Recent statements/events

Health Care
The public policy arm of the Catholic Church in Iowa, the Iowa Catholic Conference, is urging people to call Senators Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley, urging them to pass a health care bill that excludes abortion and preserves conscience protections. They can be reached at (202) 224-3121.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued an alert related to this, which outlines Catholic Church teaching as it relates to health care.

Bishop William Murphy, the U.S. bishops' domestic policy chair, outlined policy priorities for health care in a letter to members of Congress in July.

Catholic Charities urges health care reform consistent with Catholic Church teaching.

Bishop Pates on Oct. 30 encouraged people to contact their U.S. Representatives and Senators about pending health care reform legislation. See the press release and a copy of the bulletin insert in English and Spanish.

Marriage
Bishop Pates issued a statement on the Supreme Court ruling about gay marriage. 
To read the statment from the four bishops of Iowa click here.
Here is a statement from the Iowa Catholic Conference on the Supreme Court ruling about gay marriage.

Life issues
Bishop Pates encourages people to check out the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' website to inform people about the federal proposal to rescind regulations on conscience protection. Check out the bishops' position.

Immigration
Bishop Pates offered an opinion that was printed May 12 in the Des Moines Register, the first anniversary of the Postville, Iowa immigration raid.

Click here to see the statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on the first anniversary of the Postville raid.

The Iowa bishops, through the Iowa Catholic Conference have revised their 2006 statement on immigration. See the new version.

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Justice for Immigrants: A Journey of Hope campaign is designed to unite and mobilize Catholic institutions, individuals, and other persons of good faith in support of a broad legalization program and comprehensive immigration reform. 

Death Penalty
Catholic Campaign To End the Use of the Death PenaltyBishop Charron's letter on the death penalty

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Information on the Church's social teaching 

The Church’s social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. As a part of their mission to the world, Catholics have a right and duty to promote and live out the social teachings of the Church, especially in regard to the life and dignity of the human person. It is appropriate for parishes to express the principles of Catholic social teaching, encourage voter participation, and express the church’s support or opposition to ballot measures.

The Iowa Catholic Conference (ICC) is a service organization for the Catholic Church in Iowa. The staff works at the direction of the bishops of Iowa to ensure that the Catholic Church stays up-to-date and active on both Iowa legislative issues and federal issues that affect the Catholic Church and its people. The (ICC) serves as a lobbyist in the Iowa legislature on issues important to the Catholic Church. The ICC’s web site is www.iowacatholicconference.org.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ web site, www.usccb.org, and the web site for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Social Justice, www.osjspm.org, are also excellent resources.

Click here for the Catholic Charities page.

Key Themes

Here are highlights of several of the key themes that are at the heart of our Catholic social tradition:

Life and Dignity of the Human Person The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. Our belief in the sanctity of human life and the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortion and assisted suicide. The value of human life is being threatened by increasing use of the death penalty. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.

Call to Family, Community, and Participation The person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society in economics and politics, in law and policy directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. The family is the central social institution that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable.

Rights and Responsibilities The Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Therefore, every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities to one another, to our families, and to the larger society.

Option for the Poor and Vulnerable A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.

The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God's creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organize and join unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.

Solidarity We are our brothers' and sisters' keepers, wherever they live. We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. Learning to practice the virtue of solidarity means learning that "loving our neighbor" has global dimensions in an interdependent world.

Care for God's Creation We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God's creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored.