Biden likes to paint himself as a devout Catholic. Nothing could be further from the truth.
And now the U.S. Catholic bishops devastated him with a fiery rebuke he’ll never recover from.
In a joint op-ed published on July 2 on OSV News, Bishops Robert E. Barron and Kevin C. Rhoades addressed the recent attempts by federal agencies to distort the truth through the advancement of gender ideology rules.
Bishop Barron is the bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. Bishop Rhoades is the bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty.
The Bishops wrote on OSV News that in recent years, federal agencies have systematically promoted gender ideology, often at the expense of the rights of people of faith.
Recently, this gradual progression has accelerated significantly. Over a three-week period in April and May, these agencies issued eight separate rules enshrining gender ideology into law.
“We saw this coming,” the Bishops wrote.
As a result, in 2022, U.S. Bishops began alerting Catholics and people of goodwill to proposed federal regulations that harm Catholic institutions and undermine the common good.
According to the Bishops, these new rules follow a common pattern. They first require charities and social service providers to support or participate in gender ideology in various ways.
For example, a rule might require considering s*x-separate bathrooms at work as a form of s*xual harassment, or the rule might interpret a law against disability discrimination to mandate accommodating gender identity claims.
The rules then offer vague assurances about respecting religious freedom but do not provide any real guarantees. Faith-based organizations are often told that exemptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
“We need to be really clear here,” the Bishops went on. “These rules promote an ideological worldview at odds with the foundational order of human nature.”
The Bishops emphasized that in doing so, the regulatory regime also threatens the viability of Catholic institutions, such as hospitals, refugee services, and adoption and foster care agencies, undermining the Church’s efforts to serve humanity.
Bishops Barron and Rhoades stated that individuals experiencing gender dysphoria possess infinite dignity and merit our love and respect as individuals created in God’s image.
“But this same principle of human dignity is also what animates our defense of unborn life, our promotion of marriage, our teaching that each person’s s*xual identity — rooted in his or her biological s*x — ought to be received as a gift from God, and our concern for religious freedom.”
This acceleration of federal promotion of gender ideology, especially under the Biden administration, raises serious concerns.
The administration’s policies increasingly prioritize gender ideology over religious freedoms and the rights of faith-based organizations.
By pushing these rules, the Biden administration undermines Catholic institutions and their mission to serve communities in accordance with their beliefs.
The Bishops’ warnings highlight a growing conflict between federal regulations and the religious values that many Americans hold dear.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
