News update from the Iowa Catholic Conference

 

'RFRA' signed

Gov. Reynolds signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act last week. The law creates a balancing test for a court to weigh a person’s right to act in accord with their religious beliefs against the government’s desire to pursue its interests in a way that violates that right. The Iowa Catholic Conference (ICC) has supported the proposal for many years.

Support the “Baby Olivia” bill

Even though it’s late in the session, we encourage you to send a message to your Senator in support of House File 2617, the “Baby Olivia” bill. HF 2617 requires middle and high school curriculum to include a video showing fetal development. The proposal would ensure students can see the miracle of life and how it develops in the womb. It will show the humanity of the unborn child. HF 2617 does not require the use of any specific video.

Bills go to the governor

The Iowa House passed SF 2252, a bill to correct some issues with the Iowa MOMS (More Options for Maternal Support) program. It will allow Iowa groups to apply to be the third-party administrator of the program.

Previously, the program required administrators to have three years of experience, which no in-state organization had because the MOMS program is new. This program connects expectant mothers with resources like counseling and baby supplies from pro-life organizations. 

On a bipartisan vote the House also approved SF 2251 which extends Medicaid health insurance for new mothers to a full year after the birth of a child. Previously the state offered two months of coverage after the birth. 

Unfortunately, fewer mothers will qualify for Medicaid because the bill scales back income eligibility, but at least the lowest-income moms will receive the extended coverage. Rep. Devon Wood, the manager of the bill, said she was committed to continuing work on the income eligibility issue.

The Legislative Services Agency estimates the bill will make about 1,300 women who would currently be eligible for coverage ineligible under the lower income levels. Some of those women will be shifted over to HAWK-I (another state insurance program). Mothers currently receiving post-partum services under Medicaid will be covered by the expansion regarding of their income.

Both SF 2251 and SF 2252 go to the governor for her signature.

Constitutional amendment proposal advances

The Senate passed a constitutional amendment proposal that would mandate a single rate for individual state income taxes. SJR 2004 now goes to the Iowa House for consideration. The ICC’s legislative concerns call for maintaining a progressive tax code and revenues sufficient to meet the basic needs of the poor and vulnerable. The proposal would not permit a legislature to adopt a lower tax rate for lower-income people. 

Stop by this Wednesday

The annual Iowa Religious Freedom Day breakfast will be on the first floor of the State Capitol on the morning of Wednesday, April 10. Short remarks will be given at around 9:30 a.m. and a proclamation signing with Gov. Reynolds will take place at about 10:15. The theme is “What Good Is Religion in the 21st Century?” Among the co-sponsors of the breakfast along with the ICC are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Des Moines Area Religious Council.

Iowa college basketball phenom cited Catholic faith in journey to superstardom

Despite falling short of winning the NCAA tournament, Caitlin Clark is still considered by many to be the greatest female college basketball player of all time. However, one important aspect of Clark’s game still remains largely unknown – her enduring Catholic faith. The National Catholic Register lists six ways the Iowa phenom’s Catholicism has impacted her journey to superstardom.  READ

Firing federal workers becomes more difficult

The Biden administration announced Thursday that it finalized a new rule, seeking to protect the federal bureaucracy. The Daily Caller noted that “[u]nder the new rule an administration wishing to shift federal employees to a new category making them easier to fire would have to go through an elongated process, a move meant to be more time-consuming for a future president.” The announcement comes as former President Donald Trump leads Biden in the polls.  READ

Has the ‘Spirit of Runnymede’ ended?

By Deacon Mike Manno

(The Wanderer) – In the summer of 1215 English barons, tired of being ruled by a tyrannical king and subject to the indignities he fostered onto them, forced him to agree to their demands or face a civil war.

          King John, acceding to their demands, met the barons at a meadow alongside the River Thames about 20 miles west of London, a place called Runnymede, where the king capitulated and signed the document that provided a foundation for individual rights in both England and the United States, the Magna Carta.

