By Tom Venzor
A bishop, a politician, a priest and a lobbyist walk into a bar… and engage in a riveting panel discussion on Pope Leo’s encyclical about artificial intelligence!
Not quite the punchline you expected, and it’s no joke.
On Thursday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m. at The Post (located in Lincoln in the Telegraph District area), the Nebraska Catholic Conference is hosting “Bishop & Brews.” This Theology-on-Tap-style event will feature Bishop James Conley and other notable panelists for an in-depth discussion on Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical on safeguarding the human person in an age of AI.
We’re looking forward to bringing Catholics and non-Catholics together for a night of community and discussion on a topic that is exponentially growing in relevance and impact each day.
The panel will also include Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Father Kevin FitzGerald, SJ. Yours truly will be the moderator. We’ll cover major topics from the encyclical, including artificial intelligence and war, education, politics, the media, bioethics, the economy, care for creation, the life of the Church, and—most importantly—safeguarding the human person and human community.
You won’t want to miss this event. It’ll be a great time in a laid-back environment, enjoying a drink with friends (and the bishop!), and diving into your faith—and maybe you’ll even win one of our door prizes!
Whether you’ve spent zero time on this topic or you’re an expert, or something in between, this event is for you. Invite family, friends, fellow parishioners, neighbors—and might as well bring along a stranger while you’re at it.
Ballot issues and upcoming election
The Nov. 3 General Election is around the corner. I’ve said it before, there’s really no such thing as Election Day anymore; it’s really Election Month. Early voting begins already on Oct. 5—less than a month away.
In a recent Spirit Catholic Radio Morning Show segment, I was talking with Jeb Eischeid and Damian Montez about the upcoming election, and Damian made a great point: elections aren’t something you cram for, like we all did for any number of school exams. While it’s tempting to think you can pull up your phone two seconds before walking into the polling place or mailing in your ballot, that’s not the best approach to voting.
As Catholics we’re called to be informed on the candidates and the ballot issues in front of us. We should do our best to gather relevant information, talk directly with candidates or people working on the ballot issues, and consult with family, friends, and co-workers. With good information in hand, we apply our well-formed conscience to the candidates and issues. And if our conscience isn’t yet well-formed, we take time to form it through helpful materials like the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops’ document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship and its accompanying resources. All this information, plus some time in prayer, puts us in the best position to exercise our Catholic faith in civic life.
This election cycle, Nebraskans are going to once again see several initiatives on their ballot.
There will be a ballot initiative to protect fairness in girls’ sports. This initiative will create a constitutional amendment protecting girls by ensuring males cannot participate in female sports. This initiative closely mirrors legislation the Nebraska Catholic Conference has supported and championed in previous legislative sessions.
There are two ballot measures pertaining to expanded gambling. These efforts would allow for Nebraska’s current casinos to offer online sports gambling to anybody located within Nebraska. The Nebraska Catholic Conference has opposed similar legislative bills that have sought to expand predatory online gambling.
The other ballot initiative would restrict the Nebraska Legislature from making substantive changes to initiatives or referendum that have been successfully adopted by a vote of the people. This initiative would only allow the Legislature to make minor changes, if they have 40 votes (out of 49) in favor of the change. This 40-vote threshold is substantially higher than the 30-vote threshold currently required to pass a bill in the legislative process which affects laws passed by initiative or referendum.
As the election nears, don’t catch yourself flatfooted. Start taking time now to be a well-formed Catholic who knows and understands the candidates and issues.
