OFFICE OF THE PRESIDING BISHOP

Reformed Catholic Church

www.reformedcatholic.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 27th, 2022 

To the Faithful of the Reformed Catholic Church and all People of Goodwill: 

The main premise at the heart of Catholic moral teaching has always been the supremacy of conscience. On Friday, June 24th, the Supreme Court of the United States, in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, permits individual state legislatures to deny individuals of the right to make informed decisions of conscience regarding their reproductive health. Instead, this ruling permits states to make such decisions criminal and subject to civil or criminal penalties people who can bear children plus their doctors, pharmacists, friends, and family members who support them. 

 A gospel-informed conscience most certainly validates the dignity of all persons and the responsibilities of society to nurture life through all of its stages by insuring adequate resources to take care of basic needs, education, livelihood, health care, and inclusion and participation in society. However, a gospel-informed conscience would not, in our understanding, advocate punishment or sanction based on reproductive health choices of those who do not share traditional Catholic beliefs about when life begins. 

Even more concerning is the judicial reasoning at the heart of the decision in Dobbs. This decision was not premised on states rights. Instead, it strips away protections under the 14th Amendment deemed implicit by previous courts. It was clear in Justice Thomas's concurring opinion that other individuals will be targeted to have their rights to decisions of conscience taken away, causing further damage to persons who can bear children (Griswold) and the LGBTQI+ community (Lawrence and Obergefell). The court is now willing to privilege one vision of religious orthodoxy on people of all traditions, permitting states to impose criminal and civil punishments on anyone whose sincerely held moral beliefs do not conform. 

As a prophetic church, called to welcome and affirm historically marginalized populations, the Reformed Catholic Church affirms the right of persons who can bear children to follow their conscience in terms of reproductive health. We denounce the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs and support efforts to nullify its impacts through direct action, legislative remedy, elections, and individual efforts to support all who can bear children. 

Sincerely in Christ, 

The Bishops of the Reformed Catholic Church