Washington D.C., Sep 22, 2011 / 12:45 pm
Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, president of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference, urged President Obama and his administration to end their attack on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the religious freedom of those who support it.
Archbishop Dolan warned in his Sept. 20 letter that by continuing its current course of action, the administration would “precipitate a national conflict between Church and State of enormous proportions and to the detriment of both institutions.”
In an accompanying analysis, the bishops’ conference said it is concerned that if the administration continued its fight to redefine marriage, Catholic individuals and institutions would face lawsuits for supposed “sexual orientation discrimination” in their efforts to serve the common good in areas including employment, education and adoption services.
“Society will suffer when religious entities are compelled to remove themselves from the social service network due to their duty to maintain their institutional integrity and not compromise on basic moral principles,” it said.