Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
In this drastically changed context, the obligation of the Church to uphold the teaching of marriage
– what a marriage is, what human beings have understood marriage to be from the beginning
– became very, very clear. We had to be the voice for that understanding of what marriage
actually is. And also, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees
teaching throughout the whole Church, reminded us in 2003 in, “those situations where homosexual
unions have been legally recognized, or have been given the legal status and rights belonging
to marriage, clear and emphatic opposition is a duty.” Without a religious exemption
in the law, Catholic Charities had to make changes to continue to operate. To do otherwise
would have compromised Catholic teaching and set a dangerous and unacceptable precedent
in our nation’s capital, which is also the home of the headquarters of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops. Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Washington, in the face
then of this new same-sex marriage legislation in the District of Columbia, made the right
choice. A difficult choice, but the right one. Catholic Charities faced two choices:
being barred from contracting with the city, contracts that care for 68,000 needy or Catholic
Charities would have to find a new way to adjust operations to meet the city requirements,
and to do so without violating our Catholic faith. The agency had to make heartbreaking
decisions. After 80 years of providing adoption and foster care service, Catholic Charities
was forced to give that up, publicly funded adoption and foster care services. And then,
and then it had to revise its employee benefits to meet the specific conditions required by
the city if we were going to have these contracts to provide services. As difficult as it was,
and you can imagine how much thought and effort and energy went into coming to a solution
that would be the right one. Catholic Charities considered all of the moral aspects of this
issue and all of the legal aspects and all of the social justice aspects and also all
of the catechetical aspects – how do you teach in the context of this new legislation?
And they made, they made the right choice. As a representative of the Bishop’s Conference
said in a public statement, “The Church cannot support the redefinition of marriage
and the Conference of Bishops does not provide employee benefits to partners of gays and
lesbians, because to provide such benefits is to recognize same-sex marriage as legitimate.”
To meet then, these requirements by the city, if we were going to partner in the care of
the poor, as we have done for decades and decades with distinction and ratability, Catholic
Charities had to redefine its compensation package. And it did so I think in what is
the most just manner it could. All the current employees, up to March 1st, retained all of
their benefits – no changes in anyone’s compensation package and benefit package.
But as of March 2nd, spouses may not be added to employee healthcare plans. Children yes,
and they continue to be a part of it. The agency, the agency had to make this change,
otherwise it simply wouldn’t be able to continue to receive contracts. As of March
2nd, spouses may not be added to employee health care plans. If the agency had not made
this change, it would have had to redefine the word “spouse.” It would have had to
accept this new definition of same-sex couples, and the Church simply can’t do this because
if it did, it would simply appear as if it were approving this new definition of marriage.
This approach was implemented in complete fidelity to our Catholic social teaching and
with a commitment to the just compensation of all of those employees of Catholic Charities.
What it did, what Catholic Charities tried to do, was impact the fewest employees. All
the current employees keep all their existing benefits. And it’s important to note that
less than ten percent of the employees actually have and ask for spousal benefits. But the
specific mix of benefits has been changed. The agency has stated that it will continue
to give a just compensation in its overall package of salary and benefits. Employees
of Catholic Charities will receive salary and benefits that will allow Catholic Charities
to provide some benefits, and the employees to purchase other benefits. I think what Catholic
Charities did was to find a path through this entire extremely difficult situation. And
though difficult, Catholic Charities has made the right choice. The agency can continue
to serve the people who depend on it. And think of it: tens of thousands of people turn
to Catholic Charities for help. During a recent blizzard that we had in the District of Columbia,
during those nights when the city was simply closed down under the snow, Catholic Charities
cared for 1,500 homeless people every single night. The agency then will continue to be
able to serve the people. And it will meet the new requirements, and it will do so without
compromising its Catholic identity. And at the same time, it will provide just compensation.