On October 16, the Missouri Catholic Bishops issued statements regarding two initiatives which will appear on the November 6 ballot.  
 
The Bishops issued a statement in support of the intent of Proposition B, the ballot initiative to increase the state minimum wage.  Proposition B would increase the Missouri minimum wage from $7.85 to $8.60 in 2019.  Thereafter the minimum wage would increase by $0.85 per hour until it reaches $12.00 per hour in 2023.  After 2023, the minimum wage would be adjusted yearly based on the changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.
 
In their statement, the Bishops emphasized that they have seen the effect that unemployment, underemployment, and low wages have on their parishioners and on society at large.  While the Bishops recognized that people of good will may disagree as to what minimum wage is appropriate for Missouri, they "support...the intent of this proposal, which seeks to raise the living standard of the working poor..."
 
The Bishops also issued a statement in opposition to Amendment 3, which would amend the Missouri constitution to legalize medical marijuana and create a tax-funded stream of revenue for potentially unethical biomedical research.
 
Amendment 3 would legalize medical marijuana for patients who have one of ten qualifying conditions (or others with a doctor's approval).  The initiative would impose a 15 percent sales tax, which would be used to fund a newly-created biomedical research institute tasked with developing cures for cancer and other diseases.  There is no limitation on the types of research that could be funded through the institute.
 
While the Bishops stated they were "sympathetic to those who seek relief from debilitating illness and express no position on the propriety of medical marijuana as a means of relieving suffering", they oppose the initiative because the funding stream created by the initiative would not be subject to legislative appropriation or review, and could be used for research involving the destruction and use of embryonic stem cells or aborted fetal remains.  

We get it. Everyone has a million things to do, especially on Saturdays. 
 

We are always striving to create a dynamic and engaging event that will make you NOT want to miss it! Please take this short survey to help us understand why you did NOT attend the MCC Annual Assembly on Saturday, October 6, and how we can improve our event in the future! To read Bishop Perry's keynote address or see pictures of the 2018 Annual Assembly, click here.

State officials have 60 days to develop a plan for a "meaningful" opportunity for parole for inmates serving life without parole for offenses they committed as juveniles. The ruling was issued by U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey. The lawsuit was filed by four Missouri inmates who were juveniles when they committed their crimes and each has been denied parole after a hearing. They represented 90 other such juveniles who had been denied parole and the majority have not been granted another hearing for a maximum of five years. Judge Laughrey said the parole board's decision was communicated through a "boiler plate form" that gave little explanation for the denial. Even state officials admitted that Missouri failed to give an adequate explanation for the denials or ways the inmate could be better suited for parole.

Judge Laughrey noted several recent Supreme Court rulings that granted constitutional protections to juveniles and a 2016 law passed in Missouri that allows inmates convicted as juveniles to seek a parole review after serving 25 years.

A unanimous Washington Supreme Court has struck down the state's capital punishment statutes as violating the state constitutional prohibition against "cruel punishment". Finding that the death penalty "is imposed in an arbitrary and racially biased manner" the court ruled on October 11 that the "death penalty as administered in our state, fails to serve any legitimate penological goal". The decision converted the sentences of all eight people on the state's death row to life imprisonment without the possibility of release. The court's action makes Washington the twentieth U.S. state to have judicially or legislatively abolished the death penalty and the 8th to have done so this century.

In a continuing effort to familiarize our network with the bishops teaching document on the political responsibility of Catholics, we again look at how to apply Catholic teaching to public policy issues facing our nation.  This week we look at education.  We encourage our network to familiarize itself with this document by clicking here, as there is insufficient space here to cover all the issues raised in the document, and each of these covered issues need to be read in context of the entire document to be fully understood.

Education is an essential tool for reaching our full potential as human beings.  Our Catholic tradition and teaching holds that "[p]arents - the first and most important educators - have a fundamental right to choose the education best suited to the needs of their children, including public, private, and religious schools.  Government, through means such as tax credits and publicly funded scholarships, should help provide resources for parents, especially those of modest means, to exercise this basic right without discrimination.  Students in all educational settings should have opportunities for moral and character formation consistent with the beliefs and responsibilities of their parents."

October is a month we remember the unborn and reflect upon Mary, the mother of Jesus.  In honor of our Lady, this week we take a moment to pause and to listen to Luciano Pavarotti sing the Ave Maria by Schubert.  Pavarotti, of course, was one of the greatest operatic tenors with a natural tenor range which wowed audiences the world over.  He died in 2007 of pancreatic cancer.  RIP, Luciano!