Supreme Court Ruling Supports Religious Freedom

Religious Institutions not Protected by This Ruling

On this Independence Day, 2014, there is reason for optimism about the preservation of America's religious freedom. That first of the freedoms fought and died for by generations of Americans has long been under incremental and unrelenting attack in our secular culture. 

Lately our government regulations as well as judicial rulings, sometimes in direct opposition to a clear majority of voters, have expressly denied freedom of speech and of religion.

A resounding victory upholding religious freedom came on June 30 when the Supreme Court ruled that two family corporations do not have to comply with the Health and Human Services mandate because it is a substantial burden on their freedom of religion, a burden not allowed by the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, known as RFRA.

The families who own Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods have strong conscience objections to the mandate to provide abortion inducing drugs to their employees.  The Supreme court heard arguments in the case and issued an opinion in favor of these companies.

Two of the points of their decision are:
 - First, when individuals come together in a closely held, corporate form of business they do not lose their right to protection of religious liberty under RFRA. 

 - Second, that the crushing fines for failure to comply with the mandate do impose a substantial burden, prohibited under RFRA, on the free exercise of the conscience beliefs of these business owners.

This decision is a resounding and much needed victory for freedom of religion. 

  

However, the cases of the religious institutions are still to be heard by the court, and it's thought this will happen in the court's next term.  That would cover lawsuits by religious hospitals, charities, schools and universities and the Diocese of Rockville Centre as joined in the lawsuit of the Archdiocese of NewYork.

 

EWTN, the Little Sisters of the Poor, Priests for Life, Colorado Christian University, St. John's Orphan Asylum, and St. Edmunds Home for Crippled Children are some of the 122 plaintiffs in these religious institution cases. 

 

The USCCB commented, "We welcome the Supreme Court's decision to recognize that Americans can continue to follow their faith when they run a family business.  In this case, justice has prevailed, with the Court respecting the rights of the Green and Hahn families to continue to abide by their faith in how they seek their livelihood, without facing devastating fines."

  

This decision is a victory for all women.  No woman is deprived of the choice for contraception or abortion, but neither is any woman, or any man, forced to violate their religious beliefs by purchasing abortion inducing drugs for others.   

We thank God for the ruling by the Supreme Court and pray that religious freedom will be upheld in the cases to come.   

These two Supreme Court cases will not be the last fight to preserve religious liberty. Immediately after this decision, an intense, almost hysterical, cry went out from the secular, anti-Catholic and pro abortion voices that the court over reached in its decision...that there are too many Catholics on the Supreme Court and that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act  should be repealed.

The Bishops were joined by other religious leaders in an open letter to Congress urging continued support for RFRA asking that they "not amend or repeal RFRA, one of our nation's most vital legal protections for the religious freedom and rights of conscience of every person of every faith." Read the letter here.

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