Faithful Citizenship

The issues, the candidates and your vote 2016

The Catholic Church has spoken in favor of health care access for nearly 100 years, first becoming active on the issue as far back as 1919. The social doctrine of the Church considers health care a basic human right, one that is necessary for the proper development of life and important for full human dignity.

In addressing the criminal justice system, the Church has called for an approach that promotes redemption, restoration, and rehabilitation rather than simply a mechanism of punishment.8 Offenders should be held accountable for their crimes, but also given the opportunity to grow, take responsibility, and demonstrate remorse for what they have done. Greater support needs to be given to programs that prevent crime, engage at-risk youth, and treat substance abuse.

In his 2014 message for World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Francis offers a reminder that Jesus, Mary and Joseph — the Holy Family — experienced first-hand the life of migrants. Today, many families migrate to the United States to flee religious persecution, economic depression, lack of resources and employment, unstable governments and dire poverty.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment in the State of Minnesota has continued its gradual decline from 5.1 percent in June 2013 to 4.5 percent in June 2014. Although unemployment has decreased and the economy continues to slowly recover, most of the economic gains have not been distributed across the socioeconomic spectrum.

Though Minnesota has historically been a leader in enacting pro-life legislation, those efforts have stalled in recent years. Bills that would have banned most abortions after 20 weeks; ended taxpayer funding of abortion; licensed and regulated abortion clinics; and prohibited coverage of abortion in the Minnesota health insurance exchange (MNSure) have either died in our state Senate or been vetoed by the governor.

In May 2013, the Minnesota Legislature redefined the state’s civil marriage laws to include same-sex couples. In many states around the country, federal judges are striking down marriage laws that limit marriage to the union of one man and one woman. Both are troublesome developments that favor altering the purpose and structure of the civil institution of marriage, changing it from an institution that primarily protects a child’s right to be known and cared for by his or her mother or father to one that is instead focused on merely endorsing the romantic inclinations of adults.

Providing a child with a quality education is one of the most important responsibilities of parents. In Catholic teaching, parents are the primary educators of their children. Policies are necessary that give parents the option to choose the educational setting they decide is best for each individual child. School choice programs are exploding around the country, with 18 states and the District of Columbia having enacted programs that give parents more educational options than just public schools. Almost every state in the Midwest is expanding parental choice in education, but Minnesota is lagging behind. The consequences of Minnesota’s failure to create educational opportunity are having enormous consequences on the most vulnerable.