The Catholic Weekly 19 July 2020

15 19, July, 2020 catholicweekly.com.au SEVERAL ORGANISATIONS praised the US Supreme Court decision that upheld Trump administration regulations giving employers more abili- ty to opt out of providing con- traceptive coverage in their health plans. Groups as diverse as Stu- dents for Life of America and the Heritage Foundation hailed the 8 July decision as a victory for the free exercise of religion and the protection of conscience rights in regard to moral decision-making. Re- ligious organisations said the ruling will allow them to bet- ter focus on carrying out their mission. The case examined if the expansion of the conscience exemption from the Afforda- ble Care Act’s contraceptive mandate violated the health care law and laws governing US federal administrative agencies. It combined two cases – Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania and Trump v. Pennsylvania. At US National Right to Life, president Carol Tobias praised the court for uphold- ing the “right to the free exer- cise of our beliefs.” “One of our most funda- mental rights is ... that these beliefs are not trampled by government overreach,” she said. “We are pleased that the US Supreme Court recognised Sister Loraine Marie Maguire, mother provincial of the Denver-based Little Sisters of the Poor, speaks to the media outside the US Supreme Court inWashington in 2016. PHOTO: CNS/JOSHUA ROBERTS, REUTERS the importance of protecting conscience rights.” She also charged that or- ganisations supporting abor- tion were handed a defeat by the court. “Pro-abortion groups have proven time and time again that their goal is abortion on demand at anytime, an- ywhere, and nothing should stand in the way, including the conscience rights of Ameri- cans,” Tobias said. Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of Ameri- ca, echoed Tobias, saying the decision reflects “the com- monsense understanding that the nuns of the Little Sisters of the Poor should not be forced to act against their deeply held beliefs.” “Birth control,” she added, “is widely available for pur- chase in the United States, but forcing people of faith to pay for it has always been amisuse of government power.” The president of the Fran- ciscan University of Steuben- ville said religious institutions must be free to focus on their mission and charismbased on the intentions of their founder. This Supreme Court de- cision will allow Franciscan University to continue doing our specific work of educating students without being forced to violate our religious beliefs in the process,” said Francis- can Father Dave Pivonka, who heads the school located in eastern Ohio. John Bursch, vice presi- dent of appellate advocacy at Alliance Defending Freedom, said the Supreme Court up- held the First Amendment rights of organisations to “pur- sue their missions consistent with their beliefs.” “The high court was right to reject each and every one of the grounds that the court of appeals used to strike down those protections,” he said in an emailed statement. Bursch explained the states that challenged the mandate as established in the Depart- ment of Health and Human Services rules did not find “a single individual plaintiff who was allegedly harmed by the religious and moral exemp- tions. “That shows that contra- ceptives are widely available, and that no compelling reason exists for the government to violate the religious and moral convictions of organisations who don’t wish to provide abortifacients and artificial contraception,” he added. An official at the Heritage Foundation backed the de- cision as well. President Kay James said the ruling “pre- serves fundamental religious liberties and is good news for all Americans, regardless of faith.” James called it “heart- breaking” that federal offi- cials would force the Little Sisters of the Poor or any oth- er religious organisation to act against deeply held religious beliefs. “Shame on those who created these mandates and thanks to those who fought so valiantly for so long to end them,” she said. - CNS US CATHOLIC educators and others welcomed the Su- preme Court’s 7-2 ruling on 8 July which said California Catholic schools could not be sued for job discrimination in firing teachers. The bishops said the decision “rightly ac- knowledged” the limit on state authority. The decision, written by Justice Samuel Alito, said: “What matters, at bottom, is what an employee does.” He said that even though the elementary school teach- ers “were not given the title of ‘minister’ and have less religious training” that the teacher in the previous court case involving the ministerial exception, the court holds that the same rule applies. “The religious education and formation of students is the very reason for the exist- ence of most private religious schools, and therefore the ¾ ¾ Carol Zimmermann Educators welcome teachers