Public Policy: New Threats Give Rise to USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty

Church Leaders Respond to Unprecedented HHS Attack on Conscience and First Amendment Rights

Updated April 12, 2012

Introduction

In September 2011 Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), announced to the bishops of the United States the formation of an Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty. The purpose for this committee, wrote Cardinal Dolan, is to respond to emerging threats to the religious liberty and freedom of conscience of Catholics and all Americans. In his letter to the bishops, Cardinal Dolan cited six specific attacks on religious freedom since June 2011 as reasons for the creation of the special committee.

  • The federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued regulations that would mandate the coverage of contraception (including abortifacients) and sterilization in all private health insurance plans. There is an exception for certain religious employers, but, to borrow from Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, President of The Catholic Health Association, it would cover only the “parish housekeeper.” And the exception does nothing to protect insurers or individuals with religious or moral objections to the mandate.
  • HHS is also requiring that Migrant and Refugee Services (MRS) provide the “full range of reproductive services” to trafficking victims and unaccompanied minors in its cooperative agreements and government contracts—and we all know what that means. This is exactly the position urged by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in the ongoing lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of MRS’s contracts as, ironically, a violation of religious liberty.
  • Catholic Relief Services is also concerned that USAID, under the Department of State, is increasingly requiring comprehensive HIV prevention activities (for example, condom distribution), as well as full integration of reproductive health activities including provision of artificial contraception, within a range of international relief and development programs. Under the direction of the board, CRS is following up on these concerns.
  • The federal Department of Justice has ratcheted up its attack on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as an act of bigotry. As you know, in March, the Department stopped defending DOMA against constitutional challenges, and the Conference spoke out against that decision. But in July, the Department started filing briefs actively attacking DOMA’s constitutionality, claiming that supporters of the law could only have been motivated by bias and prejudice. If the label of “bigot” sticks to us—especially in court—because of our teaching on marriage, we’ll have church-state conflicts for years to come as a result.
  • The Justice Department has also disappointed us in the critically important “ministerial exception” case now pending before the Supreme Court. The Department could have taken the position that the “ministerial exception,” though generally providing a strong protection of the right of religious groups to choose their ministers without government interference, just didn’t apply in the case before the court. Instead, the Department attacked the very existence of the exception as well. (Update: the U.S. Supreme Court in January 2012 upheld the "ministerial exception.")
  • The New York legislature passed, and the Governor signed, a law redefining marriage, with only a very narrow religious exemption. Already, county clerks face legal action for refusing to participate in same-sex unions, and gay rights advocates are publicly emphasizing how little religious freedom protection people and groups will enjoy under the new law.

According to Cardinal Dolan: "The establishment of the Ad Hoc Committee is one element of what I expect to be a new moment in the history of our Conference. Never before have we faced this kind of challenge to our ability to engage in the public square as people of faith and as a service provider. If we do not act now, the consequence will be grave."

Not long after the formation of the USCCB Religious Liberty Committee the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced in January 2012 that it would not expand the religious exemption to the contraceptive mandate issued in August 2011, but instead would give religious employers a one year extension to determine how to be in compliance. Catholic leaders in Michigan and across the country translated this decision to mean that the Church would be given one year to figure out how to violate her conscience.

On February 10, President Obama sought to appear to back pedal on the lack of protection for religious employers as strong secular and religious opposition was building across the country. Despite an “accommodation” announced that day that would allow employees to request objectionable services directly from the employer’s insurer, the fact remains that religious employers (and premium sharing paying employees) would still be mandated to pay for health benefit plans that include abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception. On February 10, the HHS mandate went into the federal record “without change” from the rule issued by Secretary Sebelius on January 20.

Listed below are statements, media comments and documents from the Holy Father, Michigan bishops and national Catholic leaders in response to these unprecedented attacks on religious liberty in America. This page, which is designed chronologically, will be updated as developments occur.

Church Leaders Respond to Attacks on Right of Conscience and Religious Liberty