Religious Liberty Claims are Nonsensical

The Little Sisters of the Poor vocations director, Constance Veit, explained in her NYT's March editorial, " Why We're Suing Obamacare , " that she and her order oppose the birth control insurance mandate required in the Affordable Care Act because all methods of contraception be it pharmaceutical or surgical are forbidden under Catholic doctrine.

Under the pretext of religious freedom deprivations, certain closely-held companies i.e. Hobby Lobby ( Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, Inc.), and Catholic organizations i.e. Little Sisters of the Poor ( Zubik v. Burwell ) maintain that their beliefs were sullied by The Affordable Care Act. It was elastic reasoning that led the highest court to accept these claims for review because religious belief should play no role in state affairs. This prohibition—separation of church and state—is guaranteed by the constitution's establishment clause as interpreted by the Supreme Court. The five to four decision put forth by Chief Justice Roberts and Associates Alito, Thomas, Scalia (deceased), and Kennedy ( all Catholics ) in favor of the Hobby Lobby owners, damaged precedent, opened the door for more concessions and prompted religious liberty bills to flourish in regressive legislatures.

Georgia's House Bill 757 is an example of a law that would have allowed businesses and nonprofit companies to discriminate against same-sex, interracial, interfaith, and even unmarried couples. All the protesting party had to say is that certain conduct or social mores offend their conscience. Governor Deal vetoed the prejudicial bill

It is conscience shocking that Sister Veit and her order say that they are victims of religious injury yet they have done nothing to help stop the perennial problem of priests raping children. The Altoona-Johnston Grand Jury found that hundreds of children were molested by more than 50 priests in a 40 year time span. If the servants of Christ were to express their displeasure to Pope Francis and to the public then pedophilia would become a rare rather than a commonplace occurrence. Little Sisters of the Poor should read the Diocese of Altoona-Johnston Sexual Abuse Report and reflect that their silence has put children in harm's way.