The D.C. City Council
Posted on 11/01/2009 3:29:16 AM PST by NYer
.- A Washington, D.C. City Council proposal to recognize same-sex “marriage” would redefine marriage and could force Catholic educational and charitable institutions to close or face lawsuits, burdensome regulation and the compromising of their faith, the Archdiocese of Washington has warned.
The proposed law, called the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009, redefines marriage as “the legally recognized union of two people.” It says a religious association or a non-profit associated with a religion shall not be required to provide services, accommodations, facilities or goods related to the solemnization, celebration or promotion of a marriage that is in violation of the entity’s religious beliefs unless the entity makes those services available to members of the general public.
Representatives of the archdiocese spoke at an Oct. 26 hearing before the D.C. City Council’s Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary. They argued that the law would endanger Catholic services to the general public.
In written testimony, the archdiocese opposed the legislation and “any effort to redefine marriage as any other than that between a man and a woman.” The archdiocese voiced “deep concerns” that the bill would restrict religious freedom if it is passed as drafted.
To continue the archdiocese’s service to the poor of the District of Columbia, the archdiocese testified, a “meaningful” religious exemption is needed to ensure that the government “will not suppress its religious exercise in such a way.”
In its support, the archdiocese cited a legal analysis of the bill by the Williams & Connolly law firm, which said the expected effect of the bill would put the archdiocese in an “untenable” position under the First Amendment unless religious conscience protections are expanded.
“The District will effectively force the Archdiocese either to violate the law or to abandon forms of religious practice – care for the poor, hungry and homeless – that are fundamental to the practice of Catholic social teaching,” the law firm commented.
In addition to overturning the definition of marriage, the legislation has no exemptions for churches, religious organizations such as the Knights of Columbus or religiously-owned nonprofits such as Catholic Charities if they provide services to the general public or rent space to individuals or groups outside of their faith.
According to the archdiocese, six prominent legal scholars including Prof. Robin Fretwell Wilson of Washington & Lee University have independently submitted a letter to City Council Chairman detailing serious religious freedom problems with the legislation.
“They note that religious organizations are at risk of lawsuits if, for example, they decline to offer their facilities to same sex couples or to limit married student housing to couples of the opposite sex,” the archdiocese said in a press release.
Other risks for religious organizations and individuals who cannot recognize same-sex “marriages” include the denial of access to government contracts and access to government facilities, such as leases. Licenses for objecting doctors and social workers could be revoked while child care licenses could be denied.
The proposed law could also allow lawsuits against those who do not provide same-sex benefits to employees and could result in the revocation of the accreditation of religious colleges.
“This would have serious implications in the District of Columbia, where Catholic Charities provides foster care and adoption services for nearly 100 children every year as well as shelter every night for nearly one in three of the city’s homeless men, women and children under contracts with the city, which cannot provide these services itself as efficiently and cost effectively,” the Archdiocese of Washington said.
“Every year, Catholic Charities provides shelter, food, counseling, medical and legal assistance, and more to 68,000 people in the District of Columbia regardless of their faith,” explained Ed Orzechowski, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington. “If the Council passes this bill as written, these programs are at risk along with nearly 100 different parish social ministry programs, all of the other ministries operated by the Catholic Church and even meeting space for groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Scouts and neighborhood organizations who partner with churches.”
The lack of an adequate exemption, the archdiocese said, would require religious organizations and individuals to choose “between exercising their faith and following the law.” This would cause “division and dissatisfaction” among the citizens of D.C., it warned.
The Catholic Church should just pack up and move out of DC if the gay marriage law is passed. Then DC will realize what a mistake it was to have passed such a law as the city further sinks into the swamp it was built on.
God will prevail in the end.
It’s turning into the proverbial Sodom and Gomorrah.
>>The District will effectively force the Archdiocese either to violate the law or to abandon forms of religious practice
An unjust law must be violated. Let’s make the Godless Communists of the Left state publicly that their so-called “separation of church and state” only works one-way!
one could argue DC has been this wasy for DECADES. It’s a swamp full of crooks who should be in jail. This country is burying itself as people without an understanding of freedom and history and an embrace of socialism is continually electing leftists to dismantle our institutions that made this country great. It can not be stopped as these people are entrenched in the institutions they want to bring down.
I still think on how Christ, when facing Pilate, told him that those who want to know truth must follow him.
Too many have chosen their own "truths". I am thankful that God is still in charge, and that many of us still know where the truth really lies.
You're just another 'religion' now, and allah/dagon/molech has the boldness (thanx to the young muslim prince(ss) in the white house) to trample even you.
I am a 'protestant' and you are an 'infidel'.
We are both enemies to evil.
THAT is the issue.
The 10th Amendment gives STATES all rights not forbidden to them or specifically granted to the Federal Gov’t. States can turn down or approve same sex marriages. It’s not a Federal Gov’t. issue.
D.C. is not a State, and I don’t even know if it’s addressed in the Constitution or Amendments. To me, there is little difference between D.C. and Guam or Puerto Rico, relative to the Constitution. Obviously, I’m not an atty., but just a natural born US citizen.
