"The debate is about Catholic identity, not contraception," Bishop Galante's column in the Catholic Star Herald

We have been hearing a lot lately about what is described as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate.

It seems in the popular mind this is about contraception. But the real issue is whether or not the government can define what a religion is and, as in this particular case, narrow it merely to an institution which serves and hires only its own people.

Today that question about freedom of conscience is being argued over the right of the Church to maintain its view about the morality of contraception. Yet the broader issue of religious liberty is also being fought over other issues as well. For example, there is a question whether punitive immigration laws, such as those recently passed in Alabama and Arizona, will allow for the freedom of conscience to provide immigrants with rides to Church or permit Catholics to offer food or shelter to the undocumented.

Under the definition of the HHS mandate, only the Catholic Church building itself qualifies as a religious institution. Catholic schools, hospitals and services such as Catholic Charities do not quality under the government’s definition. The real issue is an understanding of what it means to be a religious entity.

The works of the Catholic Church flow from our faith, our belief that comes from our understanding of Matthew 25: 31-46: “Whatsoever you did to the least of my sisters and brothers, you did unto me.”

We serve others not because they are Catholic but because we are. To limit our understanding to what it means to be a Catholic institution to merely worship in a Catholic church is not an accurate or honest reflection of what our faith means. As the apostle St. James writes, “faith without good works is dead.” Our identity as Catholics revolves around what we believe (doctrine) and how we live what we believe (practice).

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