The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a report on Sept. 7 that calls for reining in religious liberty protections in favor of nondiscrimination statutes aimed at protecting L.G.B.T. Americans. “The phrases ‘religious liberty’ and ‘religious freedom’ will stand for nothing except hypocrisy so long as they remain code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy or any form of intolerance,” the chairman of the commission, Martin R. Castro, wrote in the report. Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, who chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on Religious Liberty, called those comments “shocking” and “reckless.” He warned that the church’s vast social services network could cease to exist if conscience protections are tossed aside. “We do not seek to impose our morality on anyone, but neither can we sacrifice it in our own lives and work,” he said. “The vast majority of those who speak up for religious liberty are merely asking for the freedom to serve others as our faith asks of us.
‘Shocking’ Liberty
Show Comments ()
1
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
Richard Booth
8 years 1 month ago
As far as it goes, Chairman Castro's endorsement is not problematic, if what he means is that the phrase "religious liberty" is actually masking an agenda that discriminates against other persons. What we have no way of knowing is whether that phrase is disingenuous. We do know that forms of religious hegemony have had hidden agenda historically. So, in my view, the prelate is unnecessarily upset since some phraseology does, indeed, mask underlying intent. Of course, the editors gave us very little of the context in their brief, so it is difficult to draw conclusions that could be argued heartily. It would be good to link us not to a general website but, rather, to the document that Mr. Castro actually endorsed. That would be more honest referencing, in my opinion.
The latest from america
Around the affluent world, new hostility, resentment and anxiety has been directed at immigrant populations that are emerging as preferred scapegoats for all manner of political and socio-economic shortcomings.
“Each day is becoming more difficult, but we do not surrender,” Father Igor Boyko, 48, the rector of the Greek Catholic seminary in Lviv, told Gerard O’Connell. “To surrender means we are finished.”
Many have questioned how so many Latinos could support a candidate like DonaldTrump, who promised restrictive immigration policies. “And the answer is that, of course, Latinos are complicated people.”
Catholic voters were a crucial part of Donald J. Trump’s re-election as president. But did misogyny and a resistance to women in power cause Catholic voters to disregard the common good?