Monday, April 12, 2010

The Threat of ENDA

Logging into my Hotmail account brought this latest protest by the American Family Association to my attention, and though I don't always agree with the AFA, I found this one to be of interest to Christians of all stripes, Catholics included.

ENDA stands for Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which basically is designed to eliminate discrimination in the workplace.  Such a law is praiseworthy if it stuck to things like race, religion, etc.  The ENDA does not, however, do that.

The ENDA will elevate homosexuality and bisexuality to the moral equivalent of heterosexuality, and the current version of the bill contains no exemptions for religious institutions or even for religious beliefs.  What does this mean for Catholics?

Simply put, it will force Catholic owned businesses and charities to compromise their moral principles and recognize homosexuality, an intrinsically disordered condition, as morally acceptable.  Institutions that refuse to do so could face sanctions and massive lawsuits.  So if a Catholic owned hospital refuses to hire an man who insists on wearing a dress to work on the basis of moral opposition, they could be sued.  An employee who expresses moral opposition to the hiring of openly homosexual men at a daycare center could end up losing his job.

Now, as a Catholic, I do not, under any circumstance, believe that homosexuals should be treated as second-class citizens.  Doing so is an offense against human dignity.  But no Catholic institution should be forced to compromise their moral principles and beliefs because the federal government passes a law saying they should.  It's an insult to religious freedom to do such a thing.

We must pray for exemptions in the law for religious institutions. 

Pax Christi

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