USCCB whining again because they want the freedom to discriminate!

[theHandpuppet]

Here they go again. Gee, after reading the "statement" from the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) I though perhaps they had entered a contest to see just how many people they could insult in a few short paragraphs.

USCCB Chairmen Respond to ‘Unprecedented and Extreme’ Executive Order
July 21, 2014

(excerpts)
WASHINGTON–The bishop-Chairmen of two USCCB Committees responded with great concern to President Obama’s July 21 executive order to prohibit federal government contractors from what the Administration deems “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” discrimination and to forbid “gender identity” discrimination in the employment of federal employees. The problems the bishops identify in the order relate both to the flaws in its core prohibitions, and to its lack of religious freedom protection.

Two USCCB Chairmen – 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 – together issued the following statement...

...More specifically, the Church strongly opposes both unjust discrimination against those who experience a homosexual inclination and sexual conduct outside of 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.” 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 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.

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, which is controlled by the President’s own party, passed the similar Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) last year, it included religious liberty protections as well. Indeed, 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. In this way, the order, which is fundamentally flawed in itself, also needlessly prefers conflict and exclusion over coexistence and cooperation.... MORE at http://www.usccb.org/news/2014/14-126.cfm

[LuvNewcastle]

1. Nobody's forcing them to apply for federal contracts.

If they want to discriminate, they can't have federal contracts; it's that simple. Lots of organizations can't have federal contracts for one reason or another because they have certain practices that bar them from having contracts. If they let the Catholics or whoever break the rules, they have to let others break the rules. They can't make an exception for certain religious denominations. It's not right.

[theHandpuppet]

2. And here they go again

http://www.usccb.org/news/2014/14-131.cfm
USCCB Chairman Responds to Recent Federal Court Decisions on Marriage
July 24, 2014

WASHINGTON–Yesterday’s order by the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado enjoining the state from enforcing its laws defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman follows recent decisions on marriage by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver. The U.S. District Court temporarily stayed its order. The U.S. Bishops’ Chairman of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco, said, “Recent court decisions on marriage in no way deter our efforts to promote the truth about marriage – a truth that no court decision can ever undo.” ...

...“As the dissenting judge stated in the Utah marriage amendment case, judges should ‘resist the temptation to become philosopher-kings, imposing’ their ‘views under the guise of constitutional interpretation,’” said Archbishop Cordileone. “Furthermore, as the same judge stated in his dissent in the Oklahoma marriage amendment case, the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman ‘is derived from the fundamental elements of marriage,’ which has never been ‘defined as only an emotional union among willing adults.’”

Archbishop Cordileone also noted, “Indeed, marriage is the one institution that unites children with their mothers and fathers and thereby unites the present generation with past generations.” He also cited Pope Francis, who recently said, “We must reaffirm the right of children to grow up in a family with a father and a mother.” Archbishop Cordileone added, “Every child has a father and a mother. No law can change that. Well-ordered societies organize themselves around this natural truth for their own well-being and flourishing; when the institutions of a society turn away from this truth, disorder enters in with consequential serious social costs—already evident in our own society, marked as it is by the devastating effects of family fragmentation.”

Archbishop Cordileone concluded by saying, “I encourage all who are working to promote and defend authentic marriage to continue their efforts, knowing that ultimately the truth shall prevail.”.... MORE