Religious Liberty – Pennsylvania Catholic Conference https://www.pacatholic.org Pennsylvania Catholic Conference Wed, 09 Mar 2022 16:49:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.pacatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/cropped-IMG_5454-1-32x32.jpg Religious Liberty – Pennsylvania Catholic Conference https://www.pacatholic.org 32 32 Maternal & Early Childhood Series: Adoption Challenges in PA https://www.pacatholic.org/maternal-early-childhood-series-adoption-challenges-in-pa/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=maternal-early-childhood-series-adoption-challenges-in-pa Mon, 07 Mar 2022 16:45:12 +0000 https://www.pacatholic.org/?p=12009 The 4th installment of our series on Maternal and Early Childhood Issues looks at the role the Wolf Administration has played in curtailing Catholic adoption efforts in Pennsylvania.

https://fb.watch/bBXX1F6m97/

A woman we’ll call Kelly talked with me about her adoption a number of years ago through Catholic charities. She learned details of what happened as she got older. Kelly says it could have worked out any better.

Kelly’s story was a familiar one for decades, but one that is happening less and less in many states across the country, as officials have placed restrictions on adoption agencies that contradict their long-held beliefs.

Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf several years ago joined Democratic governors in other states to require adoption agencies to place children with same-sex parents in order to get funding. That requirement by Governor Wolf would be in direct contrast with the long-standing Catholic belief that a marriage is between a man and a woman. It is that parental combination, Catholics believe, that is the best way to raise a child.

The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference appealed to the Wolf Administration for a religious exemption. It was denied in 2018, basically causing most adoption efforts by Catholic organizations in PA to grind to a halt. Similar regulations have been shutting down Catholic adoption agencies across the U.S. ever since Boston Catholic Charities did so in 2006.

The efforts by the PCC to remove this burden continued on both the state and federal level. We sent an appeal to the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington to grant us a religious exemption. We worked closely with U.S. Congressman Mike Kelly on getting federal relief. A number of state senators sent a letter to President Trump asking him to provide relief for our efforts.

We’re hoping that a recent Supreme Court ruling involving foster care services by Catholic Charities in Philadelphia. Fulton vs. the City of Philadelphia started when the city said it would no longer contract with Catholic Social Services because CSS would not certify same-sex couples to be foster parents In response, two foster mothers—Sharonell Fulton and Toni Simms-Busch—and the CSS sued the city, arguing that severing the contract violated their religious freedom. Fulton and Simms-Busch, the mothers who are plaintiffs, claim it was their Catholic faith that inspired them to be foster mothers.After losing in two lower courts, they petitioned the Supreme Court, which first agreed to hear the case in February 2020.

Over a year later  the Court ruled that the city’s refusal due to the agency’s same-sex couple policy violated the Free Exercise Clause. Great news and a big win for religious liberty.

The PCC is hoping the principal will carry over into adoptions, but the damage may have already been done.

In 2019 the Diocese of Greensburg closed its adoption and foster care program after 65 years because of the decision by the Wolf Administration. Adoptions were halted by Catholic agencies in other parts of the state.  Will the adoption work done by these organizations ever return to what it once was? We can only hope and pray.

]]> This Week at the PA Capitol https://www.pacatholic.org/this-week-at-the-pa-capitol-3/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=this-week-at-the-pa-capitol-3 Fri, 28 May 2021 12:44:36 +0000 https://www.pacatholic.org/?p=11403 Both the House and Senate were in session this week in Harrisburg. The PA Catholic Conference saw a number of bills passed that we support. That included–in the House– a package of 8 bills to combat human trafficking and a bill to assure that clergy members would not be prevented from visiting long-term care facilities during any future government emergencies.  There were also 3 pro-life bills that passed the House Health Committee.

Here are the postings that we made this week as these events occurred.

BEST PART OF THE WEEK HERE!!

