By: Chris Pinkalla, Legislative Communication Intern, Texas Catholic Conference

Hundreds of Catholics, from all walks of life, accompanied by nine Catholic Bishops, traveled to Austin from all around Texas to advocate for the legislative priorities of the Texas Bishops for the Catholic Faith in Action Advocacy Day on April 6, 2011.

Kicking off the day, the Bishops passionately spoke to the great moral and social challenges facing our state on the South Steps of the Capitol at a rally and press conference. They addressed a wide range of diverse issues including the state budget, sonogram access, payday lending, immigration, an education tax credit program, human trafficking, and the death penalty.

“We’ve trained well…we’re delighting in this sun, but we know there might be a rainy day in sight,” said Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, referring to the current debate on the state budget and the controversy over the use of the Rainy Day Fund.

“We don’t leave our faith at the doorsteps of our churches, our homes…It also enters into the public square, [and] together we can make our case known, about the elements of our moral and social teaching that are important in the State of Texas…[because] the centerpiece of our teaching is so simple, elegant, and profound… the human person, whether that person doesn’t have a voice yet in the womb, whether they are aging and in a nursing home, whether in need of education, whether that person is a frightened immigrant, whatever, it’s the person and their human rights that motivate what we do as the foundation of our Catholic social teaching…” said Cardinal DiNardo. (Photo right: Jeff Dixon, East Texas Catholic)

At the conference, the Bishops also released an interfaith statement on the state budget. “The state budget is a moral document that reflects the priorities and values of our state,” the faith leaders explained. “We urge our state leaders to look at these choices from the ‘bottom-up,’ by protecting and defending the life and dignity of the poorest and most vulnerable who have little legislative presence or representation.”

The multitudes of faithful citizens were easily identified, each adorned with their blue Advocacy Day shirts as they rallied, holding up signs with poignant messages. As lights flashed and cameras snapped the ongoing activities, spiritual and responsible citizenship was represented in not only the adult demographic, but was also vastly present in the leaders of tomorrow, our youth.

A large group of students were staged on the Capitol South steps during the press conference and rally, and held signs covering several of the Bishop’s agenda priorities. Several seventh grade students from St. Austin’s Catholic School (Diocese of Austin) came to the rally prepared on the issues from the Bishop’s agenda, having previously held debates and discussions in class leading up to Advocacy Day. Each student took a second to speak with me about what they learned about specific legislative concerns. These spry fourteen-year olds were more than impressive as they spoke on their political and spiritual beliefs. 

As the Senate Chamber stirred with advocates filling seats before Bishop Daniel Flores from the Diocese of Brownsville offered the opening prayer, Derrick James, a high school senior from St. Pius X (Houston), accompanied by two friends from his social and moral issues course said, “We’re at Advocacy Day to just experience this special event, and we’re eager to learn more and possibly participate in some legislative office visits.” (Photo left: Jeff Dixon, East Texas Catholic)

The Senate Chamber walls were lined with Catholic advocates convening to witness Senator Eddie Lucio, (Brownsville) introduce Senate Resolution 717, recognizing the members of the Texas Catholic Conference Advocacy Day.

One of the students attending the Day from the Highlands School (Irving) was eighteen-year-old senior, Anne Johnson, who offered her perspective on continuing faithful citizenship after Advocacy Day, “I will continue updating myself about what bills are on the table or what’s been passed, keeping in contact with the Representatives and Senators from my area, contacting them about what’s happening, and letting them know how I feel about what should be voted for.”

Her classmate Teresa Sauzen, when asked what she would take away most from Advocacy Day to share with others, added, “I have received a great understanding of how important it is to be a voice for Catholic doctrine and for the Bishops in political life, also an understanding of how my vote matters and how it should reflect what I believe in regards to religion and politics.”

Catarina Torres, the Missions/Social Concerns Coordinator for the Catholic Charities of Dallas and the diocesan coordinator for the Diocese of Dallas, gave veteran insight on how faithful citizenship was demonstrated during all of the Advocacy Day activities saying, “We had the neat opportunity to share a little bit about what our faith teaches us on rational and pragmatic levels to legislators…[and]… for the participants it was very impressionable having eight Bishops and the Cardinal up there [at the rally]…seeing them putting their mark on the issues really helps people identify with those issues as Catholics, and to see students participating in government and getting a sense of what that means was really exciting.”

About a month ago I joined the team at the Texas Catholic Conference, and from day one I felt grateful to be given the opportunity to contribute in the planning and execution of Advocacy Day this 82^nd Legislative session, and what an experience it was! I wasn’t sure of the magnitude of this event until it was over. Before taking the interview at the Conference, I was previously unaware of its existence, but as I learned about the issues they passionately advocated for, and their relentless commitment to understanding and influencing key legislation as it passes through the various stages of the legislative process in Texas, I was really glad to be part of the staff. I’ve learned and experienced first-hand how the moral and social teachings of the Catholic Church plays a role in shaping public policy. Specifically, the mission of the Conference has been a refreshing experience, mostly because of the moral and social issues I’ve been able to serve in a bipartisan manner. My assignments in the weeks leading up to Advocacy Day consisted of all kinds of engaging responsibilities like organizing press packets, dropping off invitations to legislative offices at the capitol, sitting in on weekly conference calls with the participating dioceses, and much more. Anticipation soon mounted for the actual day, as I took on a project to take video for Advocacy Day to create some useful videos for next session. In final, I think Advocacy Day was an incredible success and was an honor to take part in. I am also astounded with the contribution that came from all the different dioceses.

Just because Advocacy day is over doesn't mean that advocacy work for the session is over! View our action alerts page and our news blog often for updates on how you can continue to advocate for the Bishops' public policy priorities. You can also sign up for our Texas Catholic Voice e-newsletter to get updates and action alerts from us.