Catholic Charities Drops Same-Sex Spouses From Benefits

Social services organization Catholic Charities informed its Washington D.C. employees on Monday that spouses of new employees would not be covered under its new health plan. This is seen largely as a way for the group to avoid extending benefits to the same-sex spouses of employees. The D.C. Council recognized the right-to-marry of gay couples last year, and the law goes into effect on Wednesday.

The plan will not eliminate the benefits of partners who are already enrolled in health plans, but would disallow new enrollments.

According to the Washington Post, Catholic Charities protested the December vote that made same-sex marriage legal in D.C., and has threatened not to renew its contracts with the city. The nation's capital provides $22 million every year to Catholic Charities for social services programs.

Catholic Charities believes this move will allow it to continue to work with the city while not recognizing same-sex couples itself.

"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."

While the new policy may be making headlines, it's unlikely to affect a significant number of families. Catholic Charities has 850 employees, with under 100 taking advantage of the option to cover spouses.

Comments

[blindhog]

02:49 PM on 03/08/2010

Isn't the heading wrong? Haven't they dropped ALL new hired employee' spouses?

I wrote several months ago that this gay marriage business was the light at the end of the tunnel for all corporations! They will do exactly what the the Catholic Charities did-drop spouses of all the newly hired.

This is truely the death of the stay at home mom. Just that the time when our countries collectively need to VALUE that position--both for the health of our children (who are increasingly becoming obese) and for the health of the family----meaning employment for at least one member of every household.

IT'S TIME ALL PEOPLE OF THE WORLD (STARTING WITH OUR LEADERS) GIVE THE STAY-AT-HOME THE VALUE SHE IS TRULY DUE. Unfortunately we seem to be running in the other direction-----the cliff (diabetes, limited parental involvement, limited job opportunites, on and on)

[Etruscate]

04:49 PM on 03/06/2010

The church will not change, it must be abandoned. It's no different from an abusive husband.

[NWBrunette]

06:41 PM on 03/05/2010

But if you'd like to hook up with a gay escort service we know just the guy!

[pwiecek]

06:35 PM on 03/05/2010

Why the deceptive title? The truth is that the whiney little believers dropped spousal benefits for ALL new employees.

[deedsresearcher]

10:55 AM on 03/06/2010

The Church has certain beliefs in what is right versus what is wrong in the eyes of God. Would you deny them the right to teach according to biblical truths?
If the Bible says that something (ANYthing!) is an "abomination", and the Church is committed to following that Bible, then they are duty-bound accordingly. I would have no respect for any organization that taught one thing and then practiced something else.
So, if the bible says "no", then the Church also has to say "no".
If they continued to provide benefits for spouses of same-sex couples, they would be looked upon as acting contrary to biblical teachings by "endorsing" same-sex unions.

[WaitingforJanuary]

09:42 PM on 03/06/2010

Except when it comes to pedophilia. It's okay.

[OlHippie]

06:33 PM on 03/05/2010

Ironic that the organization with largest percentage of gays among it's officiates would take such a stand.

[JeremiahA]

01:06 AM on 03/07/2010

Actually, percentage-wise, I think the Human Rights Campaign has the largest percent of gays among its officiates.

[Steve Sallis]

06:32 PM on 03/05/2010

I am SHOCKED! lol

[dwedge]

12:54 PM on 03/05/2010

Apparently this is done in accordance with the Catholic Church's position on Tolerance.

[brady51h]

09:01 PM on 03/04/2010

Good luck finding a new religion. I left the catholic church 40 years ago and never looked back. Every other church I've been to has been the same. All they are interested in is keeping the ponzi scheme going. I found I do not need a middle man/women between me and my maker.

[boyoboy]

07:50 PM on 03/05/2010

If you every want to try again, you could try the Episcopal Church. It's Catholic Lite, and women, Gays, and Lesbians are welcomed.

[Principaldad]

11:19 AM on 03/04/2010

The headline to this story is highly misleading to the point of being a Iie. Catholic Charities did not drop samesex spouses from benefits. First, samesex spouses never had benefits so they couldn't be dropped. Second, what they did is to drop coverage for ALL spouses of new employees. The headline reads as if the action was only for samesex spouses, which would be against the new law in DC.

