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	Maryland Bishops Set Legislative Agenda By George P. Matysek, Jr. Catholic News Service on Catholic Online January 5, 2008 http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=26355 Catholic News Service www.catholicnews.com Repealing the death penalty is among the actions Maryland Catholic Conference leaders believe can be accomplished this year. The conference also has high hopes that a business tax credit to help nonpublic schools can be established, along with a proposed program to benefit women with unplanned pregnancies. ANNAPOLIS, MD (CNS) - With issues like same-sex marriage, the death penalty and immigration likely to dominate much of the session of the Maryland General Assembly that begins Jan. 9, leaders of the Maryland Catholic Conference are bracing for some tough battles. But they are optimistic their more elusive legislative priorities from previous sessions may finally become law. The Annapolis-based legislative lobbying arm of the state's Catholic bishops will advocate for and against bills related to pro-life matters, social justice, education and other Catholic concerns throughout the 90-day session. Repealing the death penalty is among the actions Maryland Catholic Conference leaders believe can be accomplished this year. The conference also has high hopes that a business tax credit to help nonpublic schools can be established, along with a proposed program to benefit women with unplanned pregnancies. The conference will be fighting expected legislation legalizing same-sex marriage and a bill that Catholic leaders say would cripple the church's ministries by allowing child abuse-related civil suits that had been previously prevented by the statute of limitations. With Maryland facing a tight budget, conference leaders said they will also make sure the poor and vulnerable are not overlooked and that social safety nets are safeguarded. Coming on the heels of New Jersey's ban on the death penalty, Richard J. Dowling, executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, said Maryland is well poised to follow suit and abolish capital punishment. Despite the strong support of Gov. Martin J. O'Malley, legislation that would have replaced the death penalty with prison sentences of life without parole was narrowly killed last year in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. A similar bill is expected to be introduced this year. "We're really, really close," said Dowling. Pointing out that Pope John Paul II, the U.S. bishops and Maryland bishops have "led the charge" against the death penalty nationally and locally, Dowling said Catholic opinion has shifted among Catholic voters on the issue, with a 2005 poll finding that 63 percent of all Marylanders view life without parole as an acceptable substitute for death sentences. Looking to support women in crisis pregnancies, the conference will be lobbying hard for lawmakers to pass legislation that would establish a pregnancy support services program. Modeled after a Pennsylvania program called Real Alternatives, the initiative would assist pregnancy centers, maternity homes and social service/adoption agencies that do not provide abortions. The conference is also asking O'Malley to include money in his budget to fund the initiative. A pilot program based in Baltimore City and two counties would cost about $800,000, according to Nancy Paltell, associate director for respect for life. "We're pretty hopeful we've finally found a piece of legislation that is common ground," she said. "If you're for choice, you should be willing to support women who choose childbirth." With Catholic schools throughout the state experiencing declining enrollment, Mary Ellen Russell, the conference's associate director for education and family life, said it's more important than ever for the state to provide more support for students in nonpublic schools. Nonpublic schools annually save the state nearly $1.5 billion in per-pupil costs, she said. But with rising tuition and decreasing enrollment, some schools have been forced to close. Total enrollment in Maryland's Catholic schools has declined 6 percent in the last five years, she said. The conference is asking O'Malley to restore $6 million in funding for the Nonpublic School Textbook/Technology Loan Program. It also wants to extend the existing Quality Teacher Incentive Tax Credit to certified nonpublic school teachers and to establish the Building Opportunities for All Students and Teachers tax credit for business donations to organizations that support public and private school students and teachers. After a fall ruling by the Maryland State Court of Appeals that left open the door to legalizing same-sex marriage through legislation, Russell said the Maryland Catholic Conference will work to protect the traditional definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. "This year could see a drastic change in marriage if people don't get involved," she said. Saying that it would cripple the many outreach ministries of the Catholic Church in Maryland, the conference will again oppose legislation allowing civil lawsuits against the three Catholic dioceses serving Maryland -- the archdioceses of Baltimore and Washington and the Diocese of Wilmington, Del. -- for sexual-abuse claims stretching beyond the current seven-year limitation. While such a bill was defeated last year, another is expected to be introduced this session, Dowling said. "This legislation doesn't get the people who did the damages; it gets an institution that does a lot of good work," he said. "It only punishes one institution: the Catholic Church." Dowling said Maryland is one of only seven states that have no criminal statutes of limitations. A person who commits child abuse can be prosecuted at any time, he said.
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