Brian Cahill is the retired executive director of San Francisco Catholic Charities and is the author of “Cops, Cons and Grace, A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Suicide.”
Chronicle readers may remember that in early October, the U.S. Supreme Court took up three cases regarding workplace protection for LGBT employees. The issue is whether sexual orientation and gender identity should be included in the definition of the word “sex” in federal civil rights law.
It should come as no great surprise that the Trump administration has joined two Christian conservative advocacy groups (Alliance Defending Freedom and Christian Employers Association) in asking the court not to give sexual orientation and gender identity protected status. What Chronicle readers may not know is that three leaders of the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference have joined the employer advocates in asking the Supreme Court to allow employers to discriminate against LGBT employees, making it clear that these bishops, under the banner of religious liberty, are fine leaving LGBT workers with no federal workplace protection.
The three bishops are major players in the U.S. Bishops Conference. Robert McManus chairs the Religious Liberty Committee. James Conley chairs the Defense of Marriage Committee. And — here is the best, most ironically named committee of all — Frank Dewane chairs the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.
No one should be surprised that some American Catholic bishops are taking this position. Many of them have presided over the firing or forced resignations of over 70 LGBT teachers and church employees in recent years solely on the basis of sexual orientation. And Chronicle readers may remember our own Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s effort to go after LGBT teachers in our local Catholic high schools.
And it’s not only LGBT employees who suffer from church teaching and practice. These same three bishops mentioned above have also recently supported the Trump administration move to end LGBT non-discrimination regulations in health care and social services, including adoption and foster care. This would allow Catholic Charities to do reimbursable adoption work but receive a waiver from working with same-sex adoptive parents. Read more via San Francisco Chronicle