The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing on the First Amendment Defence Act on July 12, a bill two US archbishops said would provide “a measure of protection for religious freedom at the federal level.”
The legislation was introduced on June 17 by Representative Raul Labrador, Idaho. The same day Senator Mike Lee, Utah, introduced the measure in the Senate.
The day of the hearing Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco and Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore issued a joint statement urging support for the measure. They are, respectively, chairmen of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defence of Marriage and the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty.
They said the bill is “a modest but important step in ensuring conscience protection to faith-based organisations and people of all faiths and of no faith who believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, protecting them from discrimination by the federal government.”
Archbishops Cordileone and Lori noted an “increasing intolerance toward religious belief and belief in the conjugal meaning of marriage,” which they said makes the bill’s protections “essential for continuing faith-based charitable work, which supports the common good of our society.”
“Faith-based agencies and schools should not lose their licenses or accreditation simply because they hold reasonable views on marriage that differ from the federal government’s view,” the prelates said.
The bill, known as HR 2802, defines “discriminatory action” as any federal government action to discriminate against a person with such beliefs or convictions.
Those actions include altering the federal tax treatment of, causing any tax, penalty or payment to be assessed against, or denying, delaying or revoking certain tax exemptions of any such person; withholding, reducing, excluding, terminating or otherwise denying any benefit under a federal benefit program; or disallowing a deduction of any charitable contribution “made to or by such person.”
“The definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, universally held for centuries, has nothing to do with disrespect for others, nor does it depend on religious belief,” Archbishops Cordileone and Lori wrote. “Rather, it is based on truths about the human person that are understandable by reason.
Opponents of the First Amendment Defence Act have said it would enable widespread discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and compared it to a religious freedom law in Mississippi that a judge halted.
In their statement, the archbishops said the Catholic Church “will continue to promote and protect the truth of marriage as foundational to the common good.”
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.