The Made for Love Podcast is Growing!
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The latest episode of the podcast kicks off our interview with Mike and Alicia Hernon of the Messy Family Project, discussing how to balance marriage and kids. Later, Kara joins to chat about the excellent Oscar-nominated film Minari. It's a Hollywood film which is... actually friendly to Christianity maybe? Find that and previous episodes here, and be sure to share it with your friends!
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Help Stop the "Equality Act"! |
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The USCCB continues to oppose the misnamed Equality Act. By seeking to insert "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" into civil rights laws, it would discriminate against people of faith and impose gender theory in schools, workplaces, charities, shelters, hospitals, doctors' offices, and more. Its provisions could also be construed to create an abortion mandate.
Our Policy Advisor, Robert Vega, participated in a webinar detailing the potential harms of the bill, along with a podcast for the USCCB's religious liberty office. USCCB bishop chairmen earlier wrote a letter to Congress on February 23rd explaining their opposition to this bill. It passed the U.S. House of Representatives on February 25th and goes before the Senate for a vote soon.
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Marking five years since his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, on love in the family, Pope Francis has ushered in a "year" of celebration and deepened reflection on the family. From March 19th all the way through the 10th World Meeting of Families in Rome on June 26th, 2022, the Vatican's Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life will be especially promoting the Christian message on the family in light of the challenges of our time. The USCCB is likewise celebrating the year with its own events and resources, which you can find here.
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Legal/Policy Updates
Biden Administration - In his address to a joint session of Congress on April 28th, President Biden called on Congress to pass the Equality Act and told transgender-identifying youth that he 'has their back.' The same day, the transgender-identifying child who previously testified in favor of the Act at Senate hearing had a discussion session as a "virtual guest" of the First Lady. Earlier this month, on April 22nd, the Dept. of Justice filed a statement of interest in the favor of an inmate in a Georgia prison seeking housing relocation to match their "gender identity." And on April 23rd the Administration granted "blanket authorization" to fly the "Pride" flag at U.S. embassies and provided policies for promoting "Pride."
Health Care Mandates - On April 20th, the government appealed a North Dakota court's decision that had exempted Catholic organizations from interpretations of law that'd force them to perform and cover "gender transition" procedures.. Meanwhile, on April 15th, the Franciscan Alliance case that had so far blocked the implementation of one such mandate under Affordable Care Act regulations was remanded for further consideration. At the state level, Washington passed a "gender transition" insurance coverage mandate on April 19th; and Iowa was brought back into court on April 22nd for a third time for not having its Medicaid program cover such procedures.
Protecting Children from "Gender Transition" - On April 6th, Arkansas overrode the governor's veto and banned gender-related medical interventions on minors. Similar bills were introduced but have failed in over a dozen other states this year.
Women's Sports - In April, bills to protect women and girls' sports from being opened to males who self-identify as "female" were passed in Alabama, Florida, and West Virginia, but failed in several other states. On April 25th, the case by Connecticut female high school athletes against their state's allowing males to compete against them was dismissed as moot.
Religious Schools' Freedom - A Christian college in Missouri, College of the Ozarks, sued the Dept. of Housing & Urban Development on April 15th to challenge the application of an initial directive about "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" in the Fair Housing Act to religious schools' dormitories.
Incestuous Marriage Effort - On April 1st, a federal lawsuit was filed in New York in attempt allow for parents to marry their own adult children.
Abroad - A Canadian court ruled on April 26th that a third partner in a polyamorous "throuple" is a legal parent, and to be included on a birth certificate, of a child conceived naturally by the other two members of the group. In Russia, the country's legal protection of the definition of marriage was officially enacted in early April. And in Switzerland, opponents of a marriage redefinition law were able to force a referendum on the issue.
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