Posted on 03/27/2012 1:19:45 PM PDT by NYer
Siding with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a federal judge has declared that grants made to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to assist human-trafficking victims are unconstitutional because the grants represent a government endorsement of Catholicism.
In 2005, the Department of Health and Human Services solicited grant applications to assist victims of human trafficking. In its application, the USCCB declared:
As we are a Catholic organization, we need to ensure that our victim services are not used to refer or fund activities that would be contrary to our moral convictions and religious beliefs … Specifically, subcontractors could not provide or refer for abortion services or contraceptive materials for our clients pursuant to this contract.
Between 2006 and 2011, the USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services received $13.9 million in federal funds to assist human-trafficking victims, making clear to subcontractors that “funds shall not be used to provide referral for abortion services or contraceptive materials, pursuant to this contract.”
(In 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services declined to renew the grant to the USCCB. The Washington Post reported that the department’s leadership overruled its own staff members, who had wished to continue the grant.)
In 2009, the ACLU filed suit against the Department of Health and Human Services, arguing that federal officials “have violated and continue to violate the Establishment Clause ofthe First Amendment by permitting [the] USCCB to impose a religiously based restriction on the use of taxpayer funds.”
In his March 23 ruling, US District Court Judge Richard Stearns, whom President Bill Clinton appointed to the bench in 1993, declared that
the government defendants violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, insofar as they delegated authority to a religious organization to impose religiously based restrictions on the expenditure of taxpayer funds, and thereby impliedly endorsed the religious beliefs of the USCCB and the Catholic Church.
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It's not that we don't understand; the newsworthy aspect here is not that the Federal government can decide who to grant money, but the cut-off-my-nose-to-spit-my-face mentality of the said government.
Here is the problem simplified:
-- "Mine is a Catholic organization that works to eliminate (murder, theft, fraud, poverty, child obesity, -- insert your own) because (murder, theft, fraud, poverty, child obesity) violate the Catholic principles."
-- "Ah, Catholic? Grant denied"
Ship of fools.
When a Catholic pharmacist refuses to sell contraception, he can’t claim a Catholic conscience objection because he is employed as a pharmacist, but when that same pharmacist wants to volunteer time to help a refugee, he all of a sudden is too Catholic to ask for government money.
It’s in the First Amendment, ya know.
Ping
No vouchers or medical care either? How about nursing homes, AIDs respite/shelters, all senior and orphanage centers/housing, unIversity grants, adoption/foster care centers? No more religious holidays and God off money? No burial next?
So this means the ACLU can’t impose secularism re: gay marriage, fed BC, abortion, sterilization, conscience/Catholic med personnel?
Quid pro quo.
Yet this govt gives to Islamic sharia countries and the Muslim brotherhood?
Enjoy that hand basket America.
Defund the CCHD ASAP.
I miss Cardinal O’Connor.
Maranatha!
Why don’t we cut the bull and disband WH faith based initiatives; They’re only for infiltrating, selling out the souls of Christians and churches via dissenters/those who think they’re God and big shots and votes.
Way past time to sweep our houses clean.
“I don’t think the grants represent a government endorsement of Catholicism.”
Doesn’t matter if it is. The Constitution forbids “establishment,” not “endorsement.” All that means is that congress is not allowed to establish a state religion, in the same way that the Anglican Church is the official religion of England.
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