          Among other things, the Magna Carta provided for trial by juries; no longer could someone be imprisoned or “convicted” of wrong doing by a decree from the king. Fairness and due process were required.       It also made the king subject to the laws of the realm.

          Of course the Magna Carta that was signed June 15 that year did not provide for all the rights and freedoms we now have. But it was the start of the march for liberty that continues to this day.

          As a lawyer and history buff, this was particularly interesting to me, especially in tracing the development of legal principles from 1215 and how the American and British systems developed in similar yet not identical forms. But there is little doubt that the two systems, arguably provide the greatest protection for individual liberties in the world.

          And they have their grounding in that singular event and the spirit of liberty which it enkindled in us; the idea for which we have lived, honored, and for too often died. I actually think it might mean more for Americans than the Brits. After all, they have their monarchy which unites them, we only have the law, for between these shores there is no king, potentate, or hereditary ruler. There is the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Rule of Law.

          Well, maybe. Of late that rule of law seems to be wearing thin. I give you as Exhibit A one Donald J. Trump, forty-fifth president of the United States. Elected in a free election, defeated in a questionable one, and now subject to what can only be described as an extra-legal vendetta to keep him from reclaiming the office he once held.

          If King John was tyrannical, tell me what this is.

          Mr. Trump has had his problems with the law, he was a business tycoon, a rich billionaire and much of his former legal problems come with the territory as well as his personality and high self-esteem. But what is happening to him is not normal.

          He has been charged in four jurisdictions with a list of felonies – many of questionable legality – which would choke a horse. There are local charges against him in New York City and Atlanta, Georgia. There are federal charges against him in Washington, D.C. and Miami, Florida.

          Now there are some suspicious things about these cases. If you plot all the legal theories on a grid you would find that they have a commonality about them, not the least of which is the fact that they only become legal when the facts and the law are stretched to the breaking point where they no longer resemble the claimed legal theory.

          For example, take the New York cases. One has to do with the valuation of his business properties. I once was a real estate lawyer. When you borrow money using real estate as collateral there are two evaluations of it made, one by the owner (seller, or buyer) the other by the lender. Since the lender has the money it will assure itself that the property value is sufficient to protect its interest. Simple, right?

          But not in Mr. Trump’s case. In New York the state attorney general charged, and a local judge agreed, that Mr. Trump overvalued his properties in order to obtain loans. That ignores the fact that each lender made its own evaluation of the properties, came to its own conclusions, and decided the value protected the mortgage. They even testified in court to that. And, all were paid back in full.

          The result: a verdict against Mr. Trump for $450 million! Much the same could be said about the Stormy Daniels “hush money” charges. According to the District Attorney Alvin Bragg, what could be a misdemeanor is now a felony because it hid facts from the voters, thus election fraud. Hunter’s laptop you might ask?

          And if there was such an agreement, remember two things: one, these confidential agreements are a normal business practice; two the party “hushed” had agreed to a cash payment not to disclose certain facts. It’s legal unless the concealed matter was an illegality. Bragg is doing his best to make it so, but it is not.

          Another commonality here is that, except for Florida, all the venues are in deep blue jurisdictions where there is a political animas against Republicans in general and Trump in particular. The only reason why one case was brought in Florida is that is where Mar-a-Lago was raided, thus while the DOJ wanted the charges in D. C. the raid provided jurisdiction otherwise.

          Another common feature, all the prosecutors have an animas against Mr. Trump. Three of them who ran for their office campaigned on a platform to “Get Trump.”

          And finally, not that I couldn’t go on further, there is a connection in all the cases by a former DOJ attorney by the name of Matthew Colangelo. Mr. Colangelo was an official in the Obama Administration, moved to the New York attorney general’s office where he helped with cases involving Trump Charities, then to the DOJ where he was the 3^rd ranking official, then to the Manhattan district attorney’s office where he is now assisting Alvin Bragg in his case against Mr. Trump.

          And the Georgia prosecutors both made trips to D. C. while preparing their case.

          Sound like a collusion? Each local case has had some DOJ assistance. And each case, which could have been filed years ago, was filed in such a manner to come to trial during the height of the 2024 presidential campaign in which Mr. Trump was the expected GOP nominee.

