Mar 2, 2010
Catholic Charities Terminates Employee Benefits Rather Than Cover Gay and Lesbian Americans
Employees at Catholic Charities were told Monday that the social services organization is changing its health coverage to avoid offering benefits to same-sex partners of its workers — the latest fallout from a bitter debate between District officials trying to legalize same-sex marriage and the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.
Starting Tuesday, Catholic Charities will not offer benefits to spouses of new employees or to spouses of current employees who are not already enrolled in the plan. A letter describing the change in health benefits was e-mailed to employees Monday, two days before same-sex marriage will become legal in the District.
“We looked at all the options and implications,” said the charity’s president, Edward J. Orzechowski. “This allows us to continue providing services, comply with the city’s new requirements and remain faithful to the church’s teaching.”
Catholic Charities, which receives $22 million from the city for social service programs, protested in the run-up to the council’s December vote to allow same-sex marriage, saying that it might not be able to continue its contracts with the city, including operating homeless shelters and facilitating city-sponsored adoptions. Being forced to recognize same-sex marriage, church officials said, could make it impossible for the church to be a city contractor because Catholic teaching opposes such unions.
After the council voted to legalize gay marriage, Catholic Charities last month transferred its foster-care program — 43 children, 35 families and seven staff members — to another provider, the National Center for Children and Families.
Orzechowski said Monday that the change in health benefits will be the last move necessary in response to the legislation.
“We do not anticipate any further changes whatsoever,” he said. “Taking the action we have on foster care and spousal we feel has addressed everything the new law requires of us.”
D.C. Council member Tommy Wells D-Ward 6, who voted to legalize same-sex marriage, said the charity had the right to change its health insurance plan.
“Catholic Charities is a private, nonprofit corporation. They can choose to provide benefits to families and spouses or not,” he said. “I hope that it’s not just a runaround to keep from doing things they should do, but it’s within their purview to decide what to offer their employees.
“The church faced two options with the approval of the new law, said Robert Tuttle, a George Washington University professor who studies the relationship between church and state. One choice was to expand the definition of domestic partner, as the Archdiocese in San Francisco did years ago, to include a parent, sibling or someone else in the household.
The second choice was to do what the Washington Archdiocese has done: eliminate benefits for all spouses.
via Same-sex marriage leads Catholic Charities to adjust benefits – washingtonpost.com.
Catholic Charities has decided it is better to hurt it’s own employees rather than stop 2000 years worth of discrimination and hate by providing equal access to employee benefits for all employees…including Gays and Lesbians.
If you are a Gay or Lesbian donating money to this bigoted organization stop. Catholic Charities wants the Gay and Lesbian community eliminated. If you live in a city that donates money to Catholic Charities call your representative and demand that your tax dollars stop funding a group that seeks genocide against Gay and Lesbian Americans!
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