Georgia Catholics visit Capitol, tell lawmakers their views on issues

Published: 2008-02-21

ATLANTA (CNS) -- Willa McGarity and Margaret Ann Harris were among scores of Catholics who took to the shiny marble halls of the Georgia Statehouse in early February to encourage lawmakers to vote against death penalty legislation and an English-only language proposal. McGarity, a retired nursing instructor, and Harris, who worked in advertising, are friends and novices in the ways of politics. Both wanted to learn about the intersection of faith and the making of laws. Harris called the day a "fact-finding mission for my faith. We are just here to voice what is the right thing to do, according to the Bible," she told The Georgia Bulletin, Atlanta's archdiocesan newspaper. But she knows the Catholic view isn't the only view. "We Catholics are just part of what makes up the community. We don't run the show," she said. The Catholic Communications Office of the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Georgia Catholic Conference sponsored the event. The Georgia Catholic Conference, the lobbying arm for the two dioceses in the state, is focused on fighting two bills currently, one related to immigration and the other to the death penalty.

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