Christmas Eve edition, Dec. 24, 2025

The staff of the Iowa Catholic Conference wishes you a Merry and Blessed Christmas season!

Getting ready for the legislative session

During the past couple of weeks, the usual pre-session meetings with legislative leadership have been taking place.

One of our priorities for the upcoming session, which begins Jan. 12, is gaining better access to the state voluntary preschool program for Catholic and other community provider preschool students. Currently, participation is totally up to the local public school district. In many cases, this partnership works great. In some cases, it doesn’t. A fix was passed in the Senate earlier this year in SF 445 but ran aground in the House. The ICC also supports full funding (100% of the K-12 per pupil cost) for preschool students at or below 185% of the federal poverty level.

The ICC has been encouraging legislators to consider the negative effects of abortion pills, particularly those sold on the “black market” online with no medical involvement. One in 10 mothers experience a serious medical event after taking the abortion pill, not to mention the death of the baby. If these pills are to be allowed there should at least be a physician involved and information given about possible reversal.

Catholics across the country are encouraged to observe a prayer vigil on Jan. 22-23 to pray for an end to abortion and a greater respect for all human life in post-Roe America. Additionally, thousands of Catholics are signing up for the national pro-life novena, 9 Days for Life, which will take place from January 16-24, 2026.

We’ve also had a chance to discuss the government’s safety net for low-income people. The Catholic bishops did not support the eligibility changes that were made by lawmakers both at the state and federal level this year, and the effects of these changes need to be evaluated. Care needs to be taken so people can receive the assistance they qualify for. Enrollment in SNAP (food stamps) in Iowa is at a 17-year low while food banks and pantries are breaking records for the number of people assisted.

Finally, another topic of discussion was the “Med Act,” HF 571, which would further protect conscience rights for medical professionals in their work. The bill already passed by the House and we have a decent shot at getting it through the Senate.

Gov. Hochul to sign assisted suicide bill in New York

In our last news update we reported that the governor of Illinois signed legislation to legalize assisted suicide. Unfortunately, the governor of New York has also indicated she will sign the physician-assisted suicide bill passed earlier this year by their legislature.

The New York State Catholic Conference issued a statement saying, ““We are extraordinarily troubled by Governor Hochul’s announcement that she will sign the egregious bill passed by the legislature earlier this year sanctioning physician-assisted suicide in New York State. This new law signals our government’s abandonment of its most vulnerable citizens, telling people who are sick or disabled that suicide in their case is not only acceptable, but is encouraged by our elected leaders.

Tragically, this new law will seriously undermine all of the anti-suicide and mental health care investments Governor Hochul has made through her tenure. How can any society have credibility to tell young people or people with depression that suicide is never the answer, while at the same time telling elderly and sick people that it is a compassionate choice to be celebrated?”

Pope Leo calls for an unarmed peace amid the threat of war

VATICAN NEWS - In his Message for the 2026 World Day of Peace on Jan. 1, Pope Leo XIV reflects on a world marked by fear, militarization and the threat of war. In his first Message for this observance, he addresses the seriousness of the moment while proposing a vision of peace that is “unarmed and disarming,” resisting violence not through force but through moral clarity, dialogue and the conversion of hearts.

He added, “Reiterating the appeal of the Council Fathers, and considering dialogue to be the most effective approach at every level, we must acknowledge that further technological advances and the military implementation of artificial intelligence have worsened the tragedy of armed conflict. There is even a growing tendency among political and military leaders to shirk responsibility, as decisions about life and death are increasingly ‘delegated’ to machines. This marks an unprecedented and destructive betrayal of the legal and philosophical principles of humanism that underlie and safeguard every civilization.”