          Put this all together and there is a gross appearance of a political prosecution, something the barons at Runnymede tried to prevent. And it has all been orchestrated by and through a DOJ under the control of King Joe. But similar charges against this King were dropped.

          And from much of the media, silence. Prosecutors are charged with prosecuting crime, but as Stalin once said, “Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.” That’s not the way Runnymede thought it should work.

          So, is the spirit dying?

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(You can reach Mike at: DeaconMike@q.com and listen to him every weekend on Faith On Trial or podcast at https://iowacatholicradio.com/faith-on-trial/)   

Catholicvote asks SCOTUS to hear religious broadcasters case

CatholicVote.org Education Fund (CVEF) filed an amicus curiae brief in support of broadcasters who hold that the federal government body is discriminating against them due to their religious views. In its brief, CVEF outlined that the “religious webcasters were treated worse than comparable NPR stations and were excluded from the benefits that the Corporation for Public  Broadcasting (“CPB”) provides to secular webcasters.”  READ

Concentration camp survivor faces jail time for ‘blockade’ of abortion facility

Eva Edl, 89, an elderly concentration camp survivor, faces 11 years in prison for obstructing the entrance to an abortion facility in Tennessee in 2021. The Biden Justice Department described her actions as an illegal “blockade.” READ

This week on Faith On Trial: hostility grows against churches; problem with religious liberty in Minnesota

 Listen now: https://iowacatholicradio.com/faith-on-trial/. Episode 406

Faith Under Fire: The Battle for Religious Freedom in Minnesota

By the Minnesota Catholic Conference  

At a House Committee meeting on Thursday, February 29, it became clear that some Minnesota legislators not only do not respect religious beliefs, they will no longer tolerate them.

The House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee was considering amendments to the Minnesota Human Rights Act (“MHRA”). The MHRA has been in place since the late 1960s and serves the purpose of ensuring that all Minnesotans are treated as equals, and that no one is discriminated against based on personal traits including race, disability, religion, sex, and others.

In 1993, two major changes were adopted to the MHRA: (1) sexual orientation was added as a protected status, and (2) an exemption for religious organizations was added to allow them to act in accordance with their religious beliefs regarding sexual orientation. We did not oppose this change because it was meant to be a shield against discrimination for all persons with regard to public accommodations and the basic necessities of life, such as housing and employment. The change also guaranteed religious freedom and allowed Catholics and all other faith communities to live out our beliefs, choose our own clergy and teachers, and teach our values to our children.

Last year, the Legislature passed an amendment to the MHRA which added “gender identity” as a protected status but did not include a religious exemption. This change prohibits religious organizations, churches, and schools from acting on religious beliefs regarding human sexuality. In practice, this could mean, among other things, that the MHRA requires a church to employ a transgender person as its religious education director, or that a Catholic school would be prohibited from teaching that God created us male and female and not “nonbinary.”

This is a drastic shift in the MHRA and a serious infringement on religious liberties in Minnesota.

On Thursday, February 29, an amendment to the MHRA was proposed by Rep. Harry Niska (R-Ramsey) which would restore religious protection from claims of discrimination based on gender identity. Leaders from the Catholic Church, Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, the Islamic Center of Minnesota, and the Association of Christian Schools International testified in person in support of this amendment, testifying to their organizations’ deeply held religious beliefs regarding human sexuality be respected, and the underscoring the crucial importance of governmental noninterference with those beliefs.

It was hoped that not including a religious exemption to the new MHRA gender identity language was a simple oversight rather than an intentional infringement on religious liberties. Unfortunately, legislators made clear that this was no oversight and were clear that the intent was to persecute some faith communities because of their supposedly bigoted beliefs.

Representatives opposed to the religious restoration amendment commented that it was disturbing, appalling, and infuriating, and that the amendment is just an excuse for hatred. Of course, this is not the case.

These words are troubling on many fronts, especially when considered alongside the so-called “Equal Rights Amendment” (ERA) (S.F. 37) to the Minnesota Constitution.

