In light of the MCC’s 40th anniversary, we look back to some of the issues shaped by the MCC over its history.

The MCC has sought to enhance the role of Catholic citizens in public policy affairs by establishing legislative networks on key issues and began offering election kits with suggested questions to ask candidates for elected office. The MCC headed off pro-euthanasia proposals and instead convinced legislators to enact laws that respected human life. Tax reform emerged as a concern and the MCC successfully championed expanded Medicaid prenatal care for pregnant women. The MCC persuaded lawmakers to enact legislation prohibiting discrimination against children with disabilities attending private schools. The Catholic bishops visited death row and sought to keep the issue of capital punishment before the public. Joining with other prolife groups, the MCC spearheaded passage of sweeping anti-abortion legislation that led to the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Webster decision.

Getting Catholic Citizens Involved

Concerned with political campaigns that too often degenerated into 30 second commercials consisting of charges and counter-charges, the MCC in 1984 inaugurated a bi-annual practice of making available to parishes and Catholic citizens a resource kit providing tips on how citizens could draw candidates into more meaningful dialogue through parish-sponsored forums and interviews. These kits included questions citizens
could ask the candidates on a variety of issues having moral dimensions of concern to the Catholic Church, such as pro-life, the death penalty, access to health care, and family farming.

In 1985 the MCC began an aggressive campaign to recruit Catholic citizens into one of six issue networks on Aging, Catholic Schools, Corrections, Economic Justice, Pro-Life and Rural Life. The committed Catholics who joined these networks and then responded to Action Alerts by contacting their legislators on pressing issues gave the MCC more clout in the state capitol.

Lawmakers began to understand that when MCC lobbyists presented a position it represented the view of thousands of Catholic voters throughout the state. In time the six issue networks merged into one larger MCC Citizens Network, which continues to this day to advance the MCC’s public policy agenda.

Throughout the 1980s, the MCC received complaints from Catholic school principals and parents that local public school districts either refused to provide special education authorized under federal law to private school children or would only provide it after school on public school premises. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) argued that state law prohibited dual enrollment arrangements whereby private school children could attend their local public school for part of the day to receive special educational services.

In 1987 the MCC sought to end this discrimination. Public school groups united to oppose the legislation, but this time their customary objections to providing aid to religious schools would be countered by a plea to put children before legalistic concerns. The potency of this plea became evident in the Senate Education Committee. Two private school parents, one a special education teacher herself, explained the importance of special services for their children. Committee members were visibly moved. The committee eventually reported
the bill to the full Senate but it was placed near the bottom of the debate calendar.

The MCC turned its attention to the Missouri House of Representatives where State Rep. Ron Auer (D-St. Louis) offered an amendment to another bill, SB 402. In its original form, this bill proposed a tax credit for those adopting special needs children, which the MCC also supported. The Auer amendment prohibited discrimination against children with disabilities attending private schools. After an emotional debate the amendment passed, and SB 402 went back to the Missouri Senate for final approval. Lobbied by public school groups, a minority of senators filibustered the bill. But Catholic Senator John Schneider (D-Florissant) would not let SB 402 die. He called the public school lobbyists into his office and told them they would never see approval of the public school’s annual budget if they did not back off. The senator then relayed the same message to Senate Majority Floor Leader Jim Mathewson (D-Sedalia).

In an unusual move, Senate leadership scheduled a Sunday afternoon debate. With little lead time to alert MCC network members statewide, MCC staff contacted local parishes. That Sunday afternoon some 300 people showed up. They were given “Yes 402” placards and directed to the Senate Galleries. The Senate sponsor of SB 402, Senator Harry Wiggins (D-Kansas City), rose in the Senate chamber and told his colleagues: “This is a matter of principle. This is a matter of justice. This is a matter of compassion.” The Senate approved the measure and Governor John Ashcroft signed it into law.

Tackling the Tough Issues

The MCC has never shrank from controversy to uphold the common good.

Just this year the MCC successfully opposed Governor Blunt’s proposal to earmark funds from the sale of assets of the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA) for human cloning and other unethical research. In recent years the MCC has stoutly resisted the massive Medicaid cuts and worked to restore health coverage for the poor. In 1999 the MCC spearheaded the campaign to override Governor Carnahan’s veto of the partial birth abortion ban.

In taking on governors and powerful legislative leaders, the MCC encouraged lawmakers to follow their conscience rather than their party loyalties. State Senator Matt Bartle (R-Lee’s Summit) and State Representative Jim Lembke (R-St. Louis) courageously opposed the governor of their own party to stop state funding of human cloning and other unethical experiments.

State Senator Ted House (D-St. Charles) and State Representative Bill Luetkenhaus (D-Josephville) led the legislative battles to pass the partial birth abortion ban and then override Governor Carnahan’s veto. For over thirty years, Senator John Schneider (D-Florissant) championed pro-life legislation to the dismay of some members of his own party and also pushed for tax relief for private school parents over the vociferous objections of Democrat leaning constituencies like the National Education Association (NEA).

In the course of these battles lawmakers have been “taken to the woodshed” by governors, had their microphones turned off during House floor debate, and generally incurred the wrath of fellow Democrats or Republicans who felt they had betrayed the party. MCC executive directors have also been targeted. When current executive director Larry Weber persisted in efforts to stop funding of unethical embryonic stem cell research, some lawmakers called for his firing.

The above is excerpted from A Short History of the Missouri Catholic Conference: 1967 - 2007 by Mike Hoey. Mr. Hoey is the Assistant Director of the Missouri Catholic Conference and has been with the MCC since 1979. He is the author of “Missouri Education at the Crossroads: The Phelan Miscalculation and the Education Amendment of 1870,” Missouri Historical Review, Volume XCV, Number 4 (July 2001)