The Maryland Catholic Conference (MCC)
The Maryland Catholic Conference (MCC) is the statewide public policy organization for the Catholic Church in Maryland. It represents the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Archdiocese of Washington, and the Diocese of Wilmington on legislative and public policy efforts in Maryland. MCC focuses its educational efforts and state-level advocacy on education and youth policy, respect for life, and social and economic policy. 1
Contents
Activities
The Maryland Catholic Conference is the statewide public policy organization that represents the more than one million Catholics who live in Maryland. MCC provides the opportunity for Maryland Catholics to engage in political life through its action alerts, news, and resources. MCC’s efforts are primarily focused on education and youth policy, respect for life, and social and economic policy. MCC represents the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Archdiocese of Washington, and the Diocese of Wilmington. 1
The Maryland Catholic Conference claims that maintaining strong families has become more challenging due to certain parts of the U.S. judicial and corrections systems. MCC supports criminal justice policies efforts that bring about restorative justice and prioritize families and human dignity. The Maryland Catholic Conference provides resources for circle process, sometimes called circle keeping, a restorative practice that is frequently tied to the principles of restorative justice. 2
The Maryland Catholic Conference sees value and dignity in all stages of human life and opposes abortion, domestic violence, physician-assisted suicide, and human trafficking. MCC provides resources for pregnancy support and has successfully supported policies to create a special health insurance enrollment period for pregnancy, grants for prenatal and infant support, diaper-changing table requirements for new public buildings, requirements for state employees to be given time and space to breastfeed, and an increase in Maryland’s state budget for child care for low-income women. 3
The Maryland Catholic Conference advocates for “racial justice” and expanded immigration, and calls for Catholics to be more engaged in environmentalism so as to become responsible “stewards of the earth.” MCC supports policies it believes will protect the “dignity” of immigrants, address the “structural causes of poverty” and “inequality,” and protect the inherent dignity of every person, regardless of race. MCC provides resources for these issues along with quotations from Pope Francis and the Catholic bishops of Maryland supporting its stances. 4
Funding
The Maryland Catholic Conference is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. While MCC does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities ($10,000 in 2014) 5 and Mercy Medical Center ($5,000 in 2020). 6
People
As of 2025, Jenny Kraska was the executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference. Kraska formerly worked as the executive director of the Colorado Catholic Conference, as the president of the National Association of State Catholic Conference Directors, and as a consultant to several U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops committees. Kraska formerly sat on the board of Catholic Rural Life. 1
Garrett O’Day was the deputy director of MCC and vice president of the Maryland Council for American Private Education as of 2025. At that time, O’Day was a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Federal Assistance Advisory Commission and the Maryland State Early Childhood Advisory Council. 1