The WSCC is non-partisan and does not endorse candidates or parties.

With so much happening in the federal sphere, it can be easy to lose sight of what is happening locally. But an important advocacy opportunity is upon us in Washington state. The candidate filing period for Washington legislative races ends May 8. Between that day and the primary election in August, we encourage Catholics to ask each person running for the legislature in your district, how will they ensure citizens have meaningful access to their legislators so they can be better informed and make their voices heard?
Citizen access to the governing process is critical to our Catholic duty to participate in our democracy. The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church states it clearly:
“Participation in community life is not only one of the greatest aspirations of the citizen, called to exercise freely and responsibly his civic role with and for others, but it is also one of the pillars of all democratic orders and one of the major guarantees of the permanence of the democratic
system. . . This means that the different subjects of civil community at every level must be informed, listened to and involved in the exercise of the carried-out function.” (190).
The legislative process works best when it is an open dialogue between opposing points of view. Law that is the result of legislators talking with constituents and stakeholders, even those who oppose the policy, often results in changes to a bill that improve the outcomes of the legislation. Unfortunately, state legislators determine the fate of most bills in closed, single-party caucus meetings, then meet in public executive sessions to cast pre-determined votes. During 2026, far too many of those meetings resulted in committees voting up or down on amendments to legislation with only one side of the debate articulating any reasons for their votes. When only one side provides its reasoning for a vote, the public is left without information it needs to understand how a bill is expected to work in reality.
Further complicating the situation is a decision by the Court of Appeals in Tacoma which gave credence to a newly declared “legislative privilege” to hide internal decision-making processes from disclosure. As reported by the Washington Coalition for Open Government, the
ruling found “a privilege against the disclosure of records revealing internal legislative deliberations concerning bills contemplated or introduced in either house of the Legislature… . The ruling, if it stands, would be a blow to government transparency in Washington state, making it harder for ordinary citizens and journalists to understand how decisions are made in Olympia.”
As the legislative process runs now, citizens can testify in committees but receive little if any information from legislators about their knowledge of and thoughts about specific legislation. Yes, legislators send out bulletins to keep their constituents informed, but often those bulletins are canned forms, identical across legislators of the same party. The bulletins also fail to reveal anything about the policy discussions between proponents and opponents that lead to bills passing or not. Those discussions take place almost entirely behind closed doors among
party members and with special interest lobbyists. There also appears, from what little information is available to the public, to be limited meaningful engagement with the opposition party, on either side of the political aisle.
Catholic social doctrine holds that “all those attitudes that encourage in citizens an inadequate or incorrect practice of participation or that cause widespread disaffection with everything connected with the sphere of social and political life are a source of concern and deserve careful consideration” (CSDC 191). Whether it involves attempts on the federal level to discourage voting or on the state level to stymie citizen engagement, we as Catholics must raise our voices in support of our God-given right and duty to participate in our democracy at every level.
What can you do? … Attend candidate forums, send emails or call candidates (check this page
information) and ask them or their proxies who knock on your door, how they will help to change current legislative practices that result in the public having very limited information about their deliberations over policies that impact the residents of this state. More specifically, ask if they will support more open debate among legislative committee members before public comment in committee meetings, ending or at least severely limiting the self-created legislative privilege, and providing more opportunities for public dialogue around bills to ensure final passed versions are as fully-vetted as possible, long before the impacts are felt by the public.

Kathleen Lange,

Chris Kuperstein,

Jeremy Miller,

Serena Rainey,

and Vance Whippo

Just The Facts: The Reproductive Freedom & Privacy Act (RFPA)

Idaho Ballot Measure – November 2026

The Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act (RFPA), a citizen-initiated statute that would take effect January 1, 2027, would add a new Chapter 8 to Title 39 of the Idaho Code and establish a statutory right to “reproductive freedom and privacy.” According to the initiative text, this right includes the ability to make personal decisions about “reproductive health care” that directly affect one’s own body.
The act explicitly lists abortion as protected under this new right. The act deceptively changes the legal meaning of health care to include abortion. Health care by definition does not include abortion.
Definition of “Reproductive Health Care” (Verbatim from Initiative):

“Reproductive health care” means health care and other medical services related
to the reproductive processes, functions, and systems. It includes but is not limited
to abortion, contraception, childbirth, fertility treatment, miscarriage care, and
prenatal, pregnancy, and postpartum care.

What the RFPA Will Do

• Create a new statutory right to “reproductive freedom and privacy,” explicitly
  including abortion.
• Allows abortion up to fetal viability, determined case-by-case by a provider.
• Allows abortion after viability for broadly defined “medical emergencies,” based
  on a provider’s “good faith medical judgment.”
• Shields providers from liability for aiding “the exercise of the right to kill an
  unborn child.”
• Allows any person or entity to “advise, assist, facilitate, inform, refer, or otherwise
  aid” someone seeking abortion—effectively eliminating parental involvement.

Saint Catherine of Siena said: “Speak the truth as if you had a million voices. It is silence that kills.”

Saint Teresa of Calcutta said, “Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use violence to get what they want.”

Saint John Paul II said, “Never tire of firmly speaking out in defense of life from its conception, and not be deterred from the commitment to defend the dignity of every human person with courageous determination. Christ is with you: be not afraid!”

What if Jesus comes back like that
On an old freight train in a hobo hat
Will we let him in or turn our back?

The song got my attention thirty years ago, because at the time I didn’t know it was possible to publicly stand up for homeless people AND new mothers AND their babies AND Christian values. Now in 2025, as the poor and unborn still need our love, we have the American Solidarity Party to defend the dignity of all human beings and respect religious freedom. As we prepare to celebrate the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas, let’s not hesitate to redirect our families away from divisive mainstream politics and point out this alternative, which finds common ground by promoting the common good of all people.

https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/10/17/train-line-from-portland-to-salt-lake-city-would-bridge-rural-and-urban-gap-advocates-say

We pray that peace would reign throughout the world,
that those who are oppressed would find justice,
and that we would stand in solidarity with the least fortunate.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen

We give thanks for mothers who sacrifice their own bodies to bring new life into the world. We give thanks for the charity of benefactors who donate food and clothing to help those who are less fortunate this season. We give thanks for the natural world and its fruits, given to humanity to be enjoyed but not squandered. We give thanks for husbands and wives who faithfully put each other first for a lifetime despite a world that encourages them to be selfish. We give thanks for families and churches, where our local community finds support, undaunted by the fickleness of the economy. And we give thanks for even a brief pause in the war in the Middle East while hostages are reunited with their families.

That is not to say that we should pretend that everything is perfect. We remain vigilant against the destroyers of gratefulness: spoiled disrespect and prideful self-reliance. As we celebrate the holidays with our loved ones, let us set an attractive example of thankfulness and gratitude, which inspires our families and friends to appreciate and share the abundance of the Earth in solidarity with all.