Catholic Lobby Day
by: Jason Manalo, 8th grade

This trip gave me an entire different view of our government.  That day I arrived at the capitol with little respect for our legislature who make the laws because of my knowledge of all the flaws in our government system, but this trip changed all that.  Speaking to the legislators made me realize their jobs are made difficult with numerous issues the legislature had to deal with.  The goal of the trip was to express our catholic opinions on the proposed bills and to make a difference in the lives of those who are affected by bills having to do with euthanasia, prisoners, budget cuts and child protection.  I actually took an active role in practicing my duty as a citizen and stood up for my beliefs by speaking to the legislators.  By stating my point of view on the bills proposed our group hoped to persuade the legislators to support our ideas.  We hope the legislature will be able to meet our requests and make California a better place for everyone.

Catholic Lobby Day
By: Elena Nicdao, 8th grade

            Going to Catholic Lobby Day was a great experience for me. It felt great knowing that I was helping make a difference. I also felt amazed to see so many Catholics also fighting for the same thing I was fighting for. I felt somehow connected with those people when we prayed and went to meet the legislators. When we talked to Fiona Ma I became interested in how she was taking everyone's opinions into consideration. She said that she considered not only her opinion but everyone in her district. I thought that was a very important thing for her to do. When we talked to Leland Lee, I could tell that he was listening very well. He listened to everyone's personal stories and asked questions to get a better idea of what and why we were fighting for. Priscilla Ouchida, who is a representative for Senator Joe Simitian gave good reasons for why there will be cuts. Listening to these legislators let me know that they are really taking what we say into consideration. It felt good to know that there are many people out there fighting for what we believe in. There were many people there and those people talked and gave reasons to why we were fighting. We want to make a difference. It was an amazing experience to be with other Catholics and fight for what I believe in.