Atlanta joins lawsuit against HHS Mandate

Here's the press release [emphasis added]:

Contact: Pat Chivers FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(678) 480-6865 October 10, 2012

Archdiocese of Atlanta Files Federal Lawsuit
Against HHS Mandate

Atlanta --- In order to defend one of America’s most fundamental freedoms—the freedom to practice one’s religion without governmental interference—the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta has filed suit in federal court seeking to block the Health and Human Services’ mandate that unconstitutionally attempts to define the nature of the church’s religious ministry and would force religious employers to violate their consciences. Christ the King Catholic School, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah joined in the lawsuit. Named as defendants in the suit are the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division.

Wilton D. Gregory, Archbishop of Atlanta, said about the lawsuit filed in Atlanta, “We are undertaking this action because the stakes are so incredibly high. Our religious liberty and that of our fellow Catholics and people of other religious faiths as well as those with no professed religious belief throughout the nation are impacted by this proposed action. The unchallenged results of the HHS mandate would require that we compromise or violate our religious faith and ethical beliefs.”

The Archdiocese of Atlanta has filed this suit because the federal government is requiring religious organizations, under penalty of law, to provide, pay for, and/or facilitate access to abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception in violation of their sincerely held religious beliefs.

The lawsuit states, “Plantiffs acknowledge that individuals in this country have a legal right to these medical services; they are, and will continue to be, freely available in the United States, and nothing prevents the Government itself from making them more widely available. But the right to such services does not authorize the Government to co-opt religious entities like Plantiffs into providing or facilitating access to them.” American history and tradition, embodied in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, prohibit just this sort of overbearing and oppressive governmental action.

While the government has recognized a religious exemption to these mandates, it is so narrowly worded that many – if not most – religious institutions such as Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta and Christ the King Catholic School may not qualify for it. Under the government’s exemption standard, these Catholic institutions may not qualify because they do not discriminate against non-Catholics who might come to them seeking assistance or education. Nor do they discriminate against non-Catholics in their hiring practices. In order to qualify for an exemption, a religious institution must submit to an intrusive and arbitrary governmental investigation into whether, in the discretionary view of the Government, their “purpose” is the “inculcation of religious values,” whether they “primarily” employ persons who “share their religious tenets,” and whether they “primarily” serve such people. Catholic schools and the programs of Catholic Charities Atlanta are open to people of all faiths and do not consider religious affiliation in hiring for most positions. The Archdiocese of Atlanta strongly objects to such an intrusive, arbitrary and misguided governmental investigation into their religious missions.

Archbishop Gregory, a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, stated, “We bring our heritage of faith and dedication to the service of the poor and needy who have been served by the agencies of the Catholic Church in Georgia with generosity and commitment for all of the years of our existence in this region. We become one more voice that must be heard by the courts as they consider the legality of this action.”

Joseph Krygiel, CEO of Catholic Charities Atlanta, said, “This lawsuit is not about contraception, it is about religious freedom and it always has been. Our board felt that religious freedom is the cornerstone of every basic human right. It is the most cherished of all liberties that we enjoy as Americans, and this HHS mandate is an unprecedented direct attack on our Catholic faith and our religious freedom guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.” Krygiel added, “The majority of poor and needy people that we serve are not Catholic. In fact, we never ask our clients what faith they practice or if they even believe in God before we provide help to them. There is a saying in Catholic Charities agencies across the country, "We help people not because they are Catholic; we help people because we are Catholic."

For more information, contact Pat Chivers (678) 480-6865 or pchivers@archatl.com.