The ERA would force women’s rights and religious freedom to take a backseat to harmful gender ideology. Like the new MHRA language, the ERA includes “gender identity or expression” as a protected status but excludes protection for “religion” or “creed.”

So, what does the ERA and the changes to the MHRA mean for people of faith in Minnesota?

The ERA is a blank check to courts to impose new forms of discrimination rules. For example, religious organizations may be prohibited from acting on their religious beliefs regarding human sexuality. They could be required to cover gender “transition” procedures in their employees’ health plans, to hire individuals who are not living in accordance with the teachings of that faith, to affirm a student’s decision to transition, or be prohibited from teaching their religious beliefs. We can also expect to see more men allowed in women’s shelters, prisons, sports, and bathrooms.

Most troublingly, parents will likely lose their ability to raise their child and protect them from harmful gender ideology. Children could be taken from their homes to be gender-transitioned according to court order when their parents refuse. This chilling outcome should get everyone off their couch and into the public square opposing the ERA and similar legislation.

If the Legislature does not adjust course, the potential for persecution of fundamental freedoms will be cemented in the state constitution and rules about who our churches employ and what our schools teach is decided by the government, not by our faith, with only the federal courts as a last defense. Visit www.mncatholic.org/era today to learn more and to send a message to your legislators asking them to support the religious restoration amendment to the MHRA and to oppose the ERA.

Editor’s Note: Jason Adkins, executive director and general counsel of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, will discuss this matter on Faith On Trial the weekend of April 6 & 7. The interview will be posted as a podcast on April 5, it is episode 406.

Badger state rejects ‘Zuckerbucks’

Wisconsin voters approved an election-related amendment to their state constitution that bans the use of private money for administering elections. The Republican-backed amendments were proposed after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg spent millions of dollars in the 2020 elections – with most of the money in Wisconsin going to the state's five largest cities, which are dominated by Democratic voters.  READ

Iowa Gov. Reynolds signs Religious Freedom Restoration Act into Law

DES MOINES – Today, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed SF 2095, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a bill related to the exercise of religion, and including effective date and applicability provisions. 

 

“Thirty years ago, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act passed almost unanimously at the federal level. Since then, religious rights have increasingly come under attack. Today, Iowa enacts a law to protect these unalienable rights—just as twenty-six other states have done—upholding the ideals that are the very foundation of our country.” 

Government-funded database lists pro-lifers as terrorists

A database funded by the federal government and run by a research group at the University of Maryland recently labeled Students for Life of America as a “terrorist group.” Several former counterterrorism officials have come forward to explain why they think the database’s mislabeling of pro-lifers is dangerous.  READ

Blowing Up The DEI Agenda

By Bill Donohue, Catholic League president

 

DEI training (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) cost American business $8 billion a year, and while there are some signs that it is peaking, it is not for lack of trying. For example, since 2019, “Belonging” has been added to this scam, hence DEIB. This is a classic case of empire building.

 

Democratic pundit James Carville recently said that his party was sending messages that are “too feminine.” He’s right. What he said is also true of business—we are witnessing the feminization of the workforce.

 

We can thank a professor—who else?—for adding the “B” to DEI. Eric Carter at Vanderbilt says that diversity, equity and inclusion are not enough. “People want to be more than merely integrated or included. They want to experience true belonging.”

 

Traditionally, a sense of belonging has been fulfilled by the family, or by tribes and clans. Many turn to religion to satisfy this primordial need. It took until now before anyone thought we should find it on the job.

 

Brene Brown is an expert in assessing “belonging.” She cautions that it is not the same as “fitting in,” which she despises. “‘Belonging’ is being your authentic self and knowing that no matter what happens, you belong to you….Belonging doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to BE who we are.”

 

Sounds nice. But in the real world there are employees who come to work with a pierced tongue and metal hanging from their nostrils. They don’t want to belong—they want to be different. Now their quest to be different may be an expression of their “authentic self,” but if choosing not to belong matters more to them, then why should co-workers who find their appearance, and their hygiene, disgusting be treated as if they are the problem?

