In a shocking 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court of the United States on June 15, 2020, redefined the meaning of the word ‘sex’. The Bostock v. Clayton County ruling has immediate implications for civil rights and discrimination laws, stating that an employer cannot fire someone on the basis of gender or sexual orientation. But the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) warns that this redefinition will have widespread “implications in many areas of life.”
“I want to emphasize that I am completely on board with, I completely support the just efforts to eliminate discrimination,” said Patrick Madrid, host of The Patrick Madrid Show. However, he pointed out that there are some major problems with this decision by the Supreme Court.
“This is being hailed as a landmark civil rights decision by the Supreme Court by those on the left because they see it as a kind of victory for the rights of transgender people and others who might fit into the gender ideology spectrum in some way,” explained Patrick. “And to some extent it really is a victory, that’s for sure, but it’s a victory that was ill-founded, if you ask me, and it creates more problems than it will resolve.”
What does this mean for religious organizations who want to hire employees who share and practice their faith? “Justice Gorsuch tries to reassure religious groups, churches, parochial schools and so on that they are protected by the First Amendment, they are protected by RFRA … Justice Alito is worried though, and rightly so, about those being fairly narrow, limited protections. And there could be a lot of trouble ahead,” said Dr. Matthew Franck, Associate Director of the James Madison Program and lecturer at Princeton, in an interview with The Drew Mariani Show.
The Most Rev. José Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles and President of the USCCB, issued a statement on the June 15 ruling. His full statement is:
I am deeply concerned that the U.S. Supreme Court has effectively redefined the legal meaning of ‘sex’ in our nation’s civil rights law. This is an injustice that will have implications in many areas of life.
By erasing the beautiful differences and complementary relationship between man and woman, we ignore the glory of God’s creation and harm the human family, the first building block of society. Our sex, whether we are male or female, is part of God’s plan for creation and for our lives. As Pope Francis has taught with such sensitivity, to live in the truth with God’s intended gifts in our lives requires that we receive our bodily and sexual identity with gratitude from our Creator. No one can find true happiness by pursuing a path that is contrary to God’s plan.
Every human person is made in the image and likeness of God and, without exception, must be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect. Protecting our neighbors from unjust discrimination does not require redefining human nature.
We pray that the Church, with the help of Mary, the Mother of God, will be able to continue her mission to bring Jesus Christ to every man and woman.
Hear more from Patrick Madrid’s discussion on the topic here:
Tune in to The Patrick Madrid Show weekdays at 8-11am CT only on Relevant Radio®.
Tune in to The Drew Mariani ShowTM weekdays at 2-5pm CT only on Relevant Radio®.
