RED MASS IN TOPEKA THIS TUESDAY
BIG WEEK AHEAD

COME HOLY SPIRIT!

All four Kansas Catholic Bishops will be in Topeka this coming Tuesday for one of the biggest and busiest weeks of the 2026 Kansas Legislative Session.

All are welcome and encouraged to attend the annual Red Mass beginning at noon inside Mater Dei-Assumption Catholic Church, right across the street (north) from the State Capitol. We are honored and excited to welcome Archbishop Shawn McKnight of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, who will offer his first Red Mass homily. Meaning of the Red Mass

We will also be honored by the presence of Bishop John Brungardt of Dodge City, Bishop Carl Kemme of Wichita, and Bishop Jerry Vincke of Salina. In addition to the Red Mass, the Kansas Catholic Bishops will visit with legislators, the leadership of the Kansas Knights of Columbus, and discuss policy issues with the staff of the Kansas Catholic Conference. By the time the Bishops celebrate the Red Mass, the legislative week will be off to a busy start. Here is what we expect looking ahead.

MANDATING CLERGY TO REPORT ABUSE

For many years now, every Catholic priest and deacon in Kansas has been trained and is obligated to report instances of abuse or neglect of children that they witness. HB 2352 is a proposed law that would legally mandate such a report. This kind of reporting requirement has already been, for many years, a part of the child protection policies that apply to priests, deacons and other religious associated with the Kansas Catholic Church. A hearing on this bill is set for Monday, January 26 at 3:30 p.m. You can watch the hearing online here: Kansas House Judiciary Committee. The Kansas Catholic Conference supports this legislation.

DEMOCRACY AND FREE SPEECH CAN GET MESSY

This coming Tuesday, two extreme elements from Kansas will converge and face off at the Kansas Capitol. It's also a day when large numbers of Kansas students will gather to rally for school choice. This convergence of polar opposites wasn't planned, but it's happening.

A group called "Abortion is Murder KS," known for their offensive language and signs, will hold an Abortion is Murder event at about the same time (8:30 a.m.) as members of the Satanic Grotto from Leavenworth, KS are expected to gather in a counter-protest with blasphemous images. Both of these groups are anti-Catholic in their rhetoric and action, and we caution anyone coming to the Capitol not to engage with either group in any way. Our hope and prayer is for the conversion of all hardened and evil hearts.

SCHOOL CHOICE RALLY TUESDAY

Beginning at about 11 a.m. on Tuesday, an uplifting and positive rally is scheduled for the first floor of the State Capitol. It is the annual Kansas School Choice Rally where we make our voices heard for educational choice. The Kansas Catholic Conference is a proud co-sponsor of this wonderful event where children, teachers, parents and others gather in support of policies that will foster more choice for Kansas parents seeking the best educational opportunity possible for their child's individual and unique needs.

CRITICAL EDUCATIONAL HELP FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES

Later Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m., the House Education Committee is expected to debate and vote on HB 2468, a bill we call the Low Income Family Assistance Scholarship Act. This school choice legislation includes "opting in" to a new federal government provision that will allow the creation and funding of scholarship granting organizations (SGO's) to help public school students with a wide range of educational opportunities like tutoring, services for children with special needs and much more. You can explore the details of this legislation, known as the Educational Choice of Childrens Act (ECCA) at this link: https://eccacredit.com/

The other key provision of HB 2468 would expand the statewide limit or "cap" on donations for the current Kansas State low income tax credit scholarship program in Kansas. Right now, Kansas law allows a total limit or cap of $10 million for use by low-income scholarship granting organizations (SGO's). Donations to SGO's are eligible for a 75% state income tax credit. The program is so popular that the cap was met in mid-December last year. The cap has never been raised in 10+ years of its existence! It's past time to raise the cap! Raising the cap will allow more money to flow into the SGO's. Those dollars can then be used to award more scholarships to students from low-income families. This is a great way for more low-income families and students to receive scholarships to attend schools of their choice that best fit their needs.

Learn more about this critical program that is helping students from low income, primarily minority families here: Kansas Low Income Tax Credit Program Explained

THE KANSAS MARCH FOR LIFE

Children, high school students, parents and families from throughout Kansas will gather in Topeka on Wednesday for the annual March for Life to the State Capitol. It all begins at 9 a.m. with the Ignite for Life Rally at Topeka Performing Arts Center (TPAC). Mass with the Bishops of Kansas takes place at 10:30 a.m. followed by the short march to the steps of the Kansas Statehouse at noon. Our own Lucrecia Nold from the Kansas Catholic Conference will help "kick off" the march right outside the TPAC.

Here is a short video to help get you fired up for this day of witnessing on behalf of mothers in difficult pregnancies and their preborn babies: IGNITE FOR LIFE!

CELL PHONE APP SAFETY FOR CHILDREN

More than a decade ago, Apple launched the wildly successful There is an APP for that campaign. The message was that you could download an App for your smartphone for just about...anything. Even Sesame Street got in on this craze: Sesame Street App Song.

What looked like a safe and helpful practice has turned out to be NOT so safe much of the time, especially for children. In fact, the practice of children downloading Apps is now linked to a host of problems, including (but not limited to) data privacy violations, exposure to inappropriate content, interaction with strangers, the collection of personal information, cyberbullying, unauthorized App purchases and much more.

The Kansas Catholic Conference stands in support of SB 372, proposed legislation known as the App Store Accountability Act. The idea behind this bill will allow parents to approve App downloads for their children. This bill will get its first rollout to legislators on Wednesday, January 28 at 10:30 a.m. in the Senate Judiciary Committee. We'll keep you updated.

COME MARCH WITH US!
DODGE CITY DIOCESE PILGRIMAGE FOR LIFE IS SATURDAY

The national March for Life in Washiongton, D.C. was held last Friday. Once again, there was a HUGE turnout—and the secular news media mostly ignored our presence. Here is a good review of what happened: DC March for Life Highlights

For our friends in Western Kansas, we invite you to join us for the Pilgrimage For Life Dodge City on Saturday, January 31. Chuck Weber from the Kansas Catholic Conference will be one of the presenters for the day, which includes prayer, Mass, a two-mile walk and lunch.