Vatican Cautions U.S. Bishops Over Moves To Deny Communion To President Biden

AP reported last month that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is considering issuing a document that would call for denying Communion to public officials-- including President Joe Biden-- who support abortion rights. Now the Vatican has made its views on the process known.  According to yesterday's National Catholic Reporter:

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has urged the U.S. bishops to proceed with caution in their discussions about formulating a national policy "to address the situation of Catholics in public office who support legislation allowing abortion, euthanasia or other moral evils."...

In the letter to Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, [Cardinal Luis] Ladaria also insisted: such a policy cannot usurp the authority of an individual bishop in his diocese on the matter; the policy would require near unanimity; and it would be "misleading" to present abortion and euthanasia as "the only grave matters of Catholic moral and social teaching that demand the fullest level of accountability on the part of Catholics."

The letter, dated May 7 and obtained by Catholic News Service in Rome, said it was in response to a letter from Gomez informing the doctrinal congregation that the bishops were preparing to address the situation of Catholic politicians and "the worthiness to receive holy Communion."...

Complaint Filed Against Catholic Hospitals Over Refusal To Perform Sterilizations

The ACLU announced yesterday that it has filed an Administrative Complaint (full text) with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights against Ascension Health challenging its reliance on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. Specifically the complaint contends that the refusal by a Michigan hospital to perform sterilization (tubal ligation) during childbirth amounts to pregnancy-related discrimination. The Affordable Care Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any health care program or activity receiving federal funds. An ACLU press release announced the filing of the complaint.

US Civil Rights Commission Issues Report On Religious Liberty vs. Civil Rights

Last week (Sept. 7), the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a 306-page briefing report titled Peaceful Coexistence: Reconciling Nondiscrimination Principles with Civil Liberties.  Here is a portion of the Commission's Findings:

The Commission endorses the briefing panelists’ statements as summarized at page 21 of the Report in support of these Findings.

(1) schools must be allowed to insist on inclusive values; 2) throughout history, religious doctrines accepted at one time later become viewed as discriminatory, with religions changing accordingly; 3) without exemptions, groups would not use the pretext of religious doctrines to discriminate; 4) a doctrine that distinguishes between beliefs (which should be protected) and conduct (which should conform to the law) is fairer and easier to apply; 5) third parties, such as employees, should not be forced to live under the religious doctrines of their employers [unless the employer is allowed to impose such constraints by virtue of the ministerial exception]; 6) a basic [civil] right as important as the freedom to marry should not be subject to religious beliefs; and 7) even a widely accepted doctrine such as the ministerial exemption should be subject to review as to whether church employees have religious duties.

Further, specifically with regard to number (2) above, religious doctrines that were widely accepted at one time came to be deemed highly discriminatory, such as slavery, homosexuality bans, and unequal treatment of women, and that what is considered within the purview of religious autonomy at one time would likely change.

Yesterday, the U.S. Catholic Bishop's Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty released a statement (full text) highly critical of the statement in the Report by Commission Chairman Martin Castro.  The Bishops said in part:

For the current Chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, religious liberty is reduced to "nothing except hypocrisy," and religion is being used as a "weapon… by those seeking to deny others equality." He makes the shocking suggestion that Catholic, evangelical, orthodox Jewish, Mormon, and Muslim communities are comparable to fringe segregationists from the civil rights era. These statements painting those who support religious freedom with the broad brush of bigotry are reckless and reveal a profound disregard for the religious foundations of his own work.

[Thanks to Jeff Ziegler for the lead.]

6th Circuit Dismisses Suit Over Catholic Bishops' Health Care Directives

In Means v. U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, (6th Cir., Sept. 8, 2016), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a Michigan federal district court's dismissal of a suit against the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and against three individuals who served as chairs of the Catholic Health Ministries-- the sponsor of a health care system that includes the Catholic hospital at which plaintiff Tamesha Means claims she was inadequately treated.  Means visited the hospital when she prematurely went into labor at 18 weeks into her pregnancy.  The hospital, complying with the USCCB's  Catholic health care directives, did not give Means the option of terminating her pregnancy, even though her physician suspected she had a serious bacterial infection that can cause infertility and even death.  After the statute of limitations on medical malpractice had run, Means sued the entities responsible for promulgating and adopting the Catholic health care directives, charging them with negligence.

The 6th Circuit dismissed the USCCB from the case for lack of personal jurisdiction.  As to the other defendants, the court said in part:

Means asks us to recognize a duty under Michigan law on the part of a religious organization to a specific patient to adopt ethical directives that do not contradict the medical standard of care. Whether such a duty exists is far from certain, especially if the standard of care violates the organization’s religious beliefs. Nevertheless, even if the CHM defendants had such a duty, Means’s factual allegations do not create the plausible inference that any breach of that duty proximately caused any injury to Means within the strictures of Michigan negligence law.... 

