2024 Iowa Catholic Conference
HUMAN LIFE AND DIGNITY
All men and women have been created in the image and likeness of God. Human life should be protected from conception until natural death as a basic requirement of a just and moral society.
- Every person has basic human rights and is entitled to basic human necessities, such as food, housing, clean water and air, education, health care, and productive work for fair wages.
- Threats to human life from abortion, the death penalty or assisted suicide are never acceptable.
Education
Parents have the right to choose the kind of education best suited to the needs of their children.
Racism
Racism, both individual and systemic, is an evil which endures in our society and should be condemned. Policies should be promoted that will combat racism and its effects in our civic and social institutions.
Care of Creation
God created the world and entrusted it to us as a gift. We have the responsibility to care for and protect it and all people, who are part of creation.
Economic Concerns
Government should give the needs of the poor and vulnerable preferential consideration.
Health Care
Health care is a human right and essential to protecting human life and dignity, especially for those who may be vulnerable, such as the elderly, the poor, and those with disabilities.
Immigration
“The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him” Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2241. The Church also recognizes the right of a sovereign nation to secure its borders in furtherance of the common good.
Marriage and Families
Public policy should do no harm to marriage. The first and fundamental structure is the family, “founded on marriage, in which the mutual gift of self by husband and wife creates an environment in which children can be born and develop their potentialities, become aware of their dignity and prepare to face their unique and individual destiny” Centesimus Annus, No. 39.
Religious Liberty
Government should recognize the First Amendment right of religious groups, including religious minorities, to practice their faith consistently in their personal and public lives.
Restorative Justice
Responsibility and rehabilitation are the foundations for the necessary reform of our broken criminal justice system. Restorative justice seeks to repair the harm that has been done to relationships in the aftermath of crime and works to reintegrate offenders into the community when possible.
Taxation
“Tax revenues and public spending take on crucial economic importance for every civil and political community. The goal to be sought is public financing that is itself capable of becoming an instrument of development and solidarity.” Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 355. A just and equitable system of taxation ensures that everyone contributes to society according to his or her ability to pay.
2024 Iowa Catholic Conference
Legislative Concerns
The Iowa Catholic Conference’s legislative priorities were formulated in consultation with its Human Life and Dignity Committee and Education Committee and approved by the Iowa Catholic Conference Board of Directors. Items may be added or withdrawn as the situation requires. For more information on taking action, consult the Iowa Catholic Conference website at www.iowacatholicconference.org.
The Iowa Catholic Conference supports:
• Public policies that assist parents in exercising their rights as the primary educators of their child.
• Increased funding for services to low-income preschool students
• Initiatives which would make health care more readily available and affordable to all Iowans, including immigrants and their children, and increase the availability of mental health care, palliative care and hospice service
• Limiting the harm of abortion to the greatest extent possible in Iowa law
• Enhancing support for pregnant mothers, babies and families in need
• Assistance for the resettlement of refugees
• Protecting the human rights of all immigrants, including anti-trafficking efforts
• Repealing the “English-only” law
• Measures to promote healthy families such as increasing the state’s minimum wage, increasing the availability of affordable housing and addressing food insecurity
• Assisting persons re-entering the community from incarceration
• Maintaining a progressive tax code and revenues sufficient to meet the basic needs of the poor and vulnerable
• Strengthening Iowa’s small towns and rural communities
• Measures to preserve, protect, and improve the quality of the air, water, and land
The Iowa Catholic Conference opposes:
- Reinstatement of the death penalty
- Legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia
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