The Texas Catholic Conference expressed disappointment at the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to suspend enforcement of one of the country’s most effective measures for protecting women’s health and safety against a predatory abortion industry. The Texas law (part of 2013’s landmark HB 2) required abortion clinics meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers when performing invasive and risky abortions. Other portions of the law, including requiring abortionists have hospital privileges and prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks gestation were not affected.In a June 9 ruling, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of the law, and rejected pleas by abortion clinics to suspend implementation while they appeal. The Supreme Court ruling today will prevent enforcement of the law until the fall when the Supreme Court will decide if they should hear an appeal from a lower court.The Texas Catholic bishops grieve for the unborn children who will continue to die, and are concerned for the mothers who will subjected to substandard care, while the court delays until the fall to resolve this issue.While The Texas Catholic Conference opposes abortion, it equally values protecting and preserving the health of women, whose lives and dignity are just as precious as those destroyed by the act of abortion. Short of closing these abortion facilities, abortionists must meet the most rigorous, mandatory standards of medical inspections and regulation.The Texas Catholic Bishops urge people of faith to pray that the U.S. Supreme Court justices recognize the importance of ensuring the health of women undergoing medical procedures and ultimately preserve Texas’ protections under this law.
The Texas Catholic Bishops expressed disappointment and dismay at a sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that “same-sex marriage” is somehow equal to the sacred, traditional bond between a man and a woman in marriage. We believe that the sexual difference between male and female is essential for marriage, because only man and woman can form a physical union with one another that brings forth children. Marriage is a perennial institution, with deep roots in who we are and in our nation’s culture and laws. Marriage is and always will be the union between one man and one woman. This truth is inseparable from the duty to honor the God-given dignity of every human person, to protect the beautiful truth of marriage, which concerns the essential well-being of the nation, especially children. Children have a basic right, wherever possible, to know and be loved by their mother and father together. The law has a duty to support every child in this most basic right. Anticipation of this ruling motivated the Texas Catholic Conference to advocate for the Clergy Protection Act during the 84th Texas Legislature, which was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott just weeks ago. This timely legislation ensures that government may not force a pastor, clergy member, or a religious institution to perform a marriage or related ceremony that would violate their sincerely held religious beliefs. We join with our brother Bishops across the nation in voicing our deepest opposition to Court’s erroneous interpretation. We urge our Catholic brothers and sisters to remain vigilant and strong in the truth that God has revealed. We must remember that whatever is popular is not always right; and that which is right is not always popular. The…
By Most Rev. Michael J. Sis, Bishop of San Angelo Religious freedom is necessary for the health of a democratic society. However, it is being increasingly threatened around the world today, including in our own beloved country. The Fortnight for Freedom is being observed by Catholics in the U.S. from June 21 through July 4, 2015, as an initiative to highlight the right to religious liberty. The Fortnight for Freedom began in 2012, and is even more vital in 2015, as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council Declaration on Religious Freedom,Dignitatis Humanae. This landmark document teaches that religious freedom is rooted in the freedom of conscience. Human beings should be immune from compulsion in everything related to the making or rejecting of an act of religious faith. Furthermore, religious organizations should have immunity from coercion in the public expression of their faith and of the social implications of that faith. How is religious liberty being threatened today? On a world scale, religious persecution is increasing. According to the Pew Research Center Forum on Religion and Public Life, 70 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where religious faith is highly restricted. The International Society for Human Rights reports that 150,000 Christians are killed for their faith each year. Some estimates report that, during the 20th century, 45 million Christians died for their faith. Pope Francis has acknowledged that there are more Christian martyrs today than in any other time in our history. In China there are periodic crackdowns on Tibetan Buddhists, Muslims, Catholics, and Protestants. The Church in Vietnam has suffered tremendous persecution by the government in recent years. In Iraq, ISIS attacked the 2,000-year-old Christian community of Nineveh. Christian homes…
For the third consecutive year, the bishops of Texas are joining their counterparts across the United States for the "Fortnight for Freedom". This 14-day period of prayer, penance, education, and action in defense of religious freedom opened on Sunday, June 21, 2015, and runs through the Fourth of July. The theme of this year’s observation focuses on the "freedom to bear witness" to the truth of the Gospel. Archbishop William Lori kicked-off the Fortnight for Freedom by celebrating an Opening Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, Maryland, on Sunday, June 21, 2015. Texas Catholics prayed in solidarity with national Church leaders through a variety of spiritual events. Bishop Michael Sis of the Diocese of San Angelo presided over an Opening Mass for the Fortnight at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Odessa on Sunday morning, June 21, 2015. He issued a call for spiritual action, “Let us pray during the two weeks of this observance that God may strengthen our own resolve to bear witness to the truth of the Gospel.” Bishop Sis also asked parishes in the San Angelo Diocese to include prayers for religious liberty in all of their Masses on the Fourth of July to conclude this year’s event. Corpus Christi Bishop Michael Mulvey celebrated a Memorial Massfor the martyrs St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher at the Corpus Christi Cathedral on Monday evening, June 22, 2015. Bishop Mulvey also encouraged his flock to voluntarily fast and abstain from meat on the two Fridays during the Fortnight, as well as take part in prayer services and Eucharistic Adoration for religious freedom. He also invited the faithful to attend a presentation on “Religious…
The Texas Catholic Conference today expressed disappointment at the U.S. Fifth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals’ ruling Monday that would force religious institutions to violate their faith. Several Texas dioceses and churches have long objected to provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act that require religious employers to provide health insurance that covers contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortions unless those employers sign a form declaring their principled opposition to the coverage, which, in turn, will compel others to deliver the coverage to employees of the religious organizations in direct violation to the coverage that they oppose based on sincerely held religious beliefs. These groups take the position that this forces them into a situation in which they are materially cooperating in action that is contrary to their faith. However, several denominations have argued that the process is little more than a gimmick, since employment itself with the Church is what triggers access to health insurance, and that subsequent access to birth control or to abortifacients through that insurance—even through some convoluted accounting scheme—does not circumvent the employers’ deeply held religious beliefs. This debate has not been limited solely to Texas, but has been waged in federal courts across the nation over the last four years. Texas’ Catholic bishops are eager to have the final decision heard and decided by the U.S. Supreme Court and urge the Justices to reinforce the U.S. Constitutional protections of religious liberty.
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