Means alleges—and we do not doubt—that she suffered physical and mental pain, emotional injuries, a riskier delivery, shock and emotional trauma from making funeral arrangements for her dead child, and other “discomforts and pain.” But these allegations are not sufficient to state an injury under Michigan negligence law. In Michigan, “present physical injury” is necessary to state a claim for negligence.

[Thanks to Tom Rutledge for the lead.] 

Catholic Bishops React To Biden's Officiating At Same-Sex Marriage

As reported by the Washington Post, last Monday Vice President Joe Biden officiated at the same-sex wedding ceremony of two White House staffers.  In a blog post yesterday, three prominent members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (including its president) reacted to Biden's action, without referring to him by name.  They said in part:

When a prominent Catholic politician publicly and voluntarily officiates at a ceremony to solemnize the relationship of two people of the same-sex, confusion arises regarding Catholic teaching on marriage and the corresponding moral obligations of Catholics. What we see is a counter witness, instead of a faithful one founded in the truth....

Faithful witness can be challenging—and it will only grow more challenging in the years to come—but it is also the joy and responsibility of all Catholics, especially those who have embraced positions of leadership and public service. 

U.S. Catholic Bishops Debate Voters' Guide In Light of Pope Francis' Priorities

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops report that among the actions taken yesterday at their Fall General Assembly was the adoption of a new introductory note to and limited revision of their quadrennial statement on political responsibility, "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship." According to Religion News Service yesterday, the debate on revision of this voters' guide highlighted the split between those bishops who want to echo the priorities of Pope Francis and those who support more traditional priorities. San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy, objecting that revisions had not gone far enough, told the Assembly:

I believe that this document is gravely hobbled. Specifically, I think the pope is telling us that alongside the issues of abortion and euthanasia — which are central aspects of our commitment to transform this world — poverty and the degradation of the Earth are also central.  But this document keeps to the structure of the worldview of 2007. It does not put those there.

ACLU Sues Catholic Bishops For Negligence Over Hospital Guidelines That Bar Abortions In All Situations

The ACLU announced yesterday that it has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishops and the chair and former chair of Catholic Health Ministries on behalf of a woman who was not informed by a Catholic hospital in Muskegon, Michigan of the option to terminate her pregnancy when her water broke after 18 weeks of pregnancy. The complaint (full text) in Means v. U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, (ED MI, filed 11/29/2013), alleges negligence "for promulgating and implementing directives that cause pregnant women who are suffering from a miscarriage to be denied appropriate medical care, including information about their condition and treatment options."  The suit, which does not name the Michigan hospital itself a a defendant, was brought in federal court on diversity of citizenship grounds.  It complains that the USCCB's Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, which provide that abortion is never permitted, are required to be applied even when doing so places a woman's health or life at risk. The New York Times reports on the case. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Report Says Bishops Are Seeking Exit Strategy From Their Strong Opposition To Contraceptive Coverage Mandate

According to the National Catholic Reporter on Friday, despite strong disapproval of the Affordable Care Act contraceptive coverage mandate expressed in a Special Message issued Nov. 13 by U.S. Catholic Bishops at the conclusion of their Fall General Assembly, the bishops are not as united in their opposition as it may seem:

[A]fter repeatedly drawing that line in the sand, a growing number of bishops have begun to push back, arguing that such hard-line rhetoric has put them in an untenable position. These bishops do not want to close Catholic institutions over a birth control policy -- and they say they actually can't do so in most cases.

In addition, they argue that there is no reason to try -- the exemptions and accommodations in the mandate are sufficient, some say, and the church's teaching that access to good, affordable health care is a basic right should outweigh any remaining reservations.

That's why those familiar with the deliberations in Baltimore note that the statement is carefully worded to acknowledge that each bishop can make his own arrangements on health insurance -- as some are doing -- and it begins to provide cover for the entire hierarchy as the prelates try to find an exit strategy.

[Thanks to Perry Dane for the lead.] 

U.S. Bishops Elect New Leaders; Focus On Christian Persecution Abroad

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops began their Fall meeting in Baltimore yesterday.  As reported by CNS and the New York Times, outgoing USCCB president Cardinal Timothy Dolan in his address to fellow-bishops called for a new emphasis on combating persecution of Christians in countries such as Syria, Egypt, India and Nigeria. He said that we are living in what must be recognized as a new age of martyrs.  He claimed that as many as 1 million Christians have been killed for their faith so far in the 21st century, and said that it is a priority to urge political leaders to make the protection of "at-risk Christians a foreign policy priority."

The bishops elected their current vice-president, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, as the new president of the Conference, and elected Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston as vice president. (Press release.) (AP report.)  They also approved the drafting of a formal statement on pornography.