ELCA, Catholic bishops urge Dayton, legislators to protect poor in budget battle

Catholic and Lutheran leadership in Minnesota sent an open letter to Gov. Mark Dayton and state elected officials on Monday urging them to preserve access to basic needs for the state’s poor. Both Dayton and Republican leadership have proposed cuts to projected funding for social services to fix a $5 billion budget hole, with Dayton proposing a mix of cuts and new revenue and Republicans proposing cuts alone.

“We trust that you will seek to govern the people of the state of Minnesota so that all citizens — particularly those who are poor and live on the margins of our communities — have access to housing, education, health care, and other human services,” the letter states.

The letter is signed by the majority of bishops from the the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Roman Catholic Church, including the Archbishop John Nienstedt.

Just under 50 percent of Minnesotans are either Lutheran or Catholic.

Here’s full text of the letter:

An Open Letter to Governor Mark Dayton and Members of the Minnesota Senate and Minnesota House of Representatives

From the Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

By now, you are immersed in the challenges of providing legislative and executive leadership for all Minnesotans. As citizens, we take seriously the need for change in addressing the Herculean task that lies before us. The responsibilities you face as you lead us and consider the future of our state present opportunities to uphold the dignity and worth of all Minnesotans.

You are already deeply into erasing a large budget deficit, an enormous challenge that suggests both dollar savings and increased income to achieve a balanced budget that avoids devastating cuts in services to vulnerable people. In many of the political campaigns of last fall, we heard politicians speak of “fairness” and “equality” as they spoke of the task ahead. We ask you today to consider “justice” as you engage in your work. Justice means that the common good of all citizens serves as the hallmark of a strong society and a vital economy.

We expect that, as you seek to balance the budget, you will engage in civil and respectful dialog rather than partisanship and posturing. We trust that you will seek to govern the people of the state of Minnesota so that all citizens — particularly those who are poor and live on the margins of our communities — have access to housing, education, health care, and other human services. We suggest that the most eff ective means of eliminating poverty resides in policies that lift people out of a safety net to a level of sustainability.

Minnesota has a history of caring for all its citizens, and all of us are heirs of those who shaped that legacy. Catholics and Lutherans — representing some two million Minnesotans — have partnered in that legacy as the largest providers of health care, human services, and non-public education. Being a state that cares for its people has been the hallmark of Minnesota. And the most telling measure of how well we care for each other is to consider how we treat those who are most vulnerable among us. We believe there exists in the people of this state the will to respond to the human needs among the poor with compassion, generosity, and resolve. We challenge you to remember all Minnesotans as you make decisions that affect the people, the economy, and the character of this state. We pledge our support, our prayer, and our best effort to these same ends as we each seek to be faithful stewards of the common good in this state.

Roman Catholic Bishops of Minnesota
Archbishop John Nienstedt, Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Bishop Michael Hoeppner, Diocese of Crookston
Bishop John Kinney, Diocese of Saint Cloud
Bishop John LeVoir, Diocese of New Ulm
Bishop Lee Piché, Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Bishop John Quinn, Diocese of Winona
Bishop Paul Sirba, Diocese of Duluth

ELCA Bishops of Minnesota
Bishop Jon Anderson, Southwestern Minnesota Synod
Bishop Thomas Aitken, Northeastern Minnesota Synod
Bishop Craig Johnson, Minneapolis Area Synod
Bishop Peter Rogness, Saint Paul Area Synod
Bishop Harold Usgaard, Southeastern Minnesota Synod
Bishop Lawrence Wohlrabe, Northwestern Minnesota Synod