Catholics urged to promote culture of life with lawmakers

The Archdiocese of New Orleans was strongly represented in terms of the number of people attending and their commitment to learning how Catholic Social Justice teachings apply in the political arena at the Louisiana State Capitol during the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishop’s (LCCB) third annual Louisiana Faithful Citizenship Day on April 17.  

The number of participants, who came from all over the state, was more than doubled from last year, from 38 at last year’s event to 92 this year, according to LCCB. 

Among those making the trip from the archdiocese to Baton Rouge for the 2024 regular legislative session were representatives of Catholic Charities, the archdiocesan Department of Catholic Education and Christian Formation, Christian Brothers School, Citizens for Educational Choice, Aspiring Scholars, the Jesuit Social Research Institute at Loyola University New Orleans, religious women’s congregations and parishioners from area churches. 

Many students from Archbishop Rummel High School came and were accompanied by theology teacher Lee Baker, affectionately known as “Brother B,” and Jay Roth, Rummel’s  athletic director and a recent inductee to the Louisiana High School Athletic High School Association Hall of Fame.

The day, themed, “Send a Clear, Consistent, Life Ethic Message,” began at St. Joseph Cathedral Parish Hall. 

Tom Costanza, LCCB executive director, began his welcome by noting the youthful presence from Archbishop Rummel as well as Notre Dame High School in Crowley.

“It’s great to see so many young faces,” Costanza said. 

Costanza’s overview of LCCB’s priorities at this year’s Louisiana regular legislative session included:

Life and dignity of the human person: Protecting life from conception to natural death; 

Call to family: Parental choice in education and assisting pregnant and parenting moms;

Option for the poor and vulnerable: Improving wages for struggling families and addressing poverty;

Solidarity in restorative justice: Improving mental health, victims’ services, re-entry and juvenile justice programs.

Armed with prayer and information, the attendees then walked down the street to the capitol to sit in on committee hearings on topics of interest for them.

Sister of the Holy Faith Maura O’Donovan, leader of the grassroots Burning Bush, a ministry dedicated to ending violence, followed legislation that either supports or threatens human dignity.

“I was born during World War II,” Sister Maura said. “As a child, I didn’t understand everything that was happening. But when I began to read and be interested in the world around me, what had gone on in the world just at my doorstep (such as the Holocaust), I was horrified that such things could happen.”

She added, “A lot of work can be done in our churches, our faith communities, and I’m not just talking about Catholic churches, to help people realize they have a voice and the importance of exercising it.”

Feeling a call to support families prompted Nyler Williams, a member of St. Joan of Arc Church in LaPlace, to attend the educational committee hearings.

“I was overjoyed to see our students here today,” said Williams. “This is an important part of keeping our youth engaged in our faith and building up our communities.”

Stephanie Mills, associate division director of Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans (CCANO), had researched the topics that would be addressed by the legislators and saw that the church’s social justice teachings and Catholic Charities’ mission are aligned with each other.

“Our mission is that we are impelled by the love and teachings of Jesus Christ, while respecting the dignity and potential of our people, and we collaborate to offer life, giving programs that advocate for the voiceless and empower the vulnerable to foster a just society,” she said. “And I think (the focus of the day) touched on so many different areas on this.”

Mills encouraged people to witness the legislative process in action.

“It was an important experience to let our voices be heard as Catholics and to be able to hold our legislators accountable for the decisions that they're making and let them know disapproval or approval of those legislations that they're putting forth,” Mills said.

Likewise, Douglas Kariker, case management worker for CCANO, found the committee hearings to be exciting and heartwarming.

“While in one of the sessions there was a vote in favor of a bill that the LCCB was supporting,” said Kariker. “The person sitting at the desk advocating for the passage of this bill cried when the vote was taken, and there was unanimous approval. There were a lot of teary eyes in the committee room.”  

After attending the morning session, the group returned to St. Joseph Cathedral for Mass, celebrated by Baton Rouge Bishop Michael G. Duca, and heard from and visited with Catholic legislators during lunch. Attendees returned to the capitol and in a proud moment were recognized by the House of Representatives.

The participants described the day as a well-rounded experience in approaching the political realm through a faith-based perspective.

“The turnout of almost 100 Catholics from across the state committed to learning more about how they can advocate for just government policies at this year’s Faithful Citizenship was amazing,” said Dr. Susan Weishar from the Jesuit Social Research Institute at Loyola. “I know that for the past three years, (Costanza) has been working hard to engage people in the pews in public policy advocacy with frequent ‘action alert’ emails, weekly video updates, and his accessibility to other organizations working for the common good – and it has really paid off.

“I came away from the day with a renewed appreciation of how the social teachings of the Catholic Church can provide a beautiful, coherent, and practical ‘road map’ for building a more just and humane society.”

The current legislative session is scheduled to end Monday, June 3. To track action taken on bills and other information, visit legis.la.gov/legis.

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