Catholic Conference of Kentucky

Welcome

Welcome to the Catholic Conference of Kentucky’s website. If you are a Kentucky Catholic, please become a Faithful Citizen Advocate and invite other Kentucky Catholics to join too.

Read more about Catholic Conference of Kentucky’s work by selecting one of the topics in the lower navigation bar.

• Life and dignity
• Family, community, participation
• Rights and responsibilities
• Poor and vulnerable

For additional information, contact the Catholic Conference of Kentucky at 502-875-4345 or cckstaff@ccky.org.

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Life and dignity

“Human life is sacred. The dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. Direct attacks on innocent persons are never morally acceptable, at any stage or in any condition.”

– Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States, 2007, n. 44.

The unborn, the infirm and frail, elderly and embryonic, are deserving of civil legislation that upholds their dignity as human persons made in the image and likeness of God. In the public policy arena, the Conference supports

• informed consent legislation to require abortion providers to inform patients fully about this procedure in a face-to-face meeting, as done for other surgical procedures
• state initiatives that provide alternatives to abortion and assistance to pregnant women
• efforts to reverse the spread of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, and to reduce reliance on weapons of mass destruction by pursuing progressive nuclear disarmament
• ending the use of the death penalty and, in the meantime, to restrain its use through broader use of DNA evidence, access to effective counsel, and efforts to address unfairness and injustice related to the application of the death penalty

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Family, community, participation

“The human person is not only sacred but also social. Full human development takes place in relationship with others. The family-based on marriage between a man and a woman—is the first and fundamental unit of society and is a sanctuary for the creation and nurturing of children.”

— Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States, 2007, n. 46.

The permanent and loving relationship between one man and one woman through the bond of marriage stands as mankind’s most significant and vital institution. Thus, policies that strengthen and promote traditional marriage and the family must be encouraged. The Conference supports

• upholding the traditional definition of marriage
• policies that protect the stability of the marriage bond and the institution of the family
• policies on taxes, work, divorce, immigration, and welfare that help families stay together
• government assistance through tax credits or other constitutional public means to help provide resources to parents so they can exercise their fundamental right to choose the education best suited to the needs of their children, including public, private, and religious schools

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Rights and responsibilities

“Human dignity is respected and the common good is fostered only if human rights are protected and basic responsibilities are met. Every human being has a right to life, the fundamental right that makes all other rights possible, and a right to access to those things required for human decency—food and shelter, education and employment, health care and housing, freedom of religion and family life.”

– Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States, 2007, n. 49.

What follows is a sample of the kinds of issues that must be analyzed through the lens of Catholic social teaching regarding rights and responsibilities. Study the Faithful Citizenship document cited, as well as the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. Here are just a few items the Conference supports:

• policies that improve the quality of public education
• opposition to legislation that threatens the institutional integrity of faith-based health care providers
• policies that seek to promote the dignity of all human persons, regardless of citizenship
• automatic restoration of voting rights to those who have completed court-imposed sentences

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Poor and vulnerable

Pope Benedict XVI has taught that “love for widows and orphans, prisoners, and the sick and needy of every kind, is as essential to [the Church] as the ministry of the sacraments and preaching of the Gospel” (Deus Caritas Est, no. 22). This preferential option for the poor and vulnerable includes all who are marginalized in our nation and beyond—unborn children, persons with disabilities, the elderly and terminally ill, and victims of injustice and oppression.

– Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States, 2007, n. 51.

The widening gap between the well-off and the poor is a wound on the soul of contemporary society. Thus, the state budget and other policies that affect poor and disadvantaged persons must be crafted in a manner that ensures their health and safety and promotes the common good. The Conference supports:

• a cap on the interest rates, charges and fee demanded by the payday loan industry
• Medicaid funding to ensure coverage for recipients and payments to providers
• the allocation of scarce budget resources to preserve essential services for vulnerable persons
• a reform of Kentucky’s revenue system that is progressive and fair to all residents

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