The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Catholics @ the CapitolCatholics @ the Capitol2015 General Assembly2015 General Assembly
The Voice of Religion In the Public Square
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Created in 1968, CCK is the official public policy voice of the 4 Catholic dioceses in KY
CCK Board of Directors
Most Reverend Most ReverendJoseph E. Kurtz William F. MedleyArchbishop of Louisville Bishop of Owensboro
Reverend Most ReverendRobert Nieberding Roger J. FoysDiocesan Administrator, Lexington Bishop of Covington
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
CCK Staff
1042 Burlington LaneFrankfort, Kentucky 40601502 875 [email protected]
Jason D. HallExecutive Director
Andrew VandiverAssociate Director
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
We are asked to exercise Faithful Citizenship• We have the power to influence
…beyond what we know• It is about political responsibility
…not just about a particular election• We use very practical ways to influence
…public debate and policy• We have a consistent moral framework:
…the life and dignity of every person…the life and dignity of every person
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Moral principles of Scripture and
Catholic moral and social teaching • Right to life and dignity of human person• Family, community, participation• Rights and responsibility• Option for the poor and vulnerable• Dignity of work and rights of workers• Solidarity• Caring for God’s creation
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Themes provide moral framework
• “These themes from Catholic social teaching provide a moral framework that does not easily fit ideologies of “right” or “left,” “liberal” or “conservative,” or the platform of any political party. They are not partisan or sectarian, but reflect fundamental ethical principles that are common to all people.”
– Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States (2007), 55.
Pope Francis on Political Participation
In her dialogue with the State and with society, the Church does not have solutions for every particular issue. Together with the various sectors of society, she supports those programs which best respond to the dignity of each person and the common good. In doing this, she proposes in a clear way the fundamental values of human life and convictions which can then find expression in political activity. - Evangelii Gaudium, 241
The Common GoodThe Common Good is “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfilment more fully and more easily.” - Gaudium et Spes, 26
The Common GoodTo take a stand for the common good is on the one hand to be solicitous for, and on the other hand to avail oneself of, that complex of institutions that give structure to the life of society, juridically, civilly, politically and culturally, making it the pólis, or “city”. The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbours, the more effectively we love them.Every Christian is called to practise this charity, in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields in the pólis. This is the institutional path — we might also call it the political path — of charity, no less excellent and effective than the kind of charity which encounters the neighbour directly, outside the institutional mediation of the pólis. When animated by charity, commitment to the common good has greater worth than a merely secular and political stand would have. - Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, 7
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Recent Victories
• Human Trafficking• Religious Freedom Restoration Act• DNA Testing• First ever hearing on abolition of death
penalty• Creation of state health care
exchange/expansion of Medicaid• Juvenile Justice
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
CCK Legislative Agenda• Women Have a Right to Know• Abolish the Death Penalty• Parents Have a Right to Choose• Cap Payday Lending• Restoration of Voting Rights &
Expungement• Tax Reform (EITC) & Minimum Wage
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Protecting Human LifeWomen Have a Right to Know
• The patient has the right to and is encouraged to obtain from doctors and other direct caregivers– appropriate, current, and understandable information about diagnosis,
treatment, and prognosis. Except in emergencies when the patient lacks decision-making ability and the need for treatment is urgent, the patient is
– entitled to the chance to discuss and request information about the specific procedures and/or treatments, the risks involved, the possible length of recuperation, and the medically reasonable alternatives and their risks and benefits. Patients have the right to know the identity of doctors, nurses, and others involved in their care, as well as when those involved are students, patients, or other trainees. The patient also has the right to know the immediate and long-term financial implications of treatment choices, insofar as they are known.
American Hospital Association Patient Bill of Rightshttp://mhcc.maryland.gov/consumerinfo/hospitalguide/patients/consumer_help/bill_of_rights.htm -
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
• This legislative proposal advocates for good medical practice as promoted by the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure. This state agency is responsible for protecting the public by ensuring that only qualified medical and osteopathic physicians are licensed. On its website it states that it uses its newsletter to “provide important information to physicians practicing in the state.” In its Fall 2004 newsletter the Board expressed how important it is for patients to have a face-to-face evaluation with health care professionals:
– Consumers obtaining prescriptions, medications, and/or medical treatment from Internet web sites without an adequate evaluation by a physician pose an immediate threat to the public health and safety….The Board feels a valid physician/patient relationship cannot be established without an initial face-to-face evaluation by a health care professional.