A more valid headline would be:
"Catholic Charities Eliminates Spousal Benefits to Avoid Covering SameSex Spouses"

Having said that, the action of Catholic Charities, although it is legal, it is incredibly wrong. To hurt a large group of people in order to spite a smaller group goes against their own teachings as well as common decency. To take away the health care of people who need it goes against statements they have made over the last year in support of universal health care.

Compliance with a law about health benefits does not mean that the Church supports gay couples. It is merely about the Church extending health care (a cause it supports) to a group who needs it. They are not being asked to perform an action that is against their beliefs (for example, they are not being asked to perform the marriage).

[bubbalove]

06:57 PM on 03/05/2010

"Catholic Charities Eliminates Spousal Benefits to Avoid Covering Nazi Gay agenda"

[capitalismisevil]

08:43 AM on 03/04/2010

So all the posters here think that the government should be able to dictate the beliefs and human resource polices of a church?

[Principaldad]

11:54 AM on 03/04/2010

Catholic Charities is not the Catholic Church. They are an organization that provides services outside the church. They also contract with the government to provide some of those services. Because of that, they are required to comply with human resource guidelines for government contractors.

[deedsresearcher]

10:59 AM on 03/06/2010

But Catholic Charities is still Roman Catholic.
The Knights of Columbus is also Roman Catholic, but is not run "by" the Church. Yet, they do not have benefits for same sex spouses because none of the members have same-sex spouses!
Thankfully!

[DevonTexas]

12:37 PM on 03/04/2010

They aren't asking them to believe in gay people, just to treat them equally. Sorta like Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Get the idea?

[capitalismisevil]

02:02 PM on 03/04/2010

Where did I say I agree with the Catholic Charities position? I do not.

I DO have a problem when the government sticks its nose where it does not belong.

[rougebaisers]

05:58 AM on 03/04/2010

How loving and compassionate and downright Catholic of them. Hypocritical B******s.

[bigkay]

06:39 PM on 03/07/2010

CHURCHES SHOULD PAY PROPERTY TAXES
What happened to seperation of church & state, the fundamentailist are dictating goverment policy.

[Isabella21]

11:43 PM on 03/03/2010

Human rights be damned, within the church. dogma rules. I wouldn't have an issue with the church if it didn't continue to intrude on, and usurp the rights of others.

[FantasticFourFan]

10:07 PM on 03/03/2010

Just as Jesus would do: Let innocent people get sick just to punish those filthy sodomites!

[gal416]

09:32 PM on 03/03/2010

If you don't like what the Catholic church is doing, find one you do like or better yet start your own. If the doctrine of the Catholic church is not Bible based, they have no reason for existance at all.

[WaitingforJanuary]

09:48 PM on 03/06/2010

Then don't take government money.

[grimace71]

04:51 PM on 03/03/2010

Can someone tell me why our Federal Government is funding a religious organization?!!!? What the h-e-double hockey sticks? Laying the the GLBT issue aside, why oh WHY is a religious organization being funded with what is essentially tax money. I thought this was AGAINST the law. I thought this was against what our founding fathers envisioned. Is it not enough that they are an un-taxed entity?

Just more proof that ORGANIZED religion is utterly corrupt and should be eliminated. I say that with emphasis, because I am a bible-believer...but as someone else commented earlier, this just really gives true Christians a very bad name. First they are intermingling church and state and now being discriminatory with Federal funds?!!!?

Out-fricken-rageous.

[grimace71]

04:54 PM on 03/03/2010

Oh, I see that it is the city government in D.C. that is providing 22 million to the CathoHICS...not the federal government. Is this really any different? Still not right.

[Principaldad]

11:41 AM on 03/04/2010

This type of thing is quite common. They are not funding the church. They are funding specific programs and an organization controlled by the church is contracting to administrate those programs. The money is for specific purposes, and Catholic Charities also helps with funding the same programs.

There are food banks, soup kitchens, tutoring programs, financial planning, adoption services, and countless other social programs across the country for which government provides at least partial funding. Sometimes secular organizations like ACORN contract to perform those services. Other times faith based organizations like Catholic Charities contract to do so. It doesn't mean that the government is "funding ACORN" or "funding the Church".

Important to this story is the fact that organizations who contract with government for these purposes are required to obey certain rules.