 

 

 

 

]]> PCC Applauds Supreme Court Rulings That Reaffirm Religious Liberties https://www.pacatholic.org/pcc-applauds-supreme-court-rulings-that-reaffirm-religious-liberties/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pcc-applauds-supreme-court-rulings-that-reaffirm-religious-liberties Thu, 09 Jul 2020 17:17:25 +0000 https://www.pacatholic.org/?p=10840  

Eric Failing

The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference applauds the Supreme Court’s decisions in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James Catholic School v. Biel. In both cases, the Court reaffirmed the religious liberties guaranteed in the United States’ Constitution.

“These are incredibly important rulings for so many groups across the country,” said Eric Failing, the Executive Director of the PCC. “They take a big stand for religious liberty as a First Amendment freedom, which is continually being threatened. We are happy the Court has clearly recognized the importance of religious liberty to our nation.”

]]> PA House Speaker Mike Turzai Applauds Appeals Court Ruling in Prayer Case https://www.pacatholic.org/pa-house-speaker-mike-turzai-applauds-appeals-court-ruling-in-prayer-case/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pa-house-speaker-mike-turzai-applauds-appeals-court-ruling-in-prayer-case Wed, 11 Sep 2019 14:00:31 +0000 https://www.pacatholic.org/?p=10304

PA Speaker of the House Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) is praising a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals which will uphold the traditional practice of having a session-opening prayer.

“We are pleased that the Third Circuit has found that our prayer complies with the United States Constitution,” Turzai said, “and has issued a precedent setting decision entirely in the House’s favor. As a result, we expect the House to be able to resume its tradition of welcoming guest chaplains as it has in the past.”

In 2016 a group of atheists and other non-believers sued the House, claiming their exclusion as guest chaplains violated the Constitution. The plaintiffs also challenged the presiding officer’s traditional request to rise for the prayer and the pledge to the flag. Last year, a federal judge in Harrisburg ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and limited the practice to member-led prayers.

But the House appealed. Late last month a three-judge panel of the Third Circuit ruled in the House’s favor on all counts.

“By a 2-1 vote the panel held the House’s prayer practices were constitutional because they fit within the long history of legislative prayer in this country,” Turzai said. “The majority explained that ‘only theistic prayer can satisfy the historical purpose of appealing for divine guidance in lawmaking.’”

Turzai said the panel ruled 3-0 that it is constitutional and not coercive to request that guests stand for the prayer and the pledge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

]]> Rep. Dave Zimmerman Still Seeking Religious Exemption to Save Catholic Adoptions https://www.pacatholic.org/rep-dave-zimmerman-still-seeking-religious-exemption-to-save-catholic-adoptions/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rep-dave-zimmerman-still-seeking-religious-exemption-to-save-catholic-adoptions Mon, 22 Jul 2019 17:28:34 +0000 https://www.pacatholic.org/?p=10182

Catholic adoption agencies across the state have been curtailing or stopping their work altogether as a result of a policy by the Wolf Administration that would take away a lot of their power to decide who would be the best parents for adoption.

PA Rep. Dave Zimmerman (R-Lancaster) says there is still hope that a religious exemption will be granted by lawmakers for organizations.

“A number of us in the House actually held up the budget because of a religious exemption, related to the Foster care and adoption,” Zimmerman told me in his Lancaster district office. Despite their determined efforts the Governor held firm and it was kept out. “They took the religious exemption out, which means an adoption agency would have to work with any type of family arrangements, whether it’s a man and wife, or an LGBT couple. They would have to work with all of those.”

Zimmerman and several of his colleagues would like to see the exemption established. They have an agreement from House and Senate leadership to run bills in the fall to make that happen.

“This is just one area. So the question is ‘what’s next?’” Zimmerman said. “I believe that our country and our state were established on religious liberty, religious freedom. We need to have these religious exemptions available to business and family throughout our state. It’s very important.”