Women Have a Right to Know
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Women Have a Right to Know• 311.725 Requirement of voluntary and informed written consent for
abortion -- Cabinet's duty to produce and make available informational materials -- Abortions in medical emergencies.
– (1) No abortion shall be performed or induced except with the voluntary and informed written consent of the woman upon whom the abortion is to be performed or induced. Except in the case of a medical emergency, consent to an abortion is voluntary and informed if and only if:
• (a) At least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the abortion, a physician, licensed nurse, physician assistant, or social worker to whom the responsibility has been delegated by the physician has verbally informed the woman of all of the following:
– 1. The nature and purpose of the particular abortion procedure or treatment to be performed and of those medical risks and alternatives to the procedure or treatment that a reasonable patient would consider material to the decision of whether or not to undergo the abortion;
– 2. The probable gestational age of the embryo or fetus at the time the abortion is to be performed; and
– 3. The medical risks associated with the pregnant woman carrying her pregnancy to term;
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Women Have a Right to Know• (b) At least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the abortion, in an
individual, private setting, a physician, licensed nurse, physician assistant, or social worker to whom the responsibility has been delegated by the physician has informed the pregnant woman that:
– 1. The cabinet publishes the printed materials described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) of this section and that she has a right to review the printed materials and that copies will be provided to her by the physician, licensed nurse, physician assistant, or social worker free of charge if she chooses to review the printed materials;
– 2. Medical assistance benefits may be available for prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care, and that more detailed information on the availability of such assistance is contained in the printed materials published by the cabinet; and
– 3. The father of the fetus is liable to assist in the support of her child, even in instances where he has offered to pay for the abortion;
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Women Have a Right to Know
• “in an individual, private setting” – the court has said this can be a recorded telephone message. And this has become the practice.– But, that means you cannot know if 24 hours has
elapsed since the phone call was made.– And the patient is unable to ask questions or
receive information specific to her medical history.
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Women Have a Right to Know• SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS
311.250 TO 311.379 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:– Anytime informed consent is required by law to be
given in an individual private setting, the informed consent shall be valid only when a physician or physician's agent has a face-to-face meeting with the patient and both parties are physically located in the same room.
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Women Have a Right to Know• This law will better protect the rights of women in the process of
making a decision that is not reversible.• We believe it reduces the number of babies aborted and
therefore the post-abortion trauma that we know to be sadly real for some women.
• Recent studies show with greater certainty that pro-life legislation has been effective in reducing the number of abortions that have taken place.
(See “USING NATURAL EXPERIMENTS TO ANALYZE THE IMPACT OF STATE LEGISLATION ON THE INCIDENCE OF ABORTION” by MICHAEL J. NEW, PH.D.,
Heritage Center Report, January 2006.)
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Protecting Human LifeAbolish the Death Penalty
• Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person.
Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm—without definitively taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself—the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically non-existent."
Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Abolish the Death Penalty• the cases in which the
execution of the offender is an absolute necessity “are very rare, if not practically non-existent.”
– Timothy McVeigh– Saddam Hussein
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Abolish the Death Penalty• The practice of capital punishment does not foster respect
for human life. Killing as a solution cheapens that respect. To meet violence with violence entrenches a mentality that constricts a society’s moral imagination to seek alternatives to violent solutions.
• Our opposition to capital punishment is inspired by a gospel value – "no human life, no matter how wretched or how miserable, no matter how sinful or lacking in love, is without worth; no one is beyond realizing and receiving Christ's redemptive grace of conversion at any moment during life."
• Abolishing capital punishment would become a step towards breaking the cycle of violence.
