The 2024 election will determine not only our next U.S. president but also numerous elected officials at the local, state and federal levels. As Minnesotans prepare to vote, we as Catholics are called to do so with a focus on the dignity of the human person, recognizing that every person is made in the image and likeness of God.
With the Minnesota Legislature midway through its 2024 legislative session and deciding what bills to advance, the state’s Catholic bishops are urging lawmakers to support legislation that serves the common good, protects religious liberty and strengthens families.
Excitement about the impacts of the National Eucharistic Revival in local dioceses, support for the nomination of St. John Henry Newman as a doctor of the church, and the approval of supplements to the bishops' teaching document on "Faithful Citizenship" featured strongly on the second day of the U.S. bishops' annual fall plenary assembly in Baltimore.
A central aspect of the 2023 Minnesota legislative session was determining the state’s budget for the next two years, including what to do with a large surplus that began emerging in 2020.
The U.S. bishops' quadrennial document on Catholic participation in public life will get a tweaking rather than a wholesale update, but will be supplemented with a new introductory note, parish bulletin inserts, additional social media and video components.
American Catholics have a dual heritage, said Ryan Hamilton, government relations associate for the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public policy voice of the state’s Catholic bishops.
We are often asked — by both laity and priests — why the Minnesota Catholic Conference does not produce voter guides or candidate scoresheets that identify candidates and votes they took on specific bills or lay out their positions on issues. Understandably so, the frequency of this query tends to grow in the weeks leading up to a big election.
On the Feb. 12 episode of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show, host Patrick Conley asked Archbishop Bernard Hebda if he remembered the first time he met with his elected officials. Yes, he did, the archbishop said: He was a high school student.
The U.S. bishops' quadrennial document on political responsibility, "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship," has been widely embraced and shared by dioceses hoping to inject wisdom and clarity into the run-up to the November general election.
Suzanne Bartels, a parishioner of St. Paul in Ham Lake, is deep into planning ways to help her fellow Catholics become better informed about political issues and candidates. After all, the Nov. 3 election is fast approaching.
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