Iowa Catholic Conference Newsletter, Dec. 12, 2025

Iowa DD Council starts ‘Let Us Work’ campaign

The Iowa Developmental Disabilities (DD) Council is encouraging messages to state legislators about challenges faced by Iowans with disabilities who want to work (or work more) but need Medicaid for health insurance. Click here for more information.

The “Let Us Work” campaign supports a “Work Without Worry” bill that would allow more Iowans with disabilities to work more hours and keep their health insurance through Medicaid. We anticipate working on this proposal during the upcoming legislative session.

‘Raise the age’ in Iowa

Earlier this year, the Iowa Catholic Conference supported a proposal to “raise the age” to 19 before a person could receive a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. We are discussing the possibility of mercy for people who have committed terrible crimes. That’s because the Church teaches that there should also be a focus on reforming and restoring offenders, not only punishment. We believe that some offenders who commit very serious crimes may gain an understanding of the gravity of their crime and be able to rejoin society under some conditions. The harm people have done should be repaired to the extent possible, which requires respect and support for all who are victimized.

A new group, Restoring Iowa Citizens, has an online petition supporting raising the age for life without parole sentencing in Iowa to 21.

Illinois governor signs assisted suicide bill

Unfortunately, Gov. Pritzker has signed assisted suicide into law in Illinois. According to the Patients Rights Action Fund, this action is “devastating to vulnerable citizens – those with disabilities, older people, women with anorexia, minority communities – and all those who may be coerced or pressured into ending their lives by using lethal drugs.”

Pregnancy centers support families

The ICC supports the “Iowa MOMS” program, which provides some funding to pregnancy support centers. We also anticipate supporting a bill to help support donations to maternity homes in the state. A national report from the Charlotte Lozier Institute highlights that 2,775 pregnancy centers nationwide provided over $452 million in total medical care, support and education services, and material goods in 2024.

Take the Cabrini Pledge

There’s still an opportunity to sign onto an online pledge from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that engages with Scripture and the Church’s social teaching and reflects on the role of migration in salvation history, the history of the United States, and the history of our own families.

In August, the Iowa bishops released a pastoral reflection, “Pilgrims of Hope,” which asks the People of God to uphold the dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God, “by welcoming the stranger, defending the oppressed, and standing in solidarity with those who are displaced.” Last month, the U.S. bishops issued a Special Message addressing their concern for the evolving situation impacting immigrants in the United States.

End doesn’t justify the means

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese of Military Services, USA, has issued a statement on U.S. military assaults against suspected drug smugglers at sea. It says in part:

"In the fight against drugs, the end never justifies the means, which must be moral, in accord with the principles of the just war theory, and always respectful of the dignity of each human person.  No one can ever be ordered to commit an immoral act, and even those suspected of committing a crime are entitled to due process under the law.  As the moral principle forbidding the intentional killing of noncombatants is inviolable, it would be an illegal and immoral order to kill deliberately survivors on a vessel who pose no immediate lethal threat to our armed forces ... Efforts to end the drug trade and their illicit use must never exclude employing the rule of law.”

Don’t use dehumanizing language

In light of recent statements regarding the Somali community in the United States, Bishop Daniel E. Garcia, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation, called on all people to remember each person’s God-given human dignity. Bishop Garcia’s says, in part:

“As Catholics, we believe that every person is beloved by God and created in his image. Each child of God has value and dignity. Language that denigrates a person or community based on his or her ethnicity or country of origin is incompatible with this truth. I call on all - public officials, community leaders and individuals - to refrain from denigrating and dehumanizing language.”