(I am willfully exposing my ignorance here, but I feel the matter is of criticial importance.)
If marriage (as established by God in the Garden) is sacred, and has forever been celebrated as such, would not the church be fully justified in refusing to participate in an abomination like queer bonding -- which certainly has no place in its beliefs and practices?
It seems to me that forcing the Church to participate in homosexual "marriage" would be an extreme violation of the principle of separation of Church and State... If government could dictate religious practice, and require such an abomination, why could it not, then, by extension, require live human sacrifice on the altar?
The time to stop this madness is NOW!
These were not the acts of wild-eyed fanatics; they were the acts of men of deep and abiding faith and conviction. Their understanding of the principles of both Natural and Revealed Law was so proficient, so thorough, and so sagacious that their conscience would let them do nothing else. Hear the wise counsel of the notable colonial preacher Reverend Samuel West (1730-1807):
Our obligation to promote the public good extends as much to the opposing every exertion of arbitrary power that is injurious to the state as it does to the submitting to good and wholesome laws. No man, therefore, can be a good member of the community that is not as zealous to oppose tyranny, as he is ready to obey magistracy.
Reverend West went on to say:
If magistrates are ministers of God only because the law of God and reason points out the necessity of such an institution for the good of mankind, it follows, that whenever they pursue measures directly destructive of the public good, they cease being God’s ministers, they forfeit their right to obedience from the subject, they become the pests of society, and the community is under the strongest obligation of duty both to God and to its own members, to resist and oppose them, which will be so far from resisting the ordinance of God that it will be strictly obeying his commands.
Men make laws that are subject to Divine approval or disapproval.
Israel had the prophets .. we have the Scriptures, and a SUCCESSFUL HISTORY! of RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH.
Do we claim to be a God blessec nation? Then we need to discern why, and return to that which brought that blessingh on us.
A major problem today is the thought patterns of discernment aren't always used consistently.
The pulpits were hot in 1776 and men killed for freedom and liberty.
Pulpits need to be hot enough to activate and mobilize large masses of patriots to clean up and defend God honoring righteousness
Marriage (Matrimony) IS a sacrament for the Catholic Church. Thus, the Church will NEVER allow this sacrament to unite any homosexual couple. It simply will NOT happen.
Wonder if all the members of the D.C. City Council are members of the ELCA.
When Cardinal O’Connor was confronted by a similar situation in New York (the city wanted Catholic foster care homes to provide access to abortion and birth control), he simply said that he was prepared to shut down all Catholic social services in the city. Since the Church cared for a large percentage of NYC’s foster children, this got their attention! The city backed down.
I hope the Church is willing to do this in DC. I think the city will back down, if so. And if they don’t, the Church should restructure its social services so that it does not contract with the city or any government entity anymore and instead privately funds everything and makes the services primarily available to Catholics first and then to others who are willing to accept the Church’s teachings and standards. Come to think of it, that’s what it should do anyway.
>>I am a ‘protestant’ and you are an ‘infidel’.<<
LOLOLOL!
No, you are an Infidel as well.
You may take glee in Catholics taking a stand against this. You may think that it’s wonderful that we are getting our “comeupance” but I take no glee in this fight. Catholic Charity Hospitals give much. Let DC go without them.
The purpose of all this excrement is to force practicing Christians and Jews to choose between their faith and their job. The choice will be: obey the law (practice abortion and/or pseudo-marriage) or lose your job.
For ministers or rabbis, it will be: obey the law or go to jail.
This is coming.
Now, it's one thing for the Congress to defer administration of the District to the D.C. City Government, but to ignore this case would be beyond the pale.
The left truly hates the Catholic Church and any other church that holds fast to its traditions and beliefs. It doesn’t matter how much good the church does for society and non-members. The church opposes abortion and gay “marriage” and so the left wants to eliminate the church.
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:
Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of interest.
Obama Says A Baby Is A Punishment
Obama: “If they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.”
“..could force Catholic educational and charitable institutions to close or face lawsuits, burdensome regulation and the compromising of their faith, the Archdiocese of Washington has warned.”
This WOULD be something to worry about if there WERE any Catholic institutions in D.C., but since there are NONE what’s the big deal?
N.B. PLEEEEEEEEEZE don’t think this is sarcasm. I’m serious.
no, they should not give in. They should fight any infringement on religious freedom in the courts on First Amendment grounds.
I thought that was the case but was not quite sure enough to be declarative. Thanks for the clarification!
At any rate, forcing the Church to recognize and solemnize homosexual unions (I simply can not call that abomination, "marriage") would be like forcing it to acccept/establish an entirely new (phony) Sacrament -- one that has never been (Scripturally or Traditionally) viewed as anything other than anathema. Even I (a Baptist) would stand firmly with the Church against doing that!!
Forcing homosexual unions into the Church would be such a blatant violation of the principle of separation of church and state that even a liberal SCOTUS should reject it. (But liberals have surprised me with their perfidy in the past...)
We Christians are soon going to have to unite in our stand against liberal attempts at perversion of the Body of Christ!
I merely meant that it is of no matter to evil what denomination or faith we may subscribe to.
We are the enemy to evil.
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