In a letter sent to Senators on October
31, three Roman Catholic bishops explained their opposition to the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which seeks to prohibit
workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and
gender identity.
On Monday, ENDA cleared a critical
hurdle in the Senate. However, the bill faces a steep incline in the
Republican-controlled House.
(Related: Gay
protections bill ENDA clears cloture hurdle in Senate.)
“All people are created in the image
and likeness of God and thus possess an innate human dignity that
must be acknowledged and respected by other persons and by law,”
the bishops wrote. “Furthermore, 'work,' as Pope Francis recently
said, 'is fundamental to that dignity.' Thus the Catholic Church has
consistently stood with workers in this country and continues to
oppose unjust discrimination in the workplace.”
However, the bishops added that the
church could not support ENDA because it rejects a biological basis
of gender, equates sexual orientation with race, undermines marriage
and threatens religious liberty.
“Based on experience in state courts,
it is likely that ENDA would be invoked by federal courts to support
the claim that, as a matter of federal constitutional right, marriage
must be redefined to include two persons of the same sex,” the
letter reads in part.
The letter is signed by three chairmen
of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB): Bishop
Stephen Blaire of Stockton, California, Archbishop Salvatore
Cordileone of San Francisco, and Archbishop William Lori of
Baltimore.
The bishops did not mention Pope
Francis' recent call for the Catholic Church to pay less attention to
its rules on abortion, same-sex marriage and contraception.
(Related: Pope
Francis says Catholic Church should welcome all, gays included.)