The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is expressing great concern about President Obama’s July 21 executive order which prohibits federal government contractors from what the Administration deems “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” discrimination.
“Today’s executive order is unprecedented and extreme and should be opposed,” said Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, and Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo, Chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth in a joint statement issued in the wake of the signing of the Order.
“In the name of forbidding discrimination, this order implements discrimination. With the stroke of a pen, it lends the economic power of the federal government to a deeply flawed understanding of human sexuality, to which faithful Catholics and many other people of faith will not assent. As a result, the order will exclude federal contractors precisely on the basis of their religious beliefs.”
The bishops go on to state that the Church will continue its strong opposition to any unjust discrimination against persons with same-sex attraction and any sexual conduct outside of a marriage which is the union of one man and one woman.
“But the executive order, as it regards federal government contractors, ignores the inclination/conduct distinction in the undefined term ‘sexual orientation’,” the bishops continue. “As a result, even contractors that disregard sexual inclination in employment face the possibility of exclusion from federal contracting if their employment policies or practices reflect religious or moral objections to extramarital sexual conduct.”
The executive order also prohibits “gender identity” discrimination, a prohibition that is previously unknown at the federal level, and that is predicated on the false idea that “gender” is nothing more than a social construct or psychological reality that can be chosen at variance from one’s biological sex.
“This is a problem not only of principle but of practice, as it will jeopardize the privacy and associational rights of both federal contractor employees and federal employees. For example, a biological male employee may be allowed to use the women’s restroom or locker room provided by the employer because the male employee identifies as a female,” the bishops continue.
In an attempt to avoid these needless conflicts, states that have passed “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” prohibitions have overwhelmingly included protections for religious employers. When the U.S. Senate passed the similar Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) last year, it included religious liberty protections as well. In fact, all prior versions of ENDA had at least some religious liberty protections.
“But the executive order is an anomaly in this regard, containing no religious liberty protections,” the bishops state. “In this way, the order, which is fundamentally flawed in itself, also needlessly prefers conflict and exclusion over coexistence and cooperation.”
The Order regarding federal employment will take effect immediately; however, the Order regarding federal contractors will take effect only after rules have been promulgated by the U.S. Department of Labor.
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