REVERENCE FOR LIFE: THE PURSUIT OF JUSTICE A Pastoral Letter from the Catholic Bishops of Kentucky
November 1999
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Abolish the Death PenaltyKentucky Assessment Team on the Death Penalty
• Linda Ewald, Co-Chair, University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, Louisville
• Michael J. Z. Mannheimer, Co-Chair, Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Highland Heights
• Hon. Michael Bowling, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, Middlesboro
• Allison Connelly, University of Kentucky College of Law, Lexington
• Hon. Martin E. Johnstone, KentuckySupreme Court (Retired), Prospect
• Hon. James Keller, Kentucky SupremeCourt (Retired), Lexington
• Frank Hampton Moore, Jr., Cole & Moore, P.S.C., Bowling Green
• Marcia Milby Ridings, Hamm, Milby &Ridings, London
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Abolish the Death PenaltyKentucky Assessment Team on the Death Penalty
• More than a 60% error rate in capital sentencing• Inadequate Retention of Evidence• Law Enforcement Inadequately Protects Against
Wrongful Convictions• Inconsistent Application of the Death Penalty• Judges fail to instruct jurors adequately about
sentencing guidelines• Public Defender caseloads exceed national standards• No statewide standards regarding defense attorney
qualifications• Mentally disabled are subject to execution• Lack of data-keeping to ensure system is fair and
effective
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Abolish the Death PenaltyOther Voices Raising Concerns
Kentucky Commission on Human Rights – October 17, 2012“The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights urges members of the
Kentucky General Assembly to repeal the law allowing the use of the death penalty and calls upon the Governor to sign the same.”New York Times: Kentucky’s Egregious Death Penalty – October 25
“Kentucky can ensure that heinous criminals are no longer threats to society by sentencing them to life without parole. It is time for the state to end the death penalty.”Prosecutors: Ky. capital punishment unfair (Lexington HL) – March 7
“The hallmark of our criminal justice system is that its process is fair and its results are reliable and accurate. Our reversal rate undermines this hallmark. These troubling issues in capital cases must be addressed now.”
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Promoting Family LifeParents Have a Right to Choose
In Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship the U. S. Bishops teach the following about the education of children: “Parents—the first and most important educators—have a fundamental right to choose the education best suited to the needs of their children, including public, private, and religious schools. Government, through such means as tax credits and publicly funded scholarships, should help provide resources for parents, especially those of modest means, to exercise this basic right without discrimination. Students in all educational settings should have opportunities for moral and character formation.” (FCFC, 72.)
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Parents Have a Right to Choose
We want to influence public policy for all the children of KY: students in our public schools and our non-public schools
– Education business tax credit
– Busing subsidy
Government, through such means as tax credits and publicly funded scholarships, should help provide resources for parents, especially those of modest means, to exercise this basic right without discrimination.
Cap Payday Lending• Payday loans are 2-4 week loans at $15
per $100 borrowed• Effective interest rate of 391%• State database shows borrowers are
often trapped in debt cycle• Congress has limited rates to 36% for
military families
Restorative Justice• Kentucky one of only three states to bar
felons from voting for life• HB 70 would provide for automatic
restoration for all but very serious crimes• Expungement would allow felons who
don’t re-offend a chance at better employment and greater self-sufficiency
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Principles of Tax Reform
• Spending should first assure that the basic needs of all people - especially those who are poor and vulnerable - are addressed as a priority before other appropriations are made
• All citizens and corporations have the right and responsibility to contribute to the common good through the payment of taxes
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Principles of Tax Reform
• The State of KY should seek and maintain revenues sufficient to meet the basic needs of all, especially the poor and vulnerable
• Taxation in any form should be based on one’s ability to pay
• All forms of taxation should be fair and just in their treatment of the poor
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Principles and Prudential Judgment
• Policy issues like tax reform involve the exercise of prudential judgment
• The principles should be honored but individuals may disagree about the best way to honor them and achieve other goals, such as economic growth
• A tax reform proposal must be evaluated comprehensively, looking at its overall effect in relation to our principles
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Principles and Prudential Judgment
• For example, expanding the sales tax base, on its own, violates our principles due to its regressive nature
• However, as part of a larger package that included an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, it might be acceptable.
Earned Income Tax Credit
• Historically has attracted bipartisan support• Encourages work and development of skills• Is “refundable”• Is proven to reduce poverty and its effects -
number of children in poverty would be 25% higher if not for federal EITC
• State EITC would help offset negative effects of proposals like a local option sales tax
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
The Way We Do Things Is Important• Involved in the political process but not
partisan, never championing any candidate or party
• Church is principled but not ideological• Clear about moral teaching but always civil,
practice virtues of justice and charity, work with others
• Engaged in the political process but not used
Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States (2007), 58-60.
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Communication To Legislators:Start with a Thanks
We appreciate your service to the public and your building up of the common good!
The Voice of ReligionIn the Public Square www.ccky.org
Goals of Meeting with Your State Senator and State Representative• Communicate information; • Dispel myths; • Respond to questions; • Emphasize your significance;• Express availability as resource during legislative
session;• Begin to develop a relationship for the long haul.