Focus / Posted June 24, 2026
Catholics have a particular call to engage in elections as faithful citizens by forming their consciences and voting with faith. This edition of Focus will unpack what that looks like and encourage Catholics to embrace the call to faithful citizenship in this year’s election in Michigan.
Lansing Update / Posted August 14, 2026
The state recently agreed to not enforce a law that MCC had opposed due to constitutional concerns related to faith-based counseling. Also, two MCC-backed bills recently became law, a less-than-frequent occurrence in this era of divided government.
The Word from Lansing / Posted August 11, 2026
Ensuring equitable access is a guiding principle for MCC when it comes to advocating for more than 100,000 children who attend nonpublic schools. The new state budget recently signed into law continues to extend equitable access to state resources to students who attend both public and nonpublic schools.
Lansing Update / Posted July 24, 2026
The Governor this week signed the next state budget into law, finalizing the significant gains for Catholic schools and agencies that a bipartisan Legislature recently approved.
MCC Advocacy Preserves and Strengthens Prior Year Funding Levels
News Release / Posted July 22, 2026
After months of legislative advocacy, MCC is grateful for a final state budget that supports residents in need and includes appropriations to benefit Catholic and other nonpublic schools statewide.
The Blueprint for the Common Good consists of nine advocacy principles that guide Michigan Catholic Conference’s public policy work at the state Capitol. The advocacy principles are informed by Catholic social teaching, the Catholic Church’s application of Gospel values to the world’s affairs.
Each person possesses an inherent dignity simply because he or she exists and is willed, created, and loved by God. This dignity prevails in and beyond every circumstance, state, or situation the person may ever encounter. Catholic teaching—which informs MCC’s advocacy principles—flows from upholding human dignity, which first begins with respecting and protecting each person’s right to life.
All people must have access to basic human needs to ensure they can live in a dignified manner. Whether in public policymaking or state budget decisions, the Church urges particular concern for the poor, the vulnerable, and those who lack basic necessities.
The First Amendment assures Americans the freedom to exercise their faith in the public square. For Catholics and other religious individuals and organizations, religious liberty protects the right to worship as much as the right to serve others—especially those in need—in harmony with the teachings of the faith.
Parents have the fundamental right to choose an educational setting for their children that best meets their needs. As such, public authorities should promote education choice by removing barriers to public and nonpublic education so families can choose the best option for their children.
Family built upon marriage is the central institution of social life, and as such, the institution of marriage between one man and one woman and the raising of children should be encouraged and supported through economic and social policy. Attention and resources should also be directed toward situations where family structures have broken down and harmed children.
Affordable and accessible health care is a fundamental human right and should be extended to the poor, uninsured, unemployed, and other vulnerable populations.
To recognize the human dignity of both crime victim and offender, restorative justice fosters fairness and rehabilitation, improves public safety, and encourages accountability and healing.
As every human person is a child of God, immigrants and refugees must be treated with dignity, respect, and compassion—including in the development of public policy. At both the federal and state levels, the Catholic Church calls for measures that protect the family and improves access to basic services.
The Church promotes responsible stewardship of the environment and natural resources not only to honor God’s gift of creation, but also because of the impact environmental deterioration has on people, families, and the poor.
The Church’s social teaching is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society. Modern Catholic social teaching has been articulated through a tradition of papal, conciliar, and episcopal documents. The depth and richness of this tradition can be understood best through a direct reading of these documents. In these brief reflections, we wish to highlight several of the key themes that are at the heart of our Catholic social tradition.
