the Michigan Senate approved a package of bills intended to, in part, address child sexual abuse in society. Several of the bills are supported by Michigan Catholic Conference, including legislation that would prospectively expand the criminal statute of limitations, expand the pool of mandatory reporters, enhance penalties against repeat abusers, and lengthen the sentences for those who deal in the heinous practice of child pornography. The Senate also passed legislation, Senate Bill 872, that would retroactively reopen the civil statute of limitations for public and private institutions in Michigan, a highly controversial measure opposed by nearly every sector of society in the state.
The Michigan Senate is currently considering a package of bills that addresses sexual abuse in society. Michigan Catholic Conference urges lawmakers to pass key components of the package to ensure strong protections are in place for children, including those that prospectively expand the criminal statute of limitations, expand the pool of mandatory reporters, enhance penalties against repeat abusers, and lengthen the sentences for those who deal in the heinous practice of child pornography. At the same time, MCC continues to urge opposition to legislation that would retroactively reopen the civil statute of limitations.
Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) announced today that a favorable settlement has been reached with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding its lawsuit against the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate. The lawsuit, originally filed in May 2012, responded to regulations from the Affordable Care Act that required all employers to include coverage for contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs in their health benefit plans, including those with religious objections. MCC’s President and CEO, Paul Long, called the settlement a “victory for religious liberty.”
Today the Trump Administration announced broad religious and moral exemptions from the federal HHS mandate, which required health insurance coverage of morally objectionable drugs and devices. Michigan Catholic Conference commented on the decision, saying the mandate has been “divisive and unnecessary” and these revisions should provide greater assistance to religious entities that have been forced to defend their First Amendment rights in federal court.
On the heels of a statewide advertising project undertaken by the Catholic Church in Michigan titled “Freedom to Serve” that promotes religious agencies and their work in the public square, out-of-state advocacy entities today announced a campaign to disparage Michigan’s efforts to ensure diversity in child placement. The campaign includes a lawsuit against a 2015 state law that protects religious liberty rights for faith-based adoption and foster care placement agencies. Michigan Catholic Conference called the lawsuit “mean-spirited, divisive and intolerant” as this law has helped to promote diversity in child placement and helped to serve Michigan’s most vulnerable children.
Earlier this spring, television commercials and online advertising ran across Michigan highlighting the Catholic Church’s freedom to serve others through its charitable organizations. Beginning Monday, September 11, new commercials will begin that focus on the Catholic educational setting, the teachers that personify the Church’s educational settings, and how Catholic school students are educated in the faith and formed to serve others and the greater community.
The United States Supreme Court ruled 7–2 in the case of Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer that the State of Missouri’s policy to prevent state grant funding for playground equipment at a Lutheran preschool was, in the words of Chief Justice John Roberts, “odious to our Constitution.” Michigan Catholic Conference strongly supports the majority opinion, which strikes down an inherently discriminatory practice that punished a school for its religious mission. Following the ruling on Monday, June 26, MCC President and CEO Paul Long offered comments regarding the decision and how that decision may relate to a case moving through the Michigan courts.
Today’s Executive Order, reported to offer broad protections from (HHS) burdensome mandates, begins to return a greater tolerance of religious beliefs and practices than has been present in recent years. As the presence of an Executive Order on this topic affirms, the freedom for religious institutions to serve others and to express and practice — not just worship — one’s religious convictions is a fundamental element of both American society and constitutional law.
