Faithful urged to pray, act in Religious Freedom Week

As part of their ongoing efforts to uphold religious liberty, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has declared Religious Freedom Week to be held June 22-29. It is a time when Catholics are encouraged to reflect, act and pray in support of religious liberty at home and abroad. The theme for this year, Strength in Hope, is taken from the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity: “Among the trials of this life they find strength in hope, convinced that ‘the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that will be revealed in us’ (Rom. 8:18)” (Apostolicam actuositatem, 4).
The Church teaches that religious freedom is rooted in human nature and is, therefore, a fundamental right.  Unfortunately, religious freedom is not something to be taken for granted. The first half of this year has already been marked by violent attacks on religious freedom around the world and at home including mass shootings in mosques in New Zealand, bombings of churches in Sri Lanka and attacks in synagogues in California.
Nonviolent religious discrimination also takes place around the globe. We live in a time of rapid social change and as the tide of the culture wars has turned against those with traditional views on marriage, family, and sexuality, religious believers and institutions adhering to those views have increasingly sought exemptions from laws and regulations that reflect and promote new norms. These efforts have met resistance from those who fear that religious accommodations will undermine these new norms and harm those that new laws are designed to protect. Here, in the United States, the current climate of political polarization has increased tensions among policy makers resulting in partisan clashes and bitter fights instead of compromise.
Just last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the so-called “Equality Act” (H.R.5/S.788), a bill which if signed into law would result in a severe conflict between the federal government and the Church. The Equality Act would add the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the definition of sex in federal law, and insert them into a range of civil rights and antidiscrimination laws. It would also explicitly prohibit the bipartisan Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) from applying to it, subjecting Americans of faith to much higher bars to have rights vindicated in court.
The USCCB has written on some of the diverse concerns with the Equality Act, specifically on how the bill will pose problems to faith-based charities who serve all people in need, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Here are some key points:
•    Emergency, transitional or other charitable shelters,  including but not limited to those run by faith-based organization, would be required by the Equality Act to house vulnerable, sometimes traumatized women with biological men or be shut down.
•    Children in need of foster care or adoption would have fewer service providers under the Equality Act.  Because many faith-based agencies’ principals require the child’s right to a mother and a father, they would be shut down. The current number of children in foster care is more than 400,000 and is increasing in the midst of the opioid crisis. The Equality Act’s nondiscrimination clauses would not widen the paths for placing children in need with families; they would do the exact opposite.
•    Counseling and other social and wellness-based services are critical to helping disadvantaged persons. Those who commit themselves to such roles often do so with a love of others that comes from their faith.  Faith-based employers in these fields must retain the ability to hire talented people in diverse backgrounds, including religious, who do not  publicly act in contradiction to principles of their service organization’s mission.
•    All other charitable services that would seemingly have little to do with “sexual orientation” or “gender identity,” such as food or refugee services, could still be affected by the Equality Act because financial impacts upon any component of a multifaceted charitable organization would have a ripple effect on other components.
The bishops have stated: “We must pursue justice and equality for anyone denied it; but The Equality Act is a regrettable approach.” No valid and just law can claim to end discrimination when it would drive valuable, necessary charitable institutions out of existence.
As Religious Freedom Week approaches, let us take time to reflect, act and pray. Read more about religious freedom by visiting: www.usccb.org/ReligiousFreedomWeek. Consider contacting your senators today and urge them to oppose the “Equality Act” by visiting: https://www.humanlifeaction.org/take-action/.  
God, our Creator, through the power and working of His Holy Spirit, calls us to live out our faith in the midst of the world. Let us pray that we be blessed with strength in hope in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of His Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.
Ruggiero is secretary, diocesan Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life