PRESS CLIPS 10(As _ - plass /10,4 S- cOCI • --- =L-7. 718 WEST 5th ST AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701 41717;5 West Texas Catholic Amarillo, Texas MAR 1 8 1919 Capital Comments Governor Clements And The Churches By Richard Daly Recently Governor Bill Clements addressed the annual meeting of the Texas Conference of Churches on the topic of "How the Church Can Address Sources of Power." What the delegates expected to hear from the Governor was an explana- tion of how concerned Texans who also happen to be Church people, including Church lead- ers, can most effectively influ- ence public policy in our state. Basically what the Governor told the delegates was that churches should not be involved in the process of influencing public policy. Many of the delegates to the assembly found themselves in basic disagreement with the Governor's position. The Gov- ernor's exact words were: "No government can succeed outside of God's grace, yet I have strong feelings that the place of the church is not in politics. The historical Jesus, as I have come to know him through study, was not on a political mission. His mission was one of offering mankind everlasting life through faith in God." The Governor went on, "I am a strong supporter of the church within its intended mis- sion, but I am not a supporter of it as a political force. So long as the church maintains its rela- tionship with our Texas state government on an arm's length basis — so long as it maintains its separateness while continuing to exert an ethical influence — that is the way for the church to address that source of power." Those statements certainly sound like the Governor was telling the churches to stay out of the public policy arena. No doubt many church leaders dis- agree with the Governor on that point. For example, the adminis- trative board of the United States Catholic Conference (the civil action arm of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops) has stated that "the church's role in the political order in- cludes the following: education regarding the teachings of the church and the responsibilities of the faithful; analysis of issues for their social and moral dimen- sions; measuring public policy against Gospel values; partici- pating with other concerned par- ties in debate over public policy; speaking out with courage, skill, and concern on public issues in- volving human rights, social jus- tice, and the life of the church in society." The church must be in- volved in the formation of public policy. That is not to say that the church should be involved in the politics of choosing can- didates for public office. There are, after all, moral and ethical implications to many public pol- icy issues. There seems to be basic dis- agreement between Governor Clements' position on this ques- tion and many, perhaps most, of the leaders of the churches who hold membership in the Texas Conference of Churches, includ- ing the eleven Roman Catholic dioceses in the state. It is very appropriate for church people, including church leaders, to re- spectfully remind the Governor of that fact.