My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

The New York State Catholic Conference sponsors a Public Policy Committee. Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany serves as chairman and I serve as vice chairman. Bishop Joseph Sullivan is among several bishops on the committee, which is also composed of laypersons representing the various ministries of the Church---education, health care, Catholic Charities, as well as other works. The committee meets several times a year. Father Kieran Harrington, director of the Office of Legislative Affairs, and Mrs. Cathy Bala, director of the Family Life Ministry and Respect Life Office, attended the September meeting as representatives of our Diocese. At our meeting we set the legislative agenda of the New York State Catholic Conference for the coming legislative year.

The legislative agenda for 2005 contains many issues of vital importance for the people of the State of New York, principally the family life and respect life issues that we attempt to see reflected in the legislation that is passed in Albany. We as Catholics aim at promoting a culture of life and, therefore, support legislation that protects life from conception to natural death.

This year important legislation that promotes respect for human life is before the state legislature. We add our voices to those who support stem- cell research that offers hope to myriads of people in need, but oppose embryonic stem- cell research and the callous destruction of human life. We support the right of parents and guardians to be involved in the health care decisions of their children and oppose laws that would permit children to have abortions without their parents? knowledge or consent. We oppose any law that permits partial-birth abortions, a barbaric procedure of inducing labor only to destroy the newborn child. The New York State Catholic Conference is committed to the life of the unborn child and to the protection and health of women and children, as well as to strengthening and protecting families in our state.

We as Catholics support legislation that would ensure the protection of the Church?s health care mission, a mission that seeks to provide all New Yorkers access to affordable and quality health care regardless of their economic condition. We support legislation that alleviates the suffering of the terminally ill and encourage research and development in the area of pain management. We oppose legislation that would deny the dignity of the human person and legalize euthanasia. Medical and health care ethics is a critical component of our health care mission. We oppose all efforts that would seek to undermine our participation in the health care arena.

We as Catholics support an education agenda aimed at raising the issues of education for all children in the State of New York, while at the same time providing support to parents of children inCatholic-sponsored schools.

We as Catholics support the dignity of the human family and affirm marriage, the union between a man and a woman, as the cornerstone of society. We oppose legislation that would do violence to the institution of marriage by seeking to change its definition in order to satisfy a radical political agenda.

We as Catholics support a human services agenda that attends to the basic human needs of our poor and vulnerable brothers and sisters, and promotes those social services that enhance the quality of life for the people of New York. This agenda also includes a welcome for immigrants and refugees in the state.

We as Catholics support a criminal justice agenda that fosters restorative justice, so that our criminal justice system becomes more rehabilitative than punitive.

We as Catholics support the protection of the environment, as well as physical and regulatory issues that make up the balance of the agenda that is critical for the quality of life in the state.

At this time, our minds are turned towards the election of our governmental officials who will represent us and, in fact, legislate issues that affect our own lives and those of our fellow citizens. It is a good time to have your own voice heard. The State Catholic Conference has a wonderful Catholic advocacy network whose purpose is to inform the citizens of the state regarding the issues that affect their lives and those for which Catholics should advocate. There is no cost for joining the legislative network. By simply using the Internet at www.nyscatholicconference.org one can join the network. If you do not have access to the Internet, you can write to the New York State Catholic Conference at 465 State St., Albany, N.Y. 12203-1004.

The advocacy network makes information available on all legislation that affects the lives of the citizens of the state. It is so important that we voice our opinion and use our votes to support issues that are coherent with our Catholic faith. There can be no separation between our life as Catholics and our legislative choices. We need to be consistent in supporting candidates and influencing legislation that reflect our highest moral values.

The New York State Catholic Conference, sponsored by the eight dioceses of the state, gives formal structure to the Catholic presence in the legislative forum. Once a year there is a state lobbying day when Catholics are invited to Albany to meet their legislators and express their opinions on issues of vital importance to themselves and to their fellow citizens.

In November, our country will voice its opinion on who should be the next president of the United States. It is my hope that in your own deliberation regarding the candidate who best can lead our nation, you will consider a hierarchy of moral choices made by the candidates that reflect our own consistent ethic of life. We need to vote in order to make our vote count. We need to vote for the candidate who truly expresses our own moral view regarding the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, as well as other moral values and concerns that we consider essential for the well being of our society.

It is always an exercise of putting out into the deep to cast a vote. Make your vote count and consider in conscience the candidate who best reflects our moral stance.