The Word from Lansing is a regular column written by Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) staff for Catholic news outlets. Through these columns, MCC outlines current advocacy issues of importance to the Conference and discusses the Catholic position and role in the political process. This publication complements the more regular updates provided by Michigan Catholic Conference’s Catholic Advocacy Network.
The Church in Michigan encourages public officials to embrace the idea that the family is the primary cell of human society, and to consider economic and social policies that promote such a principle — with particular consideration given to families who are struggling to make ends meet.
As a package of dangerous anti-life bills remain stalled in the Legislature, some of our elected officials need the courage to stand firm in their convictions and oppose the Reproductive Health Act (RHA), and faithful Catholic citizens can help them do that by sending elected officials a message to vote no on the RHA.
The clergy abuse crisis inflicted on today’s Catholics has been a tragic chapter for the Church. Yet amidst the tragedy and scandal, there is hope for renewal and healing. To help advance understanding and awareness of a cultural change within the Church, the upcoming edition of Michigan Catholic Conference’s quarterly Focus publication shares how the Church in Michigan works to protect children and prevent abuse through safe environment protocols considered among the strongest in the nation.
The sheer impact of gun violence on human life should demand a response from Catholics, and MCC’s latest edition of Focus explains and clarifies how lay and ordained Catholics can support gun policies in the interest of protecting human life, with the goal to keep guns from people who may cause harm to themselves or others.
In this column, MCC describes the recent trend of lawmakers acting to expand abortion in Michigan after Proposal 3, and urges them to take a different course and find ways to prevent abortion from happening.
Despite the uphill battle it entailed, MCC staff earlier this year deployed essentially every tool in the advocacy toolbox to fight for the rights of schools, charities, and organizations who wish to serve others in the public square according to the teachings of their faith.
MCC so far this legislative session has supported policies that have won bipartisan support, just Democratic support, or just Republican support—sometimes all in the same day. It is a reflection of how MCC’s advocacy is guided by principles grounded in Catholic social doctrine and aimed at promoting the common good.
With the release of the biennial Blueprint for the Common Good, Michigan Catholic Conference shares how public policymaking—which should be directed toward advancing the common good—must be evaluated by how it advances or diminishes the life of the individual person.
As a new legislative session begins, MCC reflects on its advocacy from the past two years of the previous legislative session and provides a preview of some of the issues it expects to be active on in the next two years.
While the approval of Proposal 3 presents a major challenge to securing the legal protection of the unborn in Michigan, it does not have to inhibit the Church’s mission to make abortion unthinkable by working to support mothers and families facing difficult pregnancies. In this Word from Lansing column, we lay out why this approach can achieve the goals sought by the pro-life movement to protect the unborn and uphold the dignity of all human life.