Catholic san Francisco
A major milestone Review Board report and John Jay study examine abuse crisis
Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
(CNS PHOTO FROM ICON PRODUCTIONS)
By Jerry Filteau Catholic News Service
Mary is lifted by a soldier as she kneels by Jesus carrying his cross on the way to Calvary in this scene from “The Passion of the Christ,” which opened in theatres nationwide on Ash Wednesday. See page 3.
State Supreme Court rules against Catholic Charities’ claim of religious freedom By Catholic San Francisco Staff California’s Supreme Court on March 1 affirmed lower court rulings that Catholic Charities is not a religious organization for legal purposes and therefore is not protected from government intrusion by the U.S. or California Constitutions. At issue was whether or not the State of California could legally force Catholic Charities to provide contraceptive coverage to its employees in violation of its religious beliefs. The Court ruled the State was within its rights to force Catholic Charities to violate its religious beliefs because Catholic Charities is not a religious institution. This ruling has far reaching implications beyond Catholic Charities and contraceptive insurance coverage according to Ned Dolejsi, executive director of the California Catholic Conference, “This case was never about contraceptives. It was never about insurance. It was about our ability to practice our religion—providing food, clothing and shelter to the neediest among us—as a religious organization which is part of the Catholic Church.” Dolejsi said the Court’s logic would extend to other Catholic institutions, including hospitals and schools and issues beyond contraception. “The Court’s action upholding the power of the state to force the Catholic Church to violate its core beliefs on contraception undermines the rights of each and every Californian,” he said. Dolejsi called the Court’s ruling “a bitter disappoint-
ment to everyone who believes that freedom of speech and freedom of religion are the cornerstones of our society.” State Senator Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo) sponsored the Women’s Contraception Equity Act (WCEA) in 1999. The bill passed and went into effect in 2000. Speier’s bill forces all California employers which provide prescription health care to their employees to include in that package contraceptive coverage. Only at the request of the California Catholic Conference was an exception made for religious employers morally opposed to contraception. The religious exemption was narrowly defined however. It excludes from protection religious organizations which hire or serve large numbers of people from other faiths or perform services not primarily and directly intended to proselytize. Catholic Charities filed suit claiming the law forced it to provide contraception or refuse prescription coverage to its employees entirely. Either option violated the organization’s religious principles, it claimed. In a 6-1 ruling, the California Supreme Court found that Catholic Charities, and by implication Catholic hospitals, schools and social service organizations, did not fit the narrow definition of a religious organization. It further found, that even had Catholic Charities fit that definition, religious organizations have few rights from government interference. “Religious beliefs do not excuse compliance with otherwise valid laws regulating matters the state is free to
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Catholic Church reached another key milestone in dealing with its clergy sexual abuse crisis Feb. 27 when two major documents on the extent of the abuse and its causes were released simultaneously. At the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Bishops’ National Review Board released its report on the causes and context of the abuse and presented the John Jay College study of the nature and scope of the abuse. The documents are important breakthroughs. They provide for the first time a full objective accounting of the problem and a thoughtful independent critique of what led to this sad chapter in church history. “This study and this report, while painful to read, form a vital benchmark,” said Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, at a press conference following the release of the two documents. The John Jay study — conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, one of the nation’s top institutions in that field — said its survey found that at least 10,667 people had reported plausible claims of childhood sexual abuse by 4,392 priests or deacons between 1950 and 2002. This represents 4 percent of the approximately 110,000 diocesan and religious priests who served in REPORT / STUDY, page 22 the United States in those years.
CATHOLIC CHARITIES, page 18
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION New threat to marriage . . . 6 Editorial and letters . . . . . 14 Scripture reflection. . . . . . 16 Background on abuse. . 17-18 Marriage amendment . . . . 19
News in brief SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT MARCH 7
March 5, 2004
~ Pages 4-5 ~
Datebook and review . . 20-21
~ Pages 12-13 ~ FIFTY CENTS
www.catholic-sf.org VOLUME 6
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No. 9