Newman Society Grateful for Bishops’ New Religious Liberty Committee

Today, October 3, 2011, The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) sent letters thanking New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Bridgeport Bishop William Lori for establishing the new USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty.

“Catholics concerned for religious liberty and strong Catholic identity in Catholic education certainly share our gratitude to Archbishop Dolan and Bishop Lori for this much-needed effort to preserve the Constitutional rights of Catholics,” said CNS President Patrick J. Reilly.  “Catholics nationwide need to stand in unison in defense of Catholic schools and colleges, charities, hospitals and health care workers, and all who hold the Catholic faith.”

In a letter addressed to the U.S. bishops last week, Archbishop Dolan announced the creation of the Committee for Religious Liberty, citing the bishops’ responsibility to “protect our people from this assault which now appears to grow at an ever accelerating pace”.  Bishop Lori was named in the letter as the chair of the new Committee.

Archbishop Dolan names several recent assaults on religious liberty, including the federal mandate that health insurance cover sterilization and contraception (including abortifacients), the Obama Administration’s opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act, and the New York State law redefining marriage with a very narrow religious exemption.

The Committee will work with national organizations, charities, ecumenical and interreligious partners and scholars to form a “united and forceful front” to defend religious liberty.

Archbishop Dolan wrote, “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.”

Archbishop Dolan’s letter is posted online here.

In addition to the concerns noted by Archbishop Dolan, Catholic colleges and universities are facing other assaults on religious liberty.

Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina was found in 2009 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to have discriminated when it removed contraception coverage from employee health plans.  Twice this year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled that Catholic universities are not religious enough to claim exemption from federal labor law.  Additionally, the D.C. Office of Human Rights is reviewing whether or not The Catholic University of America (CUA) discriminated when it instituted the commonsense policy of single-sex dorms this summer.

The Cardinal Newman Society, in addition to raising awareness about these issues over the past three years, is actively defending the religious liberty of Catholic colleges and universities.  Last month, CNS commissioned a legal analysis of the Obama Administration’s health insurance mandate for sterilization and contraceptives and organized 18 Catholic colleges and universities to join in an appeal to the Department of Health and Human Services. CNS has also defended CUA’s single-sex dorm policy and published materials to help Catholic colleges and universities protect their religious liberty.

Tools for the defense of religious liberty published by CNS this year include a step-by-step plan for Catholic colleges to protect religious freedoms by enhancing Catholic identity; a comprehensive legal background describing assaults from the NLRB; and a handbook for Catholic college leaders helping them conform to the Church’s vision for Catholic higher education.

For an overview of the work of CNS to defend religious liberty, click here.