Zimmerman said another issue that drew debate in the last session was the compulsory age for education. The current law requires children between the ages of eight and 17 to be in school. But new regulations installed in one of the budget codes would expand that from six to 18. Zimmerman was one of the lawmakers who opposed the change.

“There are a lot of issues with that,” he said. “Some children are just not ready at six. What about someone who graduates early? What about—in our district—the Plain community that gets work permits at 15?  None of that has been really addressed at this point, so there are some real concerns about the compulsory age.”

The age change was something that was being pushed by the Governor, Zimmerman said. Even though it was placed in the budget, he says there will be an effort in the fall to get the change modified.

‘I also look at it as a liberties issue,” Zimmerman added. “The parents can probably make a better decision on their children than government.”

Zimmerman remains very committed to pro-life issues. He voted for the Down Syndrome Protection Act and has signed on as a co-sponsor to Rep. Stephanie Borowicz’s (R-Centre, Clinton) “heartbeat” abortion bill, which he hopes to see introduced in the fall.

]]> PA Rep. Jesse Topper Looks for an Efficient Government, Not a Costly One https://www.pacatholic.org/pa-rep-jesse-topper-looks-for-an-efficient-government-not-a-costly-one/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pa-rep-jesse-topper-looks-for-an-efficient-government-not-a-costly-one Wed, 20 Feb 2019 22:53:50 +0000 https://www.pacatholic.org/?p=9913 Like many lawmakers in Harrisburg, State Rep. Jesse Topper (R-Bedford, Fulton and Franklin Cos.) will be keeping a close eye on budget talks at the Capitol.  The process started after Governor Wolf unveiled his budget proposal earlier this month.

“It’s basically the Governor saying ‘this is my wish list,’” said Topper. “That’s the way I look at it. “

There’s a good chance that Topper and his Republican colleagues will have a different set of wishes. Topper said they will be looking at what is needed to run the government efficiently.

“There’s always going to be disagreement on that number. It’s a negotiation,” he said. “But from my standpoint, I’m always going to be advocating for spending less money–being more efficient with what we have and not going back to the tax payers for their hard-earned money.”

One of the programs that Topper will be pushing for is the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, or EITC for short. It enables businesses to get a tax credit for contributing to a scholarship organization, educational improvement organization or a pre-K scholarship organization.

“This is a way that we can make sure that businesses who want to contribute to our Catholic schools—and private schools really, whether they are Catholic or not, that we can’t give direct dollars to directly through the state, this is a chance for them to be able to contribute to their communities and get tax deductions through that. It has been a widely successful program that has benefited both the communities and the businesses they serve in, as well as the schools. “

Topper sees a lot of support for not only keeping, but also increasing the EITC.

“We’ve seen increases in the EITC since I’ve been here. Speaker Turzai has been leading the charge on that, as well as a former colleague of mine, Jimmy Christiana and Senator Regan when he was Representative Regan in the House. There’s a lot of bi-partisan support for increasing the EITC. “

Another issue that Topper will keep his eye is abortion. He is part of a staunch Pro-Life Caucus at the Capitol. Like many of his colleagues he was alarmed by what happened in New York with the new abortion law.

“You’ve seen a lot of—even millennials,” Topper said, “who have come to understand that – I think technology has really made a difference, when you can see these children through ultrasounds…I knew what my kids looked like before they were born. That technology wasn’t available back in the time of Roe V. Wade.”

“It just wasn’t something that people could look at and understand. Now they can. The science is on our side. And I think that’s one social and cultural issue that we’ve moved to our side, the pro-life movement.”

And Topper joined his colleagues in adding re-assurance to pro-lifers in PA.

“This is something I don’t expect to see in Pennsylvania under this legislature but we have to have an answer for it—as we talk about the value of life at conception, what these little children mean to us as a society and how we are going to protect them.”

