Are Catholic Charities really "Catholic"?

Catholic Charities has been trying to fight a California law that requires all employers that provide health insurance to also cover prescription contraceptives for female employees. The organization argues that this violates their Catholic mission, but according to California law they aren't a "religious employer" - and they can't deny it. So what will they do?

Crux News explains:

In a bizarre bit of legal strategy, Catholic Charities, in its written complaint against the WCEA, actually concedes the point — and goes so far as to readily admit that no, it is indeed not a "religious employer": "The corporate purpose of Catholic Charities is not the direct inculcation of religious values. Rather, [its] purpose…is to offer social services to the general public that promote a just, compassionate society that supports the dignity of individuals and families, to reduce the causes and results of poverty, and to build healthy communities through social service programs such as counseling, mental health and immigration services, low-income housing, and supportive social services to the poor and vulnerable. Further, Catholic Charities does not primarily employ persons who share its Roman Catholic religious beliefs, but, rather, employs a diverse group of persons of many religious backgrounds, all of whom share [its] Gospel-based commitment to promote a just, compassionate society that supports the dignity of individuals and families. Moreover, Catholic Charities serves people of all faith backgrounds, a significant majority of [whom] do not share [its] Roman Catholic faith. Finally,…Catholic Charities, although an exempt organization under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3), is not a nonprofit organization pursuant to [s]ection 6033(a)(2)(A)(i) or (iii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Consequently,…Catholic Charities is not entitled…to an exemption from the mandate imposed by [the WCEA]."

So, what ought Catholic Charities do? The California Supreme Court reminded Catholic Charities that it is not required to provide health-care coverage for its employees. This would be the simple solution. But Catholic Charities balked at that, saying that not to do so would be in violation of its Catholic mission. ... The difficult, more painful solution would be for Catholic Charities to refuse government funding. This would require, though, that Catholic Charities endure the same tightening of the fiscal belt that virtually every other Catholic and Catholic-oriented organization is experiencing. It would require lay-offs and office closures. But it might yield a more focused — more faithful — operation.

This is exactly the right approach to take. An organization that receives public funding for its activities cannot use that funding to evangelize and promote any particular religion or even religion generally. That would be a gross misuse of the public trust. If a group wants to evangelize, they have to do it with their own funds. Thus, if Catholic Charities wants to be a religious organization that promotes a specific religion, they can't continue to receive most of their funding from the government. They'll have to choose between providing more social services without religion or providing fewer social services with religion. Crux News seems to think that the latter would be better and it would be rather interesting if any charitable organizations decided to put evangelization over feeding the hungry or sheltering the homeless. It would let us know where their real priorities lie: ideology over humanity.

Read More:

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