Texas Catholic Voice
New TCC Web Site Now Available
The Texas Catholic Bishops’ Conference launched a revamped web site, www.TXcatholic.org, to educate and encourage Catholics to raise their voices on central issues of the Catholic faith that affect the marginalized and vulnerable. The revitalized web site provides Catholics with timely, pertinent information regarding the upcoming election and 83rd state legislative session.
The Texas Catholic Conference represents the state’s Catholic Bishops in the public policy arena and strives to galvanize the state’s 7 million Catholics to learn about the Church’s policy positions and communicate with their elected officials on these issues.
TCC Urges Support for School Choice
TCC Executive Director Jeffery Patterson highlighted the Church's teaching on school choice and reiterated the Texas Bishops' position in favor of programs that protect parental choice and prioritize children who live in poverty to members of the Senate Committee on Education at their committee hearing on August 24.
"The Catholic Bishops of Texas support the implementation of school choice programs that protect parental choice and prioritize children who live in poverty. School choice is ultimately about parents, rather than government, having the authority to choose a school for their children," stated Patterson.
"During the last legislative session we supported legislation to create a Texas Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program which would save an estimated $56 million to the state every year, provide employers with a direct avenue by which to invest in workforce development, connect with their communities, and expand education opportunities for children from families that have limited financial resources and who are most at-risk of dropping out of school."
A video of the Committee hearing is available online here.
Catholic Archives Relocation Complete
At the end of August, the Catholic Archives of Texas successfully completed its move to the Diocese of Austin Pastoral Center located at 6225 Highway 290 East in Austin. The new location will assist the Archives in providing researchers with access to their vast collection and processing requests from Catholics throughout the state, and even outside the state.
The Catholic Archives of Texas is nationally recognized as one of the most valuable resources for the history of the Catholic Church in the Southwest. Its records span nearly four centuries of development of the Catholic religion in the southwestern region of the United States and Northern Mexico. Visit the Catholic Archives of Texas web site for more information on the collections and on how to arrange a visit or make a research request.
TCC Begins Advocacy Day Promotion
TCC Executive Director Jeffery Patterson and Associate Director Jennifer Carr Allmon presented the Bishops' 83rd legislative priorities to leaders in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston on August 17. They also assisted in the Archdioceses' preliminary planning for the Catholic Faith in Action Advocacy Day on April 9, 2013. Patterson encouraged the group to join the Texas Catholic Network in order to remain up-to-date on policy matters during and beyond the legislative session.
Stay tuned for more information on how you can participate in the 2013 Catholic Faith in Action Advocacy day in your diocese, and be sure to invite your Catholic friends and family to get involved in the Bishops' public policy efforts by joining the Texas Catholic Network.
The Texas Catholic Bishops’ Conference launched a revamped web site, www.TXcatholic.org, to educate and encourage Catholics to raise their voices on central issues of the Catholic faith that affect the marginalized and vulnerable. The revitalized web site provides Catholics with timely, pertinent information regarding the upcoming election and 83rd state legislative session.
The Texas Catholic Conference represents the state’s Catholic Bishops in the public policy arena and strives to galvanize the state’s 7 million Catholics to learn about the Church’s policy positions and communicate with their elected officials on these issues.
TCC Urges Support for School Choice
TCC Executive Director Jeffery Patterson highlighted the Church's teaching on school choice and reiterated the Texas Bishops' position in favor of programs that protect parental choice and prioritize children who live in poverty to members of the Senate Committee on Education at their committee hearing on August 24.
"The Catholic Bishops of Texas support the implementation of school choice programs that protect parental choice and prioritize children who live in poverty. School choice is ultimately about parents, rather than government, having the authority to choose a school for their children," stated Patterson.
"During the last legislative session we supported legislation to create a Texas Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program which would save an estimated $56 million to the state every year, provide employers with a direct avenue by which to invest in workforce development, connect with their communities, and expand education opportunities for children from families that have limited financial resources and who are most at-risk of dropping out of school."
A video of the Committee hearing is available online here.
Catholic Archives Relocation Complete
At the end of August, the Catholic Archives of Texas successfully completed its move to the Diocese of Austin Pastoral Center located at 6225 Highway 290 East in Austin. The new location will assist the Archives in providing researchers with access to their vast collection and processing requests from Catholics throughout the state, and even outside the state.
The Catholic Archives of Texas is nationally recognized as one of the most valuable resources for the history of the Catholic Church in the Southwest. Its records span nearly four centuries of development of the Catholic religion in the southwestern region of the United States and Northern Mexico. Visit the Catholic Archives of Texas web site for more information on the collections and on how to arrange a visit or make a research request.
TCC Begins Advocacy Day Promotion
TCC Executive Director Jeffery Patterson and Associate Director Jennifer Carr Allmon presented the Bishops' 83rd legislative priorities to leaders in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston on August 17. They also assisted in the Archdioceses' preliminary planning for the Catholic Faith in Action Advocacy Day on April 9, 2013. Patterson encouraged the group to join the Texas Catholic Network in order to remain up-to-date on policy matters during and beyond the legislative session.
Stay tuned for more information on how you can participate in the 2013 Catholic Faith in Action Advocacy day in your diocese, and be sure to invite your Catholic friends and family to get involved in the Bishops' public policy efforts by joining the Texas Catholic Network.