USCCB Tells Congress: Restore Religious Freedom, Rescind These Laws!

Last updated on: March 23, 2015 at 7:26 pm by Kathy Schiffer

USCCB Tells Congress: Restore Religious Freedom, Rescind These Laws! 2015-03-23T19:26:02-05:00 Kathy Schiffer

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Two Catholic cardinals, three archbishops and a bishop, representing the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, have released an open letter to Congress, urging them to rescind two laws recently enacted in the District of Columbia, the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act (RHNDA) and the Human Rights Amendment Act (HRAA).

The open letter, dated March 20, 2015, was signed by Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington; Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities; Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty; Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha, chairman of the Committee on Catholic Education; Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage; and Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo, chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.

The first of the two laws in question, the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act, the bishops explain,

“prevents religious institutions, faith-based organizations, and pro-life advocacy organizations from making employment decisions consistent with their sincerely held beliefs. For example, they could be forced to hire, retain and promote individuals whose public speech and conduct contradicts their missions.”

The bishops add that this legislation may require these religious institutions and organizations to subsidize elective abortions through their employee health plans, a result which would violate the Hyde/Weldon amendment approved every year by Congress as part of the Labor/HHS appropriations act.

Second, the signatories asked Congress to rescind the Human Rights Amendment Act, which repeals the Nation’s Capital Religious Liberty and Academic Freedom Act (also known as the “Armstrong Amendment”) which was passed by Congress in 1989 and made part of the District of Columbia code. The HRAA, according to the bishops,

“ensures that the D.C. Human Rights Act cannot be construed to require religiously affiliated schools to officially endorse, fund, or provide other assistance for the promotion of human sexuality or sexual conduct contrary to the schools’ faith and moral beliefs. Although there are different beliefs regarding human sexuality and sexual conduct, religiously-affiliated educational institutions ought not be forced under penalty of law to support beliefs contrary to their teachings.”

The USCCB contends that these two laws would compel religious institutions, faith-based organizations, and pro-life advocacy organizations to engage in behaviors which are unacceptable to them, and that the laws seem intended to drive these institutions and organizations out of the District of Columbia.

The Archdiocese of Washington and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are among the organizations whose mission is threatened by these new laws.

The letter asks that Congress take action against government coercion that would undermine our cherished freedoms, especially in the Nation’s Capital. They ask that Congress exercise its authority to rescind RHNDA and HRAA.

Government

Religious Liberty

USCCB

Previous Post

March 23, 2015

Appreciating Mary in a New Way

Next Post

March 24, 2015 "Did You See Jesus?" Wife Shares Her Dying Husband's Dramatic Story

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #Synod14 Abortion Abstinence Abuse Addiction Adoption Advent Adventure Advertising Aging Agnosticism All Saints Day All Souls Day Amish Anathema Angels Anglican Animals Annulment Annunciation Apocalypse Apologetics Apostles Apostleship of the Sea Apparitions Archangels Archbishop Cordileone Archbishop Dolan Archbishop Vigneron Archeology Architecture Art Art Buchwald Ash Wednesday Assisted Suicide Astronauts Atheism Athletes Babies Baptism Beatification Beauty Bible Biochemistry Bioethics Birds Bishop Lori Bishops Blasphemy Books Canon Law Canonization Capital Punishment Cardinal Burke Cardinal Dolan Cardinal George Caritas Catechesis Catechism of the Catholic Church Catholic Catholic Education Catholic Higher Education Catholic Social Teaching Celibacy Cemeteries Character Charity Chastity Cheapskate Christian Unity Christmas Churches Civil Rights Cloning Comedy Communion of Saints Community Kitchens Confession Confirmation Conscience Consequences Consistory Constitution Contraception Conversion Cooking Councils of the Church Creativity Criminal Justice Cristero War Crucifixion Crystal Cathedral Culture Death Death and Dying Death Penalty Department of Health and Human Services Diaconate Dictatorship of Relativism Dignity Disability Discrimination Dissidence Divorce Doctors of the Church Early Church Fathers Easter Economics Ecumenism Education Encyclicals Environmentalism Episcopal Church Eucharist Euthanasia Evangelism Evangelists Evangelization Evolution Excuses Facebook Faith Families Family Fashion Fasting Fatherhood Federal Government Feminism Fiction Film First Amendment First Communion For Greater Glory Forgiveness Free Speech Friends Friendship Gender Discrimination Germany Gnosticism Good Friday Government Grace Greed Gregorian Calendar Happiness Health Heaven Heresy History Holidays Holiness Hollywood Holy Land Holy Saturday Holy Spirit Holy Week Holy Year Home Sweet Home Homosexuality Hope Humanism Humility Humor Imagination Immaculate Conception Immigration Impulsivity In Vitro Fertilization Incarnation Indulgences Infallibility Internet Islam Italy Jerusalem Jesus Judaism Justice Kathleen Sebelius Labor Movement LCWR Lent Life Literature Liturgy Lourdes Love Magi Marketing Marriage Martyrdom Martyrs Mary Mass Media Medical Ethics Mexico Michigan Miracles Missionaries Modernism Modesty Monks Monothelitism Motherhood Movies Mushrooms Music Muslim Mystery Mysticism Mythology Nativity Natural Law Nature New Evangelization New Media New Year New Year's Resolutions Nostalgia Obscenity Occult Old Testament Origen Orthodox Orvieto Pallium Papacy Parenting Patience Patriarch Bartholomew Patriotism Peace Peace and Justice Penitence Pentecost People Persecution Philosophy Poetry Political activism Political Correctness Politics Polls Pop Culture Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope John XXIII Pope Paul VI Pope St. Pius X Pope Urban VII Population Prayer Preaching Prejudice Pride Priesthood Pro-Life Protestantism Psychology Purgatory Queenship of Mary Racism Rape Real Presence Reconciliation Reformation Relics Religious Religious Liberty Reliquary Renewal Reproductive Technology Resurrection Rights Romance Rome Royalty Sacraments Sacred Heart Saints Satanism Science Science Fiction Scripture Seal of Confession Secularism Seniors September 11 Seventy Times Seven Sexuality Sharks Sin Smoking Social Communications Social Justice Social Networking Social Sciences Space Exploration Spirituality Sports St. Luke St. Patrick's Day St. Paul St. Peter St. Teresa of Avila Stations of the Cross Steve Jobs Superstition Supreme Court Symbolism Synod Technology Teen Rebellion Television Terrorism Thankfulness Thanksgiving Theology Think This, Not That Tobit Toilets Toys Tradition Traditions Transplants Travel Trinity Twitter U.S. Air Force Uncategorized United Nations USCCB Valentine Vatican Vatican Archives Vatican Blogfest Virtue Vocations Where We Pray White Heart Women World Day of Social Communications World Meeting of Families World News World Youth Day Worship Writing Year of Consecrated Life Year of Faith Year of Mercy Youth

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the longest prophecy in the Bible given to an individual?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Daniel’s 70 Weeks Isaiah’s Suffering Servant Joseph’s Dream John’s Revelation