decision ... contracep- tives arewidely available, and that no compel- ling reason exists for the government to violate the religious andmoral convictions of organisations who don’t wish to provide ... contraception” John Bursch selection and supervision of the teachers upon whom the schools rely to do this work lie at the core of their mission,” Alito wrote. Dissenting votes were by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. “Education is a central as- pect of the church’s mission,” the US bishops said. “As “insti- tutions carrying out a ministry of the church, Catholic schools have a right, recognised by the Constitution, to select people who will perform ministry. The government has no au- thority to second-guess those ministerial decisions.” Adrian Alarcon, spokes- person for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Catholic Schools, pointed out that “religious schools play an integral role in passing the faith to the next generation of believers” and that the archdiocesan Catho- lic schools are “grateful that the Supreme Court recognised faith groups must be free to make their own decisions about who should be entrust- ed with these essential duties.” In her dissent, Sotomayor said the court’s ruling is “not only wrong on the facts, but its error also risks upending anti-discrimination protec- tions for many employees of religious entities.” She noted that the court has “recently lamented a perceived ‘dis- crimination against religion.’” Yet in this case, she said, the court “swings the pendu- lum in the extreme opposite direction, permitting religious entities to discriminate widely and with impunity for reasons wholly divorced from religious beliefs,” something she said will be “impossible to ignore for long, particularly in a plu- ralistic society.” The case examined if courts can hear employment dis- crimination claims brought by teachers at Catholic primary schools. It involved California Catholic school teachers who claimed they had been vic- tims of job discrimination and the schools who fired them who said they were exempt from anti-discrimination laws due to ministerial exception spelled out in a previous Su- preme Court. The cases before the court were a combination of two cases. At St James School in Cal- ifornia, former fifth grade teacher, Kristen Biel, said she was fired after informing school administrators that she had breast cancer and would have to take time off for sur- gery and chemotherapy. Lawyers representing the schools said that in 2015, the school chose not to renew Biel’s one-year contract based on classroom performance. Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Hermosa Beach did not renew the contract in 2013 for Agnes Morrissey-Berru, who had taught both fifth and sixth grades since 1999, saying she had a problem keeping order in her classroom and meeting expectations under a new reading program. Morris- sey-Berru sued, alleging age bias under the Age Discrimi- nation in Employment Act of 1967. - CNS In brief Anchor sparks backlash Kanye’s off and running Loyalty test for churches CNN NEWS Anchor Don Lemon has sparked a backlash after stating on his nightly show that Je- sus Christ was not perfect. “Here’s the thing,” said Lemon to fellow news an- chor Chris Cuomo. “Je- sus Christ, if that’s who you believe in, admitted- ly was not perfect when he was here on this earth.” The comments were not taken well online, with Christians of all denomi- nations quick to point out Lemon’s mistake. POSSIBLE 2020 Presi- dential Candidate Kanye West is making waves with his views on abor- tion. “Planned Parent- hoods have been placed inside cities by white su- premacists to do the Dev- il’s work,” said West. “I am pro-life because I’m fol- lowing the word of the Bi- ble.” WhileWest may have left his run for the Oval of- fice too late to appear on the ballot in all 52 states, his stances and activism have many excited about what the future holds. CHINESE STATE-RUN churches have been al- lowed to reopen after the COVID-19 lockdown, providing they adhere to new mandates, proving their loyalty to the Chi- nese Communist Par- ty. The Lishiting Catho- lic Church in the Shunhe district of Kaifeng was al- lowed to reopen on June 14. “We solemnly raise the national flag here to- day after the epidemic, witnessing the fruits of all people working togeth- er under the leadership of Xi Jinping who directs the government and the Party,” a priest told a gath- ering of about 20 people, supervised by Chinese Communist Party offi- cials. Court rules for Sisters CriticshailUSSupremeCourt decisiononcontraceptivemandate Education is a central aspect of the church’s mission ... As institutions carrying out a ministry of the church, Catholic schools have a right ... to select people who will performministry. ” US Bishops PHOTO:THE_ML/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CC BY-SA 2.0 WORLD