The Capitol Update is a regularly occurring column authored by staff members of the Nebraska Catholic Conference and published in diocesan news publications. It provides the latest public policy updates on state and federal legislative policy.
LB78 would provide funding assistance to victims and survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. The funding would be available to organizations—like Catholic Charities of Omaha and Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska—to help with housing-related services and costs, to ensure that victims and survivors have a safe place to live as they flee violence and abuse.
This legislative session, numerous school choice bills have been introduced by several different senators. The number of advocacy groups in favor of school choice at the Capitol is greater than it ever has been. And thousands of families are prepared to fight for their right to school choice. This is a clear sign that, notwithstanding the November ballot loss, the momentum for school choice is on the rise.
On the third day of session, the Stand with Women Act (LB89) was introduced by Senator Kathleen Kauth of Millard. This legislation is a major priority of the Nebraska Catholic Conference.
Praise God for the work He has done through us! Life can win on the ballot where pro-life people are faithful, smart, unified, and unafraid.
Nebraska Catholics should also know the incredible leadership we enjoy from our bishops: Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, and Bishop Joseph Hanefeldt of Grand Island. Their commitment to the truth of the Gospel and the dignity of every human person drives the work of the NCC.
During Advent, we await not only a celebration and a memorial of His birth in Bethlehem, but we prayerfully anticipate His Second Coming in glory as King.
The Nebraska Catholic Conference and Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska, along with other organizations, are fully committed to continued school choice advocacy, because this is what parents and children deserve.
God be praised for His mercy on Nebraska, through the defeat of Initiative 439 and the passage of Initiative 434.
The law written on the heart of each of us will be so attuned to the desires of the Father, that the human law whatever it is will give way to right actions and motivations that God has in store for a people who love Him.
We do not want to wake up on the morning after Election Day and have any regrets about what we could have or should have done before all the ballots were cast. We must “leave it all on the field.”
We must take time to reach out to five people a day and courageously communicate this message to family, friends, fellow parishioners, and other Nebraskans. The race isn’t over yet. Justice demands our involvement. The real lives of human beings—women and babies—demand our involvement.
A small but vocal minority of advocates have recently increased their engagement against both Initiatives 434 and 439. They are urging pro-lifers to “Vote No on Both.” Their efforts to oppose and undermine Initiative 434 are misplaced and could do serious damage to Initiative 434’s ability to defeat Initiative 439, leaving us with unsafe and unregulated late-pregnancy abortions well into the second and third term of a pregnancy.
Praying and fasting will be the most important element of our efforts this election cycle to defeat the pro-abortion industry’s attempt to legalize abortion in Nebraska late into pregnancy (Initiative 439—vote AGAINST) and defeat the efforts of school choice opponents to strip children of their education funding (Referendum 435—vote RETAIN!), all while we uphold commonsense health and safety protections for women and babies (Initiative 434—vote FOR).
We need to spread the word about why people should vote AGAINST Initiative 439. We need to talk with family members, friends, fellow parishioners, and other Nebraskans.
We, as Catholics, have a fundamental moral obligation to stand up for women who find themselves in difficult pregnancies and the unborn.
It’s critically important that you join our Catholic Advocacy Network of Nebraska (CANN) at www.NEcatholic.org. Through CANN, we can provide you quicker updates on these types of issues to make sure you have the best information, as you seek to bear the light of Christ in the public square.
It’s important for Catholics to continue educating anybody and everybody they know about the abortion-related ballot efforts.
I cannot overstate that you are needed to help from now until Election Day to defeat this pro-abortion proposal. Say your prayers, visit NEcatholic.org for more info, and start talking to family, friends, fellow parishioners, and others.
We are going to need an army of volunteers to help defeat the pro-abortion proposal. Please contact our office (402.477.7517) if you are willing to join us in this critical effort.
If 5,000 of us join the 5 for Life Club, we’ll be able to speak to more than half a million people between now and Election Day. This is no small number and could be the difference between a Nebraska that chooses life or a Nebraska that adopts a culture of abortion.
When the Nebraska Legislature passed the Opportunity Scholarships Act in 2023, we became the 49th state in the nation to adopt a school choice program. In just under a year later, we have made another major stride on the school choice front. This new school choice legislation is another major step forward for Nebraska’s children and parents, to ensure they have more opportunities to choose an education that best fits their needs.
We are excited for the passage and signing into law of LB857. We thank Sen. Dungan and Sen. Bosn for their leadership on their respective bills and for the overwhelming support of the Nebraska Legislature, as well as the governor’s signing LB857 into law.
The First Freedom Act that is now law in Nebraska is going to have an important future in our state. It will stand as a clear protection for religious liberty, and send the signal to governmental entities throughout Nebraska that we value religious freedom and it cannot be infringed upon.
The three bishops of Nebraska—through the Nebraska Catholic Conference—stated it is morally permissible for Nebraskans to support this newly proposed initiative language. In reaching this conclusion, the bishops consulted reputable attorneys and moral theologians to help unpack the meaning of the language and its morality.
