The elections are over, bills are being drafted, and before we know it, the 82^nd Texas Legislative Session will be here. This year’s Texas House general election results have left Capitol observers and advocates scrambling to rethink their strategy and priorities. As a part of this post-game analysis several people have contacted the Texas Catholic Conference, the public policy voice of the Roman Catholic Bishops of Texas, to ask how the election results affect its approach to the upcoming session.

“For us, the answer is simple: we will continue to advocate for the fullness of the Bishops’ legislative agenda,” said Jennifer Carr Allmon, Associate Director of the Texas Catholic Conference. “In the same way that we don’t get involved in recommendations for the election, we also don’t make predictions about the fate of our issues based on the election outcomes. Keeping in mind the instructions of St. Paul to Timothy (2 Tim 4:1-5), we will be persistent in season and out of season, whether convenient or inconvenient, to fulfill our ministry of proclaiming church teaching to the people of Texas. We congratulate all the election winners and we look forward to working with them this session. We thank the legislators who are moving on for their service.”

The Texas Catholic Conference reads all legislation filed and monitors issues pertaining to Catholic moral and social teachings as well as the institutional concerns of the Catholic Church. The Conference encourages all Catholics to be faithful citizens and continue to engage in advocacy during and after the legislative session.

“Why do we advocate?” asked Cardinal Daniel DiNardo at the Conference’s Annual General Assembly. “Because religion is part of the public square.” At the General Assembly, diocesan staff learned about issues in the upcoming session, as well as discussed organizing for the 2011 Texas Catholic Conference Advocacy Day, which will be held on April 6, 2011.

Visit the Texas Catholic Conference web site at www.TXcatholic.org to learn more about Advocacy Day as well as the other resources and opportunities for Catholics to get involved as faithful citizens. The web site includes the Conference’s Legislative Agenda, policy papers (two-page documents that provide Catholic teaching and other information on the issues), previous testimony, and options to search issues by topic area.

The Conference also publishes the Texas Catholic Voice e-newsletter and Action alerts to help Catholics stay abreast of relevant issues. You can also subscribe to the Texas Catholic Voice, by clicking the “Get Involved” banner at www.TXcatholic.org or by texting your email address to 512-537-9882.You can also find the TCC on Facebook

(www.facebook.com/TXcatholic) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/TXcatholic).