NEW ORLEANS (LA)
National Catholic Reporter
Brian Roewe Joshua J. McElwee | Jun. 12, 2014
NEW ORLEANS
Closing the six hours of open meetings at their annual assembly Thursday, the nation’s Catholic bishops heard from two speakers who outlined a stark image of the state of religious freedom and respect for marriage in U.S. society today.
Addressing the ties between evangelization and service to the poor, lawyer Helen Alvaré at one point said it was “getting difficult” for Catholics to partner with the U.S. government in providing social services because of laws like a federal mandate requiring coverage of contraceptive services in health care plans.
“We have always believed it has been eminently possible and good for us to partner with the public authority,” Alvaré said. “Part of me worries some [people] at some levels of government are beginning to imagine a charitable services world where we are not a partner.”
Catholics, she said, must “use every single tool in our disposal” to prevent that from happening.
Alvaré, a law professor at George Mason University who also serves as a consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Laity, spoke Thursday at the bishops’ plenary assembly in New Orleans. After three and a half hours of deliberation on a number of topics Wednesday, the bishops devoted the last part of their meeting Thursday to talks from Alvaré and sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox.
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