The group who traveled to the March 31 advocacy day in Austin included, from left to right, John Harris of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Geraldine McGloin of Corpus Christi Cathedral, Fran and Sam Dalton of St. Philip the Apostle and Philip Wright of St. Michael Latin Mass Community. Father Bill Marquis, parochial vicar of St. Philip, also attended.

Clad in bright blue t-shirts bearing the message "One Catholic Voice" and armed with information outlining the Texas Bishop's positions on various pieces of pending legislation, Texas Catholics descended upon the State Capitol to visit their representatives and make those positions known. The group, approximately, 350 people from 15 dioceses across the state, was part of the Texas Catholic Conference's Respect Life and Family Life Advocacy Day on March 31.

The day provided the state's Catholics an opportunity to engage in advocacy for Catholic positions on various issues such as abortion alternatives, the death penalty, and abstinence education within a supportive framework. Advocates were provided with Conference policy position papers on the various pieces of pending legislation. The material also cited the authority for the official church teaching, which forms the basis for the position.

Advocate teams were assigned to visit legislators representing their particular diocese. They were also provided stated religious preference of each. Appointments were made prior to their arrival at the Capitol. In many instances the legislators were on the floor at hearings or otherwise engaged in business but aides were available to meet with advocates, to discuss the issues and receive the policy position papers from an advocate/ constituent.

Teams of Advocates from Corpus Christi visited a number of legislators who represent parts of the 12 counties of the diocese: Included were: Able Herrero, District 34, Solomon Ortiz, Jr. District 33, Todd Hunter District 32, Geanie Morrison District 30, and Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, district 20.

There have been over 7,000 bills filed in the legislature this year. The Texas Catholic Conference has issued reports on approximately 300 either in support of or opposing. For the purposes of Advocacy Day the discussion was centered in three basic areas: Funding for Abortion Alternatives such as the Texas Pregnancy Care Network, and Twogether Texas. It also includes support for the creation of a "Choose Life" license plate with a positive message promoting adoption. A portion of the purchase price of every plate would be collected into an account from which grants would be distributed to charitable organization that help pregnant women place their children up for adoption.

The second category was the abolition of the death penalty in Texas. Information regarding the Church's position on the death penalty as well as other statistical information on the issue was included. The third category was the support of abstinence education. While the Bishops have not yet placed this issue on their legislative agenda the position of the Conference is to "support abstinence only education in public schools." There are several education bills now pending which the Conference supports and an equal number it opposes.

The mission of the Texas Catholic Conference is to encourage and foster cooperation and communication among the dioceses and the ministries of the Catholic Church of Texas and act as public policy voice for Bishops of Texas. It serves as the public policy arm before the Texas legislature, the Texas delegation in Congress, and state agencies. The public policy issues addressed by the Conference include institutional concerns of the Catholic Church as well as issues related to Catholic social teaching.

Among a myriad of activities the conference seeks to implement is the statement of Pope John Paul II in Cuba in 1988, "We do not demand that the Church have a dominant position in society, but rather that she occupy her rightful place in the midst of the people."

Plans also include implementing the teaching of Pope Benedict XVI in Sacramentun Caritatis "It is important to consider what the Synod Fathers described as Eucharistic Consistency, a quality which our lives are objectively called to embody, Worship pleasing to God can never be a purely private matter, without consequences for our relationships with others it demands a public witness to our faith".

Anyone interested in becoming an advocate may contact Sam Dalton with the Alliance for Human Life at the Chancery, 883-6191.