The South Dakota Legislature is winding up its work for the 2019 legislative session.
Executive director of the South Dakota Catholic Conference Chris Motz worked throughout the legislative session to monitor what lawmakers have been doing and the status of legislation
“‘To serve right and to fight against the dominion of wrong,’ Pope Benedict XVI proposed to the German legislature in 2011, ‘is the fundamental task of the politician,’” Motz shared as the session was winding down.
“At a moment in history when man has acquired previously inconceivable power, this task takes on a particular urgency. Man can destroy the world. He can manipulate himself. He can, so to speak, make human beings and he can deny them their humanity.” Motz added. “How do we recognize what is right? How can we discern between good and evil, between what is truly right and what may appear right?”
He said the South Dakota Catholic Conference encouraged legislators and citizens to take up this mantle – to serve right and to fight against the dominion of wrong – during the 2019 state legislative session.
“Through the Catholic Conference, Bishop Paul J. Swain and Bishop Robert D. Gruss have spoken on a variety of bills,” said Motz. “That all life is sacred and must be protected in law from the moment of conception is a truth we must never tire of speaking.”
To encourage a culture of life, the Catholic Conference supported HB 1055, HB 1193, SB 71, SB 72, and SCR 9. Additionally, the Catholic Conference has addressed new ideologies of gender being discussed in state politics, sharing the truth that human beings are created male and female. “These two distinct, complementary categories are unchangeable, and are ordered towards fruitful love in marriage and family life, which forms the secure foundation on which society is built, added Motz. “On this topic, the Catholic Conference has spoken on HB 1225, HB 1243, and SB 49.”
“As Benedict put it, ‘there’s a particular urgency to the need for the voice of truth in the world today,’” Motz shared. “With hearts converted to Christ and minds formed by His Church, our voices as Catholics deeply matter,” he said.
Visit www.sdcatholicconference.org to sign up for updates or learn more about the 2019 legislative session.
