Bishop Thomas John Paprocki joined Catholic leaders from across the state at a press conference in the Illinois State Capitol on April 6 to call attention to pending legislation of particular concern to Catholic teaching.
The Catholic Conference of Illinois, the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Illinois, organized the press conference, which zeroed in on key issues still under consideration in this legislative session.
Bishop Paprocki urged the passage of House Bill 786, which would require abortion providers to give a woman seeking an abortion the opportunity to view an ultrasound of her baby before the procedure is performed.
“We know this is a difficult decision, and we all know why having all the facts from the outset before making such a difficult decision is imperative,” Bishop Paprocki said.
While abortion providers use ultrasounds in their practice, they are not required to show their findings to patients. Zach Wichmann, communications director for the Catholic Conference, under questioning later from reporters, acknowledged the legislation is designed to discourage abortions.
“We think government has a role to protect all human life. We think our public policy should reflect that,” Wichmann said.
The textbook loan program, which has been around since 1975, provides secular textbooks, learning materials and instructional computer software to public and nonpublic school students grades K-12. Yet the State Board of Education has chosen to zero out funding for the program, says Wichmann. House Bill 1199 and Senate Bill 1964 have been introduced to restore funding to the Textbook Loan Program.
“The textbook loan program is a budget issue,” Wichmann said. “It won’t be decided until later in May, but we will be working on it.”
Among those attending the news conference were Jean Johnson, superintendent of Catholic schools in the Springfield diocese, and Sister Mary Paul McCaughey, OP, superintendent of schools in the Chicago archdiocese, a former principal of Sacred Heart-Griffin High School.
Bishop Joseph Perry, auxiliary bishop in the Chicago Archdiocese, called the state legislators attention to the cause for sainthood for Father Augustus Tolton, the first acknowledged African American priest in the United States. Illinois Sen. Jacqueline Collins, (D-16 Chicago) introduced Senate Resolution 156, which commemorates the 125th anniversary of the ordination of Father Tolton on April 24, 2011. The resolution identifies Father Tolton as the first African-American priest in the United States and commends his unyielding commitment and ministry to African-Americans in Quincy, Chicago and across the nation.