Advancement Project

November 17, 2009

Why Harm the Least of These?

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is intentionally planning to make the lives of the poor and needy just a little bit harder should a proposal to allow same-sex marriage become law.

Yep, You read that right. The church—angry that it would be required under the proposed law to avoid discriminating against gay couples by having to extend employee benefits to same-sex couples and open adoptions to gay parents—is threatening to cutoff the help it provides to D.C. residents through city contracts.

You see Catholic Charities, through which the Archdiocese provides social and charitable services, is one of the largest nonprofit providers of services to D.C. residents.

The Catholic Church provides a variety of help–including homeless services, adoption services, medical care to immigrants and tutoring for General Education Diplomas–to some 68,000 city residents. That’s more than one out of every nine city residents.

The Church reportedly spends some $10 million annually to provide those services and–between 2006 and 2008–it received $8.2 million in city contracts to aid those it serves. The Church manages city-owned shelters and serves one-third of the city’s homeless. As a city contractor, it would be required to abide by the city’s anti-discrimination laws, should the proposal be passed.

I would defend the Catholic Church’s First Amendment right to criticize gay marriage—although I do not agree—but why would the church so flagrantly disobey essential requirements of all Christians, which is to serve the least among us.

I’m not a Catholic but I was raised, baptized and confirmed in a church that taught and preached from the same Bible that he Church uses. I’d love to ask church leaders responsible for this decision exactly who they think Jesus was referring to when he talked of how serving the least of these was a way to love him.

If the homeless, and children given up for adoption, are not among the least of these, then I am truly ignorant of what Christianity professes.

Now, if the Archdiocese of Washington thinks gay marriage is immoral and a sin, then why not continue to speak out forcefully against it and engage in public debate. But why threaten to sever assistance for people living in utter poverty and despair, those suffering from addictions, and children without parents to care for them?

Why claim to be upholding one biblical requirement while purposefully ignoring another? It would be far more principled, dignified and powerful in my view, to continue to help the needy–the victims of race and class oppression, greed and neglect–while speaking out forcefully for your bible-based beliefs.

A number of D.C. council members to their credit, told the Church that they would not change the proposal to satisfy it even if it means having to contract with other service providers —for they have an interest in moving forward with a law banning an unaddressed form of discrimination. It’s unlikely though that those being served for years by the Archdiocese would not be hurt in the interim.

Rushing, is the writer-editor of Advancement Project, a national civil rights organization that advocates for racial justice.