"So Pilate said to him . . . ‘Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above’” (Jn 19:10-11).

For 2,000 years, the Catholic Church has been an irritation to others because of the truth she proclaims. The Apostles were persecuted for that reason soon after Christ ascended into heaven: “[T]he priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them . . .” (Acts 4:1-3).

Civil authorities have used every means possible to silence the church and her related ministries throughout history. St. Paul led a great persecution of the church before his amazing conversion (Acts 7:57-8:3). Roman persecutions against the church persisted until the Emperor Constantine converted in the early fourth century. From her earliest days, the church set up structures to share Christ’s love through service of those in need (see Acts 6:1-7). Even in the face of serious threats, she has maintained her charitable activity as part of her very identity.

The church’s authority relative to the state — rooted in Christ’s words to Pilate about the real source of all power — has never changed, though it is often misunderstood. The Second Vatican Council focused on this point: “The Church, by reason of her role and competence, is not identified in any way with the political community nor bound to any political system. She is at once a sign and a safeguard of the transcendent character of the human person” (Gaudium et Spes, 76). Further, “the Church should have true freedom to preach the faith, to teach her social doctrine, to exercise her role freely among men, and also to pass moral judgment in those matters which regard public order when the fundamental rights of a person or the salvation of souls require it” (GS, 76).

The church and her related ministries do not exist because of the state, nor can the church’s teaching be rewritten by civil authority. In the United States, First Amendment safeguards concerning the free exercise of religion have generally permitted the church to act as she must in society. The law has prevented coercion; the faithful have benefitted from conscience protections.

So, when U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced an interim rule that forces religiously-affiliated institutions to violate well-established tenets of the faith, many were shocked. Contraceptives (some of which act as abortifacients) and sterilization procedures must now be provided in health plans by all but a handful of employers. Many religious organizations are being told to provide coverage for items that their doctrines condemn as moral evils.  

With the rule’s narrow exceptions, most religiously-affiliated charities, hospitals and various other ministries would be forced either to limit services only to their members (most serve clients of all faiths) or close up shop. The Catholic Charities network alone has served one in four of the 40 million people in poverty today. HHS has no plan to replace the work done by these charities and hospitals if they must restrict or discontinue their services. Who would care for these people in need?

HHS claimed that it was listening to the affected groups and thousands of people who expressed disapproval and anger about this act of coercion and the likely impacts. On Jan. 20, however, Sebelius issued a statement that the rule was to remain essentially unchanged.

This attempt to remake religious institutions in the image of the state is a distressing warning sign. The church has always advocated for the rights of man against the power of the state. The church serves as a buffer, or mediating institution, to keep the dignity of the human person at the heart of social activity. When forces seek to radically reshape society, they often attempt to weaken the influence of the church first.

We saw this trend in early centuries, but have also witnessed it in modern attempts to secularize or eliminate religion altogether (e.g., the French Revolution, the Communist Revolution in Russia, the Spanish Revolution, and the Nazi regime). Once the decision is made to dampen the voice of the church, the state eventually moves to coerce and harm its own citizens.

Every person of good will should be moved to action within our political process at this moment. We must speak up to protect the free exercise of our faith. The key question is not whether forcing religious groups to provide contraception and sterilization coverage is wrong; of course it is. The question is: if HHS can do this, what can’t the government force us to do?

(Rohlena is president of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado.)