We are facing a direct attack on our religious liberties as Catholics in Minnesota. I strongly urge you to engage with someone in your parish to take the lead and contact parishioners reaching out to our state legislators.
I received the following message from Jason Adkins, Director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference:
Have every parishioner use this action alert:
Urge Your Legislators to Oppose the ERA
The Catholic Advocacy Network is a great place to start.
Every parish should get at least ten people to have a one on one in the district with their senator and house member.
Find your members here: https://www.mncatholic.org/elected_officials_directory
A huge thanks for your time and prayer,
Bishop Chad Zielinski
From the Minnesota Catholic Conference:
Faith Communities Unite Against Exclusion of Religious Protections in the Minnesota Human Rights Act
Faithful Wondering Whether ‘One Minnesota’ Still Includes Them
Saint Paul, Minn. – At a Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee meeting held on Monday, March 18, committee members rejected an amendment offered to S.F. 4292 that would restore the religious exemption protections to the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) as it relates to gender identity. Efforts to restore the protections have been rebuffed by two legislative committees, but conversations about a solution are ongoing and faith leaders are hopeful the exemption will be restored.
An unprecedented coalition of faith communities has come together to seek the restoration of a religious exemption from gender identity discrimination in the State’s Human Rights Act that had existed since 1993 but was omitted last year when the statute was amended. At issue is whether religious organizations and schools can continue to govern themselves and make clergy and personnel decisions consistent with their values.
“The ability of faith communities to transmit their values within their institutions is a cornerstone of the free exercise of religion and has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Jason Adkins, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Minnesota. “Congregations, ministries, and schools must have the ability to choose their personnel and clergy in accordance with mission and beliefs, otherwise their ability to operate is jeopardized.”
“Our mission, values, curriculum, and programs are founded upon, and meant to reinforce, the tenets of our faith. Therefore, we make exhaustive efforts to identify and hire teachers and staff who uphold our core beliefs,” said Dan Beckering, Head of School at Southwest Christian High School and Minnesota Representative of the Association of Christian Schools International
(ACSI), which has 33 affiliated schools in Minnesota. He continued: “Employing faculty who are not in agreement with what we believe about God’s design for humanity, including matters of identity, would undermine our mission and the commitment we make to the families that send their students to our schools.”
Faith leaders united last summer when the omission of the religious exemption was discovered and corresponded with legislative committee chairs, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, and the Governor’s office. When their requests were denied, the coalition invited Rep. Harry Niska and Sen. Warren Limmer to introduce legislation and seek a bill hearing or work to have the exemption restored via amendment.
At a hearing of the House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee held on February 29, it became evident that certain Minnesota legislators not only disregard religious beliefs but are also highly intolerant of them. A group of Catholic, Muslim, Lutheran, and evangelical Christian leaders were scolded by DFL legislators as bigots, their views described as hateful, and they were compared to racists, even though two of the four were persons of color.
“The faith community makes tremendous contributions to the common good of our state,” said Rev. Fred Hinz, public policy advocate for the Minnesota South District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. “The values that guide our service are the same principles that guide our beliefs about sexuality and the family. We cannot compartmentalize our faith and we ask that our ability to continue to serve and be a part of the community be given respect, even if we disagree about certain underlying issues.”
The collaborative effort among Minnesota's faith community to seek the restoration of religious protections underscores the urgency of the situation. Those seeking the religious exemption include: Minnesota Catholic Conference, Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Synod, Agudath Israel, Islamic Center of Minnesota, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Transform MN—the Evangelical Network, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), Association of Christian Schools International, Islamic Association of North America, Minnesota Family Council, True North Legal, and the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition.