Last week, eighth-graders from St. Michael Catholic School in Lincoln could be seen praying in front of Planned Parenthood, for an end to abortion. It’s beautiful to see the youngest generations showing up, taking their place in the pro-life movement, and making an impact. So, what is your impact? 

Let’s talk about Catholics in politics, and why you need to be at the flagship day of Catholic advocacy, Catholics at the Capitol, on Wednesday, March 6. Catholics at the Capitol is an incredible and easy way to be engaged and equipped to let your voice be heard on legislative issues that matter to us as Catholics. Before we talk about the event, let’s zoom out a bit and look at the Legislature and the Nebraska Catholic Conference.

For any new readers or politico novices, the Nebraska Catholic Conference is the official public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Nebraska. At the behest of the three bishops, our staff advocates for Catholic values in local government. We fight for the good, the true, and the beautiful by educating, engaging, and empowering public officials, the general public, and Catholic laity—that’s you.

With your help, our staff mostly interacts with the Nebraska Legislature to form sound public policy that promotes the common good in four key areas: life and human dignity, education, marriage and family, and social and human development. The kinds of issues we work on include newborn “safe-haven” laws, prenatal and postpartum care for moms, expanding school choice, school safety funding, immigration, and poverty assistance—and that was just last week!

The NCC staff stays busy attending committee hearings for legislation and testifying for our priority bills. While most of us would rather ignore lawmaking and “politics” altogether—and sometimes for good reason—it’s vital that Catholics make their voices heard inside the Capitol. We can save lives and souls. By advocating for good bills and stopping bad bills, we can save preborn babies; we can ensure the vulnerable and impoverished are cared for, and we can make sure our religious liberties are protected. But best of all, we can spread the Gospel through this work and bring Christ into the conversation about public policy.

Now, let’s zoom back in. This is where you and Catholics at the Capitol come in. We are called to build the kingdom of love, justice, and peace, right here, right now. We’re doing just that at this event, and we want you to be part of it. Catholics at the Capitol is the biggest annual advocacy day for Catholics in Nebraska. This all-in-one Capitol experience provides an accessible opportunity for anyone to get educated, equipped, and engaged on life-changing legislative issues before the Nebraska Legislature.

We are going all out for the 10th annual event March 6, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Mary Church in Lincoln. This year’s Catholics at the Capitol has so many stellar features, including talks from Governor Jim Pillen; you’ll hear from several state senators, including Senators Carolyn Bosn, Steve Halloran, Mike McDonnell, and Lou Ann Linehan. We’ll get you up to speed on the current pro-abortion ballot initiative we’re battling and how you can help defeat it. You get to meet with your state senator in a face-to-face meeting at the State Capitol. Did I mention breakfast, coffee and lunch are included? 

This day of advocacy is about impacting our state for generations to come. Get registered today at NECatholic.org so you can be one of 250 participants on this impactful day. Tickets are $15 each, covering the cost of refreshments and food. Attendees are encouraged to wear red, to honor preborn beating hearts and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

There’s a lot on the line in this session of the Legislature: advancing school choice, defending the pro-life cause, protecting girls sports, assisting the poor, fighting for religious liberty, safeguarding medical conscience rights—the list goes on. If we want to save lives and souls, we must show up. Our opponents show up in droves for their causes. We must do the same to build a kingdom of love, justice, and peace in Nebraska. I hope to see you at Catholics at the Capitol March 6 so we can celebrate our impact over the last 10 years and many years to come.