Advocacy Day, taking a stand for truth

At 5:30 a.m. St. John Paul II High School students board a bus heading to Austin. The students, along with principals, staff, administrators and a group of laity attended the 2019 Texas Catholic Advocacy Day at the state capitol to take a stand on moral issues.

Margie Rivera, South Texas Catholic
 

More than 2,000 Catholics from the 14 dioceses and one ordinariate of the State of Texas converged on that day to advocate for bills from the 86th Texas Legislative Session supporting the prohibition of abortion, equal protection of private and public school students, public school finance reform and bail reform. 

The group from the Diocese of Corpus Christi split into teams, and were able to meet with the offices of five different legislators representing the 13 counties that make up the diocese: State Representatives Todd Hunter, Ryan Guillen, J.M. Lozano and Abel Herrero, as well as State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa’s Chief of Staff, Luis Moreno. 

Evelyn Farias, a layperson who also dedicated herself to an early morning bus ride to Austin, was very pleased at the hospitality of her State Representative visit. “Todd Hunter was very welcoming, and he took us in like we were family. He even offered us pan dulce and coffee,” she said.

Midday, everyone took a break from their meetings with legislators and gathered on the south steps of the Capitol for a rally. The crowd was welcomed by the Executive Director of the TCCB, Jennifer Carr Allmon, who introduced Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio for the opening prayer. 

Archbishop Garcia-Siller expressed great joy to see the thousands of people gathered from throughout the beautiful state of Texas. He then introduced every bishop from the present dioceses. The crowd cheered as their respective bishop/archbishop was allowed to say a few welcoming words. 

Farias remembered the rally fondly. “I enjoyed listening to the bishops give the motivation speech to the crowd, it felt like a pep rally. It touched my soul. I also enjoyed when Father Peter Martinez had the crowd chant ‘Be Not Afraid,’” she recounted.

Refreshed by the words of their shepherds and a barbecue lunch, the students were able to participate in a mock hearing and learn more in-depth about their local government. Others from the diocese continued their meetings to advocate in legislators’ offices. At the end of the day, many boarded the bus excited to come back in 2021 to advocate during the 87th Texas Legislative Session.

So, what exactly could motivate that many high-schoolers and lay Catholics to wake up and spend twelve hours to advocate at the Capitol? Nothing less than the truth and a love for the faith. As Allmon described the day, “Our advocacy covers a full range of public policy issues. We look at these issues through the lens of our Catholic social and moral teachings.” For these students and for those who participated, Advocacy Day was a way to bring those teachings to those who run the local government and to live their faith in a real way. And that is worth getting up for.

To learn more about the work of the TCCB and to get involved with local Catholic advocacy, please visit www.txcatholic.org. 

Photos by Margie Rivera | STC