Tag: John Huebscher

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John Huebscher

Must Christmas spirit end with the season?

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

In some traditions, January 6 represents the 12th day of Christmas. As such, the date marks a transition from the Christmas season to the ordinary time of our lives.

But does that have to mark the end of the “Christmas spirit”? Dare we hope that the softening of our hearts and the acts of kindness central to Christmas might become an ongoing habit rather than a seasonal exception?

In ways large and small, we have opportunities to express, in our deeds and our choices, a concern for others, especially those whose needs may be greater than our own. Some of those opportunities may be found in our public policy choices.

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Mary C. Uhler, Catholic Herald Staff

Let your voice be heard: Contact your elected officials on important issues

Being an active citizen doesn’t end with voting. If we are truly concerned about the direction our country is taking at the state and federal levels, we should keep in touch with our elected officials between elections.

John Huebscher of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference wrote a recent “Eye on the Capitol” column encouraging state citizens to give attend and/or give testimony at budget hearings held at our state Capitol.

On the national level, there are important issues being addressed, too. Sometimes it may seem that the opinion of one person doesn’t matter. However, I think it is important to make sure our elected officials know where we stand. Perhaps one person can make a difference. Or one person combined with many others with the same opinion can change a senator’s or congressional representative’s mind.

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John Huebscher

Here’s a chance to influence state policy

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

We can’t live out our vocation as faithful citizens unless we are also active between elections, when the hard work of making laws and policies is done.

Some of that hard work will take place in the next few weeks when the Joint Committee on Finance schedules its hearings on Governor Scott Walker’s state budget proposal. Those hearings will give Catholics and others a chance to influence the content of that budget. It is a chance we should exploit.

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John Huebscher

Catholics have much to offer in firearms debate

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

Popes Paul VI and John Paul II both described the Catholic Church as an “expert in humanity.” This term recognizes the truth that through its long history Catholicism has engaged and reflected on the fullness and complexity of the human experience.

The Church’s insights on human experience provide a valuable resource to any generation seeking to craft more humane policies and more just societies.

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John Huebscher

Recall season overlays final legislative sessions

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

A year ago, the first thing the newly elected Legislature did was to adopt its scheduling resolution for the 2011-12 legislative session.

This resolution defined the floor periods during which the Legislature would meet to debate and pass legislation. In so doing, the legislators determined that they would convene for three “general business” floor periods between January 17 and March 15 in 2012, the last day of regular business for the year.

Complicates legislative schedules

When they adopted that resolution, our lawmakers had no way of knowing that their session schedule would mesh with Wisconsin’s first ever recall of a governor and recalls of several state senators. But that is what appears will happen and it will affect what lawmaking takes place in these final floor periods.

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John Huebscher

Human beings are not commodities

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

The cornerstone of Catholic social teaching is that human life is sacred. As such the Catholic Conference evaluates any law, policy, or program in terms of its impact on the life and dignity of the human person.

Teaching on the economy

Catholic teaching on the economy reflects this emphasis on the human person. Pope John Paul II put it quite directly in his 1981 encyclical letter, Laborem exercens. He recalled that the error of early capitalism can be repeated wherever humans are treated as mere instruments or means of production and not as ends in themselves.

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