 

Daniel Buford and his colleagues at the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond are also regarded as experts on “belonging.” They hate striving for perfection—that’s a white man’s hang-up. “Striving for perfection leaves us all feeling short, left out, and lacking belonging.”

 

Tell that to teams who compete in the Olympics. Striving for perfection—in unison—creates strong bonds. Indeed, the same is true of all team sports, starting in elementary school. It is the slackers who find it difficult to belong. That’s why athletes have clubs, and slackers have none.

 

W.K. Kellogg Foundation is a left-wing organization that boasts of its opposition to “othering.” Never heard of it? Neither did we. So let us introduce you to it.

 

“Othering” is the opposite of “belonging.” According to an Oxford Reference, “A Dictionary of Gender Studies” says the phenomenon of “othering” is “a process whereby individuals and groups are treated and marked as different and inferior from the dominant social group.”

 

This sounds suspect. Among the most “othered” people in Silicon Valley and Hollywood are Trump supporters and people of faith. They are loathed. But this would never occur to the gurus of “belonging,” which is why they list homosexuals and migrants as victims of “othering,” not MAGA fans and practicing Catholics.

 

“Othering” is such a bonanza that there is even a guy at the University of Berkeley who runs the Othering and Belonging Institute on campus. This creative empire builder apparently has little need to belong, which is why he likes to separate himself from the rest of us by using the lower case to identify himself. He goes by john a. powell.

 

How can we recognize “othering”? One website that addresses this issue gives us an example. “Attributing positive qualities to people who are like you and negative qualities to people who are different from you.”

 

Apparently this is bad. But if it is, why are the same people who are pushing DEIB also pushing Critical Race Theory (CRT), the pernicious ideology that demonizes white people? Are not the practitioners of CRT—those who celebrate racial divisions—blowing up the DEIB agenda? They can’t have it both ways. But it’s a sure bet this never occurred to them.

 

There are other contradictions baked into this hoax.

 

PowerToFly is a website with chock-a-block info on “belonging.” Its idea of “belonging” means that “Direct communication is preferred over back-channeling.” But if this is true—and it is—then why would they give a shout-out to working at home? “The benefits of remote work for diverse talent are recognized.”

 

How can this be? How can there be “direct communication” with those on Zoom? And what does remote work have to do with facilitating “diverse talent”?

 

The geniuses behind the “belonging” craze need to grow up. They can’t be celebrating diversity—how different we are—at the same time they are celebrating “belonging.” Nor can they be celebrating “inclusion”—inviting everyone in—when it is well known that the most tightly knit groups in the world are in-groups, those that exhibit a strong sense of belonging precisely because they exclude most people.

 

To say that the DEIB agenda is a racket is an understatement. It’s also built on contradictory principles.

Biden military abortion push falls flat

Immediately after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, Biden vowed an “all-of-government” effort to promote and expand abortion by any means. Biden’s massive pro-abortion push included the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions in the military. But the Pengaton now reports that service members have only used its controversial abortion travel policy 12 times from June through December.  READ

New from the Iowa Catholic Conference

Happy Easter Monday!

The Iowa Catholic Conference has posted two action alerts for your consideration. We encourage you to send a message to your legislator on these bills. Follow the links to learn more:

Support the “Baby Olivia” bill                    

HF 2617 requires middle and high school curriculum to include a video showing fetal development. The proposal would ensure students can see the miracle of life and how it develops in the womb. It will show the humanity of the unborn child. HF 2617 does not require the usage of any specific video.

Support additional insurance coverage for moms on Medicaid

Virtually everyone agrees that access to health care is critical for new moms and families. To improve maternal health outcomes, Gov. Reynolds has proposed extending health care coverage for new mothers who have Medicaid coverage from the current two months after the birth of a child to a full year, ensuring access to vital postpartum care. The proposal is found in HF 2583. The Senate has already passed its own version, SF 2251. Unfortunately, the bills scale back income eligibility for mothers from 375% of the federal poverty level to 215%, which would cause some moms to lose coverage. The ICC is working to “have our cake and eat it too” by increasing the length of Medicaid coverage and keeping the existing eligibility rate.

