How the Minnesota Catholic Conference prioritizes advocacy resources

One of the biggest complaints that Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC) staff receives, from both the public and legislators, about our public policy work is that “we are not doing enough” about a particular issue, usually the most cherished issue for that person at that moment.

The complaint is implicitly a compliment because it speaks to our effectiveness in moving the needle on a variety of issues, which is genuinely unique at the Capitol. Last year, for example, we helped protect nonpublic pupil aid for Catholic schools and played a significant role in stopping the legalization of predatory online gambling, among other things.

But the complaint also has merit, because we do not and cannot do enough on many issues. Advocacy is a grit and hustle, high-contact sport. Until you have won the day, you can almost always “do more” — more legislative conversations, more grassroots engagement, more media relations. Further, in public policy, there are no ultimate victories or defeats. One may suffer setbacks, but matters of justice demand perseverance.

There is no religious community in Minnesota that puts more organizational resources into the work of public policy advocacy. Yes, there are faith-based advocacy organizations that may expend more resources, but in terms of a specific faith community or church, the Catholic Church has a dedicated public policy apparatus, which is why faith communities of all stripes look to us as an organizer and leader.

And yet, our office is still very small with only one truly full-time employee and a handful of dedicated part-time staff. For context, there have been nearly 8,000 bills introduced at the Capitol this biennium, and through which our small team must identify what is truly pressing.

When working with our state’s bishops to develop our limited legislative agenda, we evaluate issues based on their direct impact on human dignity and the common good, their urgency in terms of their place in the legislative process, and how many other organizations are weighing in on them. Often, our office must devote limited resources and provide leadership on important matters for which there are very few other people or organizations engaged. Many of those issues are related to direct attacks on human life and public support programs that go directly to citizens (instead of special interest groups) — issues like assisted-suicide legalization, school-choice programs, and anti-poverty programs like the child tax credit and the Minnesota Family Investment Program.

Increasingly, the Church also faces religious liberty threats against our ministries in the forms of discriminatory mandates, funding cuts, and litigation. It’s not uncommon that our limited bandwidth gets diverted to those matters as well.

The reality, however, is that it is not the purpose of the institutional Church and the bishops to win the day in the public arena. The purpose of the Church is not to fight against legal abortion or for immigration reform. It is to make Jesus Christ known and loved and incorporate more people into the kingdom and fellowship of the Church. While the work of politics is one way we do that, we ultimately do so out of our love of neighbor. We organize, in a limited way, public policy efforts which, much like the Church’s anti-poverty, health care, and educational ministries, are an exercise of true charity in the hope of building a more just social order.

As Pope Benedict XVI stated in his encyclical “Deus Caritas Est”: “The Church cannot and must not take upon herself the political battle to bring about the most just society possible. She cannot and must not replace the State. Yet at the same time she cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. She has to play her part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice, which always demands sacrifice, cannot prevail and prosper. A just society must be the achievement of politics, not of the Church. Yet the promotion of justice through efforts to bring about openness of mind and will to the demands of the common good is something which concerns the Church deeply.”

Final note: We need your help

Political engagement is primarily the responsibility of the laity. We encourage the lay faithful to be involved in the Church’s work through MCC’s Catholic Advocacy Network (CAN) to bring attention to important issues that the media sometimes ignore; be bridge builders and voices of conscience; and elevate the debate. Joining CAN is a great place to start. If you are dissatisfied with the level of engagement by the bishops and their staff on a particular issue, feel free to let us know — but recognize that the just ordering of society is a responsibility we all share, which is why the Church calls us to be faithful citizens. The next step is up to you.