Inside the Capitol

Aiding Shelter Providers

Our Catholic faith calls us to shelter the homeless. Despite many charities living out this corporal work of mercy, the need continues to grow. Our partners at Catholic Charities Twin Cities tell us the number of people living without shelter in the Twin Cities has increased 50 percent between 2019 and 2020. Homelessness is also on the rise in greater Minnesota with a 32 percent increase over the same period of time.

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There are only two things that are certain in life: death and taxes, as the saying goes. But our state government must also accomplish one other thing. A budget. And, it must be balanced, so says our state’s constitution. This is currently what our state legislature is trying to sort out.

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Supporting School Choice

National School Choice Week is underway (January 24-30). Minnesota legislators have introduced multiple bills aimed at creating more educational opportunities for students. In the House, H.F. 153, authored by Representatives Robbins, Dettmer, and Koznick, would make nonpublic schools a more affordable option by extending the education tax credit to include tuition as an eligible expense. In the Senate, the Education Committee Chairman, Senator Roger Chamberlain, has introduced a bill that would stimulate the creation of more opportunity scholarships by providing tax credits for donors to scholarship granting organizations such as the Aim Higher Foundation.

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Mass Cap Lifted

More Minnesota Catholics can attend Mass at a single time starting Monday, January 11. This change to Governor Tim Walz’s COVID-19 restrictions came after the Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC) – on behalf of several religious communities – requested the administration remove the 250-person cap on religious gatherings. Masses across the state remain limited to a 50 percent capacity.

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“In the Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation.” (USCCB, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, 13)

Early voting has begun in Minnesota.  Voting is an important component of representative government.  Those chosen for elected office are entrusted to make decisions that should protect the life and dignity of the human person from conception to natural death and advance the common good for all.

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Jason Adkins, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, addressed questions about Catholics and political life — including voting according to Catholic values— ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Nov. 3. A version of Adkins’ responses was first published in the September issue of “The Big Question” series in The Central Minnesota Catholic, magazine of the Diocese of St. Cloud.

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By: David Crawford, Michael Hanby and Margaret Harper McCarthy

The commonplace assumption of American liberalism, that courts merely preside over contests of rights, conceals the limitless power of the judiciary to decide questions of truth without thinking deeply or even honestly about them. Bostock v. Clayton County is a case in point. Justice Gorsuch claims, in writing for the majority, that the Court’s decision to include LGBT identity under Title VII’s definition of “sex” is a narrow ruling about “sex discrimination” in employment, leaving concerns like locker rooms and religious liberty for future litigation. 

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Our families have emerged as many people’s primary community during the COVID-19 pandemic. This fits the family’s natural role in society, but the change has not been easy. Many families have experienced new challenges amid COVID-19.

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