AEA bill signed

Gov. Reynolds has signed the bill reforming Iowa’s Area Education Agencies following the Senate agreeing to the House’s version. AEAs are regional groups which provide services for special education to students and professional development for schools across the state. Some provisions of the bill: 

• The Department of Education will be responsible for compliance and oversight of special education. The department will hire at least one full-time staff member to be a liaison with nonpublic schools in the division of special education.
• Special education services will continue to be provided by AEAs.
• Starting in the Fall of 2025, all professional development-type funding and media services funding will go to the public school district. Public schools will decide how to spend it rather than AEAs.
• Findings from the 2022 task force on special education services in nonpublic schools are included, which will encourage services to be provided at the location of the nonpublic school.
• 2.5% increase in funding for public schools.
• Over two years, there will be an increase in the minimum public school teacher salary to $50,000. We are told this will put us Iowa among the top 5 states.
• Over two years, there will be an increase in the minimum salary for public school teachers with 12 years of experience to $62,000. $14 million is provided to districts for paraeducator salary increases in public schools.

HJR 2006 passed the Iowa House by a vote of 61-35 and goes to the Senate. The ICC opposes this constitutional amendment that would require a two-thirds supermajority approval of the legislature for personal or corporate income tax increases. If the proposal is put in the state Constitution, it could allow a minority to veto such proposals. If a tax increase is necessary, Catholic social teaching would generally suggest higher income taxes rather than a higher sales tax that carries a heavier burden on lower-income people as they purchase necessities. 

HF 2637, increasing the state income tax credit for adoptive parents to $20,000, was passed by a subcommittee of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The ICC supports the bill, which passed the House unanimously.

Iowa Religious Freedom Day coming up

Don’t forget to sign up for the Iowa Religious Freedom Day events on Wednesday, April 10. ICC staff will be among those providing some short remarks in the first floor rotunda at around 9:30 a.m. The theme is “What Good Is Religion in the 21st Century?” 

Please stop by this nonpartisan event and learn how to engage with your legislators. For more information go to www.iowareligiousfreedomday.org. Among the co-sponsors of the breakfast along with the ICC are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Des Moines Area Religious Council.

American Life League Says Transgenderism Proclamation Proves Biden “Spits in the Face of Christ”

 Legacy Pro-Life Organization Calls for US President’s Excommunication from Catholic Church

(Fredericksburg, Virginia) The American Life League joins a top Catholic renowned theologian in condemning the “Catholicism” practiced by America’s President. Judie Brown, President of the American Life League, applauded Cardinal Gerhard Müller, a German church leader who served under Pope Benedict XVI as Cardinal-Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Müller spoke against President Joe Biden’s open support of abortion and other acts deemed immoral by the Roman Catholic Church. Brown issued the following statement in response:

 

“Cardinal Gerhard Müller recently made headlines for suggesting that the President of the United States Joe Biden is a ‘nominal Catholic’ and should be excommunicated for his support of abortion and other sinful practices. Müller’s call was affirmed on Friday, March 29, 2024, when President Biden issued a Proclamation Transgender Day of Visibility 2024.

 

“This is proof positive that Biden has no respect for the teachings of the Catholic Church, does not understand the basic truth that God created man in His image, male and female, and that anyone or any statement that violates that basic teaching is an abomination. It is the work of the devil who is operating through the actions and words of Biden himself.

 

“The American Life League joins Cardinal Müller in calling for the immediate excommunication of Joseph Biden. We are sending this urgent call for justice and in defense of Truth to every Catholic Bishop in the United States. Biden is not a Catholic, he is an evil man who consistently spits in the face of Christ.”

 

About American Life League

American Life League has been part of the pro-life abortion debate since its inception. Since 1979, American Life League has committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to death with a pro-life integrity that stands up for every innocent human being whose life is threatened by the culture of death. For more information visit all.org.