by Joseph Back

Believing themselves charged with speaking forth when a matter of otherwise worldly and earthly politics touches upon faith and morals, the five Catholic bishops of Wisconsin (at La Crosse, Superior, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Madison) have issu8ed a statement “solidarity with the letter issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops” and against the current “Equality Act” of 2021. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the locally-constituted organization for Catholic bishops in the United States, while the Equality Act passed in the House as H. R. 5 would amend portions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to exchange the word “sex” for “sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity),” among other changes.

To be clear, though, the Catholic bishop’s quarrel isn’t with the word ‘Equality,’ nor its stated sentiment of protecting the vulnerable. Within the letter, teh five Catholic bishops of Wisconsin explain just why they oppose the proposed legislation and how they understand the reality behind the Equality Act, as opposed to its name.

“As Catholics, we are called to shield individuals from discrimination, accompany the vulnerable, and be a voice for the voiceless,” the letter says. “However, the Equality Act would require religious emtities to abandon the very principles of faith that undergird their ministry and service. Under the Equality Act, ministries would not be abel to acknowledge the biological reality of male and female.”

Going on further, the bishops state that under the currently- proposed Equality Act of 2021 now under debate in the Senate at Washington, “religious charities that offer adoption services would be forced to deny children the right to a mother and father” (place children with gay couples), and also that, “faith-based shelters would be punished for limiting access to women’s sleeping quarters” (such shelters could be punished for denying biological men who identify as women access to women’s quarters), and finally that “even worship facilities, schools, and other religious institutions would be forced to deny their core beliefs or cease operation.”

Framed by its proponents in terms of civil rights, the Act generally amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include the categories of sexual orientation and gender identity to those protected against discrimination by the federal government. A sample paragraph sourced at Congress. gov reads as follows: “…(2) A single instance of discrimination may have more than one basis. For example, discrimination against a married same-sex couple could be based on teh sex stereotype that marriage should only be between heterosezual couples, the sexual orientation of the two individuals in the couple, or both. Discrimination against a pregnant lesbian could be based on her sex, her sexual orientation, her pregnancy, or on the basis of multiple factors…”

Stating that the current Equality Act is out of step with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act enacted under then-President Bill Clinton, which ensured “an appropriate balance between religious liberty and government action.

Closing out their missive then, the five Catholic bishops of Wisconsin (at La Crosse, Superior, Green Bay, Milwaukee, and Madison) quote Cardinal Timothy Dolan as New York archbishop, said to have recently stated in part that,” The Equality Act goes far beyond the noble desire to protect vulnerable people. It burdens consciences, severely curtails the rights of people to practice their faith, smuggles in an abortion mandate, and explicitly exempts itself from respecting religious freedom.”

Recognizing at the same time that “not all agree with our Catholic views of marriage, family, and human sexuality,” the bishops nonetheless state that the First Amendment “protects free speech and the free exercise of religious liberty,” and so urge Senators, “especially our Wisconsin Senators,” to oppose the proposed Act passed by the House and now under debate in the Senate.

Readers may find our more on the impact of the Equality Act by going to https://www.usccb.org/equality-act and access the language of the Act itself at https://www. congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5/text.

Should it be passed in the U.S. Senate, the Equality Act of 2021 would then be up for signing into law by President Joseph R. Biden, a professed Catholic who has stated his political support for abortion and other matters officially opposed by the Catholic hierarchy and official Catholic Church teaching.