Holy Family Church in Dale City hosted “A Catholic
Perspective on Issues before the Virginia General Assembly
2015,” a Jan. 10 presentation for potential advocates
interested in this year’s Catholic Advocacy Day.
Speakers included Father Gerry Creedon, chair of the diocesan
Peace and Justice Commission, and Jeff Caruso and Michael
Lewis of the Virginia Catholic Conference. Father Creedon,
pastor of Holy Family Church, spoke about the theological
sources of the Catholic Church’s social mission. Caruso and
Lewis related public policy concerns during this year’s
General Assembly session, which began Jan. 14.
Catholic Advocacy Day will take place Jan. 29, starting with
an 8:45 a.m. briefing at the SunTrust Center in Richmond and
followed by legislator visits at the General Assembly
Building. Advocates from across Virginia are encouraged to
participate, with registration required by Jan. 23.
Representing Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde and Richmond
Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo, the VCC aims to bring respect
life, social justice, and family life and education
initiatives before the Virginia General Assembly and the U.S.
Congress.
Father Creedon said that Catholic solidarity means fighting
against poverty, confronting “the empire of money,”
alleviating “painful immigrations,” ridding society of drugs
and violence, and helping those on the margins of society.
To segue into Caruso and Lewis’ presentation, Father Creedon
said, “We must (base) our engagement (in) the teachings of
Jesus … Let’s ground ourselves in Jesus.”
Caruso, VCC executive director, talked about the importance
of grass roots advocacy and making advocacy “mainstream.”
Together, Caruso and Lewis previewed several Catholic
advocacy priorities, addressing points in the VCC’s
legislative agenda, including abortion, human trafficking,
immigration, the death penalty, religious liberty, health
care and the environment.
Caruso explained that Catholic advocates must consider state
laws practically and what can reasonably be achieved, saying
that the most realistic approach is to “protect gains made
over the last few years.”
One issue of VCC compromise is the death penalty.
“We oppose all use of the death penalty,” said Caruso, “but
some of you may have heard that Virginia is a really tough
environment.”
Virginia is one of the states most likely to use capital
punishment. Caruso said the VCC hopes it can restrict
Virginia’s use of the death penalty to cases based on
biological, rather than circumstantial, evidence.
Financial concerns also may restrict what the VCC may
accomplish this session.
“We are looking for a standalone human trafficking law in
Virginia,” said Caruso. “Virginia is the only state in the
United States without one, which gets in the way of
prosecuting to the fullest extent possible. A bill (for the
law) will cost money – a big barrier because of the state’s
current budget situation (with cutbacks.)”
During the question-and-answer session, audience members
asked about the VCC’s stance on additional topics, such as
minimum wage, rehousing veterans, gun violence and uranium
mining.
The topic of school choice laws as a matter of religious
liberty also arose.
“Catholic schools are not for the elite,” said Father
Creedon, explaining that a family’s financial situation
should not prevent children from receiving a Catholic school
education.
“We support school choice laws as broadly as possible,” said
Caruso. “Parents have the primary responsibility for choosing
education for their children. It is our priority to continue
to ensure that the school choice program is working better
and better.”
The bulk of the questions involved clarification on health
care, including Medicaid.
“It is unconscionable that so many people in the commonwealth
do not have health care coverage,” said Caruso.
“It makes financial and moral sense,” said Lewis. “Whether
the state ponies up the money or not, we pay for it through
emergency rooms.”
In Father Creedon’s parting words at the program, he said he
wants Catholic advocates to feel inspired by “charity and
justice” this legislative session.
Stoddard can be reached at [email protected].
Find out more
Learn more about Catholic Advocacy Day at the Virginia
General Assembly at vacatholic.org. Follow the VCC on
Twitter @VACatholicConf for Catholic Advocacy Day updates
marked with #CatholicAdvocacyDay.