 

 

]]> Gasp!! Biblical Quotations Still Adorn Many Walls of State Capitol!! https://www.pacatholic.org/gasp-biblical-quotations-still-adorn-many-walls-of-state-capitol/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gasp-biblical-quotations-still-adorn-many-walls-of-state-capitol Fri, 01 Feb 2019 17:46:30 +0000 https://www.pacatholic.org/?p=9867 You will never guess where you can find a wide selection of biblical quotations when you visit Harrisburg. Well, yeah, the bible. But I’m talking a building.

It’s the State Capitol of all places–hard to believe in this day and age where there is always someone looking to be offended.

PA Rep. Kathy Rapp, a Republican out of the northwestern part of the state, put out a nice booklet that is complete with the verses and the scenes that accompany those verses. Many are in the Governor’s reception room, House chambers and Senate chambers.

Rapp stated in the first page of her book “Pennsylvania’s history and heritage is rooted in religious significance. From William Penn’s own vision and statement of establishing a Holy Experiment, to the first laws proposed by the General Assembly, to the first section of the first Constitution, the Charter of Privileges, entitled the freedom of conscience, our founders based their way of life on religious convictions.

There are verses from the Old Testament, including Isaiah 42:1,4,7,10 “Behold my servant whom I uphold to pen the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. Sing unto the Lord a new song ye that go down to the sea.”

There are also several from the New Testament and the Gospels, like Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake.”

No, this would not happen today. Not with the hyper-politically correct world we live in. In fact, it’s kind of surprising no one has fought to take it down. Maybe they have and I don’t know it.

For example…

There’s a case involving Lehigh County and the cross on its county seal that was added in 1944. It was fine then, but of course it had to offend somebody eventually. Yep. It did. The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation—how they came across the symbol is beyond me—joined four Lehigh County residents and filed a lawsuit. According to the Morning Call, they argued “the seal was a violation of their first amendment rights.”

U.S. District Judge Edward G. Smith agreed with the folks who were offended. He ruled in September that Lehigh Co. would have to change it on flags, cars or other property but could keep it on older documents. The County appealed to the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which is waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to act on a similar case before it makes a ruling.

 

]]> Judge to hear foster families targeted by City of Philadelphia City’s harmful new policy https://www.pacatholic.org/judge-to-hear-foster-families-targeted-by-city-of-philadelphia-citys-harmful-new-policy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=judge-to-hear-foster-families-targeted-by-city-of-philadelphia-citys-harmful-new-policy Wed, 13 Jun 2018 18:48:02 +0000 https://www.pacatholic.org/?p=9598 According to the religious liberty advocacy group Becket, Philadelphia-based foster families will be in court Monday fighting to end a new City of Philadelphia policy that is currently leaving numerous foster homes empty. In Sharonell Fulton, et al. v. City of Philadelphia, the City issued a new policy barring Catholic Social Services from placing children with foster families, solely because the City disagrees with the agency’s religious beliefs. That policy is causing serious problems for foster kids and families, and Catholic Social Services has asked a court for an urgent ruling by June 30.

In March, the City of Philadelphia issued an?urgent call for 300?new foster parents to provide loving homes for some of the over 6,000 kids in Philadelphia foster care. That same month, the City abruptly barred Catholic Social Services, one of the city’s top-rated foster agencies, from placing children with foster parents like Sharonell Fulton, who has fostered over 40 kids in the last 25 years. This decision makes it exponentially harder for hundreds of children in need of foster care to find homes. Represented by Becket, Sharonell Fulton, Cecelia Paul, Toni Simms-Busch, and Catholic Social Services are asking the court to halt the City’s harmful policy and allow kids to be placed in a loving home.  

What: 
Oral Argument in Sharonell Fulton et. al. v. City of Philadelphia  

Who: 
Lori Windham, senior attorney at Becket
Philadelphia foster families 

When: 
Monday, June 18 at 2:00 p.m. EST
(arguments are expected to go three hours)  

Where: 
U.S. District Court
601 Market St., Philadelphia, Pa. 

