ENDA the Road: Homosexual Discrimination Bill Must be Stopped Say Catholic Bishops

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 26, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The U.S. Catholic bishops have come out in full force against the federal Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA). They say they can no longer stay neutral on a bill that they charge will lead to the Roe v. Wade of traditional marriage in the United States, and trample on the rights of employers and those speaking the truth about homosexuality.

In a letter sent to Congress on May 19, and obtained by the Jesuit-run publication America, representatives of the Catholic bishops said that their concerns over the current forms of ENDA making their way through the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 3017) and the U.S. Senate (S. 1584) are so serious that “we cannot maintain the position of neutrality we held in 2007.”

The letter, sent by Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage, Bishop William Murphy, Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., Chairman of the Committee on Doctrine, stated that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) was opposing ENDA. They said the law would pose serious danger to marriage, religious liberty, privacy, the right to speak the truth about homosexuality in the public square, the rights of employers to act “consistent with that truth,” and the right of individuals to associate freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The bishops indicated that they have wised up to the fact that state ENDA laws have been integral – even a necessary last step – for state courts to have a legal basis for imposing a constitutional right to same-sex “marriage.” A federal ENDA would serve to lay the necessary groundwork for building a federal constitutional right to same-sex “marriage,” imposed nationwide, they warned.

“These rulings also reflect a legal strategy that gay rights advocates have repeatedly and publicly explained in scholarly articles and other media — first, secure the passage of sexual orientation antidiscrimination laws, such as ENDA, and then invoke the principle embedded within those laws as a basis for same-sex ‘marriage,’” the letter states.

“If this strategy were to succeed, it would represent a legal and moral disaster comparable in many ways to Roe v. Wade. As leaders of the Catholic Church, we have a moral obligation to oppose any law that would clearly contribute to this outcome,” they declared.

“In contrast to sexual conduct within marriage between one man and one woman — which does serve both the good of each married person and the good of society — heterosexual and homosexual conduct outside of marriage has no claim to special protection by the state.”

They also said that giving the Church a religious exemption would not allay their opposition to the bill. They noted that applying Title VII prohibitions on religious discrimination does not extend to all religious employers, and that they have been taught by “recent experience” that even covered institutions like the Church “may face government retaliation.”

They highlighted the the rights of non-religious employers as well, adding that the “bill also lacks an exemption for a ‘bona fide occupational qualification’ (BFOQ), for those cases where it is neither unjust nor inappropriate to consider an applicant’s sexual inclination.”

They also stressed strongly that ENDA would jeopardize the right to teach the truth about homosexuality – and for employers to act in accord with that truth – with the “threat of government sanction.”

“We recognize that no one should be an object of scorn, hatred, or violence for any reason, including sexual inclination,” said the church leaders. This right comes from the revelation that all persons are “created in the image and likeness of God” and therefore “possess an innate human dignity that must be acknowledged and respected, by other persons and by law,” they said.

The letter concluded by saying that the USCCB could never support ENDA, but was open to “further discussion” on developing legislation protecting those with homosexual inclinations “from unjust discrimination, without protecting homosexual conduct.”

As my dear mother used to say," If Johnny jumped off a cliff, would you follow him over?" I really don't have any say over what Jews or protestants do or say. I am becoming alarmed at what the Catholic Church is doing and saying. To ignore that would be stupid, IMHO. I'm just asking, what is being preached and talked about in these districts. How is it so many Catholics make the evaluation that we need socialism to fulfill the Commission from Jesus, and overlook abortion, homosexual marriage, taking God out of schools and every other part of American life, and any one of a dozen more heresies that SHOULD be against Catholic dogma? Pelosi is even commenting that the Church should be speaking out on illegal aliens and "green" stuff. What happened to "Separation of church and state"?

IMHO, now that the Church has "gone rouge", they want THEIR issues discussed from the pulpit. I understand there are Protestant denominations that are doing the same thing, but they are also the same denominations that are dwindling and accepting deviant behavior in their ranks. I don't want my church to start accepting homosexuals as priests or abortion as a woman's right. If you'll notice, the Anglicans are looking to come "home" because their denomination has pretty much abandoned God. If we vote for Dems to get more welfare for the poor, you must also accept the baggage that comes with it, like being charged with "Hate Speech" if you preach Genesis, or Catholic hospitals being closed because they won't do abortions, or accept homosexual adoption. I was taught that Jesus wanted His CHURCH to help the poor, not the government. That came with preaching on Sodom being destroyed for their sexual sin and abortion is MURDER.

People, this is WAR! It has been going on since Jesus walked the Earth. If your denomination voted for Obama, no matter what it is, something is being misstated from the pulpit. I want the Truth preached to me, not propaganda. These usurpers, like Pelosi, Biden, or Kerry, are now in the majority. The Church continues to do nothing and say very little. I find it difficult to believe that more Church officials can't seem to find their voices on these subjects. The Obama vote should be a canary in the coal mine. Ignore it at your own peril.

Jesus is not a joke to me. He is the center of my life. I won't just ignore what is happening and keep quiet if it may embarrass the Catholic Church. I'm sure the Anglicans, Lutherans, and Episcopalians, were just as dedicated as their denominations went down the path to apostasy. The Catholic Church has embarrassed itself in the past and I feel another big one coming soon if we can't stop this slide.

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