The Minnesota Catholic Conference is putting the finishing touches for its legislative lobbying efforts this year and at the top of the list, says the Catholic Spirit newspaper, is a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman.

The conference lobbies on behalf of the Catholic bishops, focusing on "public policies and programs that support the life and dignity of every human person," the paper says.

In addition to support for the constitutional amendment on marriage, the group also will work to:

• Ensure that efforts to fix Minnesota’s $6.2 billion budget shortfall won’t harm the poor and vulnerable.
• Promote education initiatives, including legislation that creates tax credits for businesses and individuals who donate money toward scholarship programs for nonpublic, K-12 schools.
• Support health-care initiatives that benefit the common good — including advocating for legislation that provides health care for all Minnesotans and backing efforts to end public funding of abortion in the state.

Peter Noll, the group's education director, told the paper: “There’s probably no other [organization] like us at the Capitol lobbying because we advocate for the life continuum from conception to natural death and everything in between. Most other organizations are much more narrowly focused.”

And the group's leaders recognize that the new Republican majority in both houses should bode well for their initiatives, particularly the marriage amendment.

It's "helping the poor agenda," though, could have a harder time, given the massive budget deficit. But the group says it will try:

“It is not enough to provide a safety net. We must find a way out of that net to ensure that those in need are given the means to provide adequate employment, housing, food and health care for themselves and their dependents," says the Conference agenda outline.