The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has appointed the archbishop of San Francisco, Mons. Salvatore J. Cordileone, to be part of the advisory council of the newly created commission of religious freedom of the country, According to the Archdiocese.
Cordileone, Archbishop since 2012, is the third member of the Catholic hierarchy to participate in the work of the Presidential Commission. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, and Mons. Robert Barron, Bishop of Winona-Rochester, in the state of Minnesota, are members of the Commission.
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“Religious freedom is a crucial issue in our times that must be defended and approached,” said Cordileone. “I am pleased to join my brothers bishops to give voice to the Catholic Church on this important issue at the national level.”
Cordileone told CNA – an English assistance of Ewtn, a company to which ACI Press belongs – that it does not know the specific tasks of the advisory council, but that one of the objectives is to know the perspective of religious leaders. “It is important to have a Catholic voice” in the Advisory Council to ensure that the Church’s concerns are heard, he said.
The Archbishop denounced several state and federal attacks on religious freedom in recent years, such as the mandate of contraception of the affordable health care law, which was annulled by the United States Supreme Court. He also expressed his opposition to any possible insurance coverage mandate for in vitro fertilization (IVF), a procedure to which the Church opposes.
He also expressed concern about a new Washington State Law that aims to force priests to violate the secret of confession if they discover any child abuse during the sacrament of reconciliation.
In 2019, he said, California legislators discussed a similar bill, which prompted Catholics to oppose their adoption. The United States Department of Justice The Washington State Law is currently investigating.
Mons. Cordileone also emphasized the need to allow religious organizations to continue their services to the poor, homeless people, mothers, migrants and others “without government interference.”
The Archbishop said that religious organizations should be “able to serve the community according to our moral values, which we obtain from our faith,” and added: “We do not want our government to define for us what our religion is.”
The new commission
Trump created the commission through an executive order on May 1, which coincided with the National Prayer Day of the country.
The Commission has the task of preparing a report on current threats to religious freedom in the United States and providing strategies to improve the legal protection of these rights.
The report will also describe the foundations of religious freedom and include guidance on how to raise awareness about Pacific religious pluralism in the United States.
Some of the key issues in the field of religious freedom that the report will be in charge of addressing the rights of parents in education, school choice, the protection of consciousness, the freedom of expression of religious organisms, institutional autonomy and attacks on places of worship.
The president created the commission due to the concern that some federal and state policies have violated these rights.
The commission also includes Protestant leaders, such as Pastor Paula White, in addition to rabbis and magnets. The president of the Center for Ethics and Public Policies, Ryan Anderson, Catholic, is also part of the Commission. The psychologist and television presenter Dr. Phil McGraw and the renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson are also members.
The Vice Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, an evangelical Christian, presides over the commission.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA
Tyler Arnold
Tyler Arnold is a reporter of the National Catholic Register. He previously worked at The Center Square and has published in various media, including The Associated Press, National Review, The American Conservative and The Federalist.