Catholic bishops back Trump on gender, abortion

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote the Trump administration recently to express support for federal grant restrictions concerning gender ideology and abortion.

The conference also urged changes to proposed rules that it said could hinder charitable work with migrants and weaken religious liberty protections.

In a July 8 letter to the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Federal Financial Management, the bishops endorsed several provisions in the administration's proposed overhaul of federal grant regulations, including measures aimed at preventing taxpayer dollars from funding gender ideology and abortion-related activities.

The letter was first reported by EWTN News.

The bishops said they "fully support" a provision barring federal funds from being used to deny the biological sex binary or promote the idea that sex is "a chosen or mutable characteristic."

The letter also praised the proposal's prohibition on using federal funds for gender-transition procedures but urged OMB to strengthen it by extending the restriction to adults as well as minors and explicitly covering "social transition" efforts, particularly in schools.

On abortion, the bishops welcomed a proposed ban on charging federal grants for costs associated with elective abortions but argued the language should more closely mirror the Hyde Amendment, which generally bars federal funding for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother's life is at risk.

They also asked OMB to clarify that the restriction applies broadly to abortion referrals, counseling, and transportation, saying the final rule should provide stronger protections for unborn life.

The conference further endorsed provisions designed to protect faith-based organizations from discrimination in the federal grant process but urged the administration to expressly incorporate protections under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, arguing religious liberty safeguards should extend throughout the life of a federal grant.

At the same time, the bishops raised concerns over several aspects of the proposal.

They warned that language prohibiting grants from facilitating "illegal immigration" is overly broad and could jeopardize Catholic charities that provide food, shelter, and humanitarian aid to migrants regardless of immigration status.

The letter criticized vague references to "anti-American values," objected to mandatory E-Verify requirements that it said could burden religious nonprofits and encourage discriminatory hiring practices, and warned that broad federal authority to terminate grants could allow future administrations to undermine religious liberty.

The bishops also questioned provisions restricting disparate-impact policies, saying they could conflict with existing civil rights laws and unintentionally discourage lawful outreach to minority communities.

The bishops concluded that they support many of the Trump administration's objectives, including promoting election integrity, protecting religious liberty, while urging the OMB to refine the proposal before issuing a final rule.