Texas Catholic Voice December 2024

New Year, new Legislature

We hope everyone is having a blessed Advent and looking forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus with loved ones. By the time our first 2025 Texas Catholic Voice is published, the 89th legislative session will be underway with a new speaker of the house, and maybe even new committee assignments and new House rules.  Of course, everyone is wondering who the next speaker will be. No clear frontrunner has emerged since Rep. Dade Phelan dropped out and other candidates will likely enter the race. Stay tuned. 

Robert Roberson update and call to President Biden for pardons

Texas legislators have again issued a subpoena to hear testimony from Robert Roberson at a committee hearing on Friday, Dec. 20, regarding his murder conviction. The Texas Supreme Court ruled last month that a legislative subpoena of a death row inmate could not be used to halt an execution but is otherwise permissible. Robert’s attorney says he is eager to provide testimony, but committee members have expressed concern that the attorney general will stall efforts to comply with the subpoena until the committee must disband at the start of the new legislative session. Regardless of whether he will be able to testify, we are grateful that no new execution date has been set. 

A coalition of Catholic organizations, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is urging Catholics to ask President Joe Biden to commute all current federal death sentences to life in prison before he leaves office. There are 40 men currently sitting on federal death row. Send a message to the president here. 

Congratulations to Bishop Brendan Cahill who is the new chairman-elect of the USCCB Committee on Migration.

Our office will be closed Dec. 23 through Jan. 1. We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!