The Office of General Counsel of the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops has submitted a nine-page response to the US Department
of Health and Human Services’ Proposed Rule to Advance Non-discrimination in Health and Human Service Programs for LGBTQI+ Community.
The rule, the USCCB warned, could mandate Catholic social service
agencies “to house biological men who identify as women in single-sex
facilities” and could require Catholic agencies to place migrant
children with same-sex couples as foster parents.
“Any charity that has separate men’s and women’s bathrooms or changing
areas could be required to allow men to use the women’s facility and
vice versa; any charity may be required to address an employee or
beneficiary by pronouns that do not correspond with his or her
biological sex,” the USCCB continued.
“The [proposed rule], by placing unconstitutional conditions on
participation in government programs, threatens our capacity to carry
out this service,” the USCCB warned.
“In the end, those hurt the most
will be those whom we serve: victims of domestic violence, refugees and
newcomers, children, the homeless, the sick, and the poor.”
In addition, the rule’s “religious exemption scheme offers no assurance
to religious charities that they will be able to participate in
HHS-funded programs without being made to violate their beliefs.”