 

### 

Becket is a non-profit, public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions?and has a 100% win-rate before the United States?Supreme Court.?For over 20 years, it has successfully defended clients of all faiths, including?Buddhists, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Native Americans, Sikhs, and Zoroastrians?(read more here). 

]]> USCCB Chairmen Applaud Supreme Court’s Respect for Religious Liberty in Masterpiece Cakeshop Decision https://www.pacatholic.org/cakeshopdecision/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cakeshopdecision Wed, 06 Jun 2018 14:20:17 +0000 https://www.pacatholic.org/?p=9595 From the USCCB – June 4, 2018 – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The case involves a Christian baker named Jack Phillips who declined in 2012 to create a custom wedding cake for a same-sex ceremony. State officials sought to compel Phillips to create such cakes under Colorado’s public accommodations law. The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of Phillips under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., of Philadelphia, Chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, and Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, Chairman of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), issued the following joint statement:

“Today’s decision confirms that people of faith should not suffer discrimination on account of their deeply held religious beliefs, but instead should be respected by government officials. This extends to creative professionals, such as Jack Phillips, who seek to serve the Lord in every aspect of their daily lives. In a pluralistic society like ours, true tolerance allows people with different viewpoints to be free to live out their beliefs, even if those beliefs are unpopular with the government.”

The USCCB filed an amicus curiae brief supporting Masterpiece Cakeshop, which can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/about/general-counsel/amicus-briefs/upload/16-111-tsac-USCCB.pdf.

 

 

 

 

]]> When adoption agencies can turn away gay prospective parents, what happens to the kids? https://www.pacatholic.org/when-adoption-agencies-can-turn-away-gay-prospective-parents-what-happens-to-the-kids/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=when-adoption-agencies-can-turn-away-gay-prospective-parents-what-happens-to-the-kids Tue, 05 Jun 2018 18:34:57 +0000 https://www.pacatholic.org/?p=9587 Religious News Service reporter Bobby Ross, Jr. recently asked this question, “When adoption agencies can turn away gay prospective parents, what happens to the kids?” With conflicts between religious based adoption and foster care agencies and government non-discrimination regulations playing out across the country including the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, this is an important question.

In March, the City of Philadelphia issued an urgent call for 300 new foster parents to provide loving homes for some of the over 6,000 kids in Philadelphia foster care. That same month, the City abruptly barred Catholic Social Services, one of the city’s top-rated foster agencies, from placing children with foster families. This decision makes it exponentially harder for hundreds of children in need of foster care to find homes. Foster homes are sitting empty, even as the city begs for more families to help in its foster care crisis.

Catholic Social Services and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia have been serving children throughout Philadelphia for over a century. Their Catholic mission drives them to find loving homes for all children in their care, regardless of the child’s race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity. Catholic Social Services currently serves over 100 children in foster homes. No family or individual has ever complained that the agency’s Catholic mission prevented them from fostering or adopting a child.

Sharonell Fulton from Overbrook Farms has been a foster parent for over 25 years. She has opened her home to over 40 children, including two children currently in her care. She strives to provide a loving, stable home and treat each child as if they were her own. To do that, Fulton relies on Catholic Social Services’ help, including around-the-clock support and access to information and resources.

“What justice is there in taking stable, loving homes away from children?” Fulton said in a statement to CatholicPhilly.com. “If the city cuts off Catholic Social Services from foster care, foster moms like me won’t have the help and support they need to care for the special-needs kids.”

By freezing and threatening to cancel its foster care contract with the CSS, the city is “taking away this help and causing harm and heartache to countless families like mine,” Fulton said. The children will suffer if parents like Fulton do not have the support they need.

In May, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court in Philadelphia on behalf of archdiocesan Catholic Social Services (CSS), Sharonell Fulton and two other women caregivers associated with the archdiocesan agency. They asked the court to halt the city’s harmful policy. A hearing is expected later this year.

]]>