Catholics, Visible

This week's issue of The Evangelist contains a front page article on the upcoming Public Policy Day in Albany.

When 1,000 Catholics from across New York State descend on the State Capitol in Albany on March 13, they want to make sure lawmakers know about it.

The annual Public Policy Forum, at which Catholics lobby elected officials on issues of concern, has a new twist: Participants will wear "Catholic voter" buttons, bring cameras to have their pictures taken with legislators and generally make extra efforts to be noticed.

"We're changing the focus of the day to one of visibility and presence in the Capitol," noted Dennis Poust, director of communications for the New York State Catholic Conference, which sponsors the event. The Catholic Conference represents the state's bishops in public policy matters.
. . .
The agenda for the day focuses on seven issues of concern to Catholic voters:

* enacting tuition tax deductions for parents of students in independent and religious schools;

* opposing funding for human cloning and embryonic stem-cell research;

* expanding supports for low-income working families;

* boosting access to health care for the uninsured;

* protecting religious freedoms for healthcare and human service providers;

* increasing funding for education and treatment programs in the criminal justice system; and

* ending human trafficking and supporting its victims.

You can read more here.