Media Hops on Wheaton’s HHS
Decision
Here is a summary of the
eary reporting on Wheaton’s decision.
Christianity Today has been
in the lead with a news story and an interview with Ryken. Both the story and
the interview were done by CT’s Sarah Pulliam Bailey. From the news story:
"Any
attempt to narrow the scope of what is legally recognized as a religious
institution sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the character of the
institution going forward because their religious identity is vital to who they
are," LoMaglio said. "What these lawsuits show is that religious
groups do not view the accommodation as adequate."… The move is unusual
for Wheaton, an institution that does not often join the political fray. Before
he became president of Wheaton in 2010, Ryken was
pastor of Tenth Presbyterian in Philadelphia, having little public involvement
in politics, law, or government. Other high-profile presidents of Christian
colleges and universities, such as Baylor University (Ken Starr), Liberty
University (Jerry Falwell, Jr.), and The Kings College (Dinesh D'Souza) have
more politically-related backgrounds. Unlike Liberty, for instance, Wheaton
rarely invites political candidates to speak in its chapel services.
Here are key excerpts from
the interview with Ryken:
Is there any danger in at least appearing political with this
lawsuit?
Wheaton College is not a partisan institution and the effect of
our filing on any political process has played no part at all in any of our
board discussions on the issue. The timing of things is driven primarily by the
mandate itself. Wheaton College stands to face punitive fines already on
January 1, 2013, and I am welcoming incoming freshmen in two weeks. It’s
already an issue for us in terms of our health insurance and what we provide
for this coming academic year. Although we wanted to wait for the Supreme Court
decision out of respect for the legal system, we do not believe that we can
wait any longer.
You did a press conference this morning with the leader of a
Catholic institution. Is there any danger of watering down theological
differences between evangelicals and Catholics, or is it advantageous to work
together on this issue?
Our board felt strongly that if the possibility presented
itself, we had a strong interest in filing alongside a Roman Catholic
institution. This is fully in keeping with Wheaton’s convictions. We’re clear
on our Protestant identity and there are many areas of theological disagreement
that we have with Roman Catholic colleges and universities. This filing is not
a way of suggesting that those differences have in any way been erased. But
here’s an issue where we have strong agreement, and that is the value of
religious freedom for all people everywhere. We also believe that we have a
stake in the success of Catholic institutions winning their religious freedom
arguments. Even if [contraception] is not a universal point of conviction for
Protestants the way that it is for Roman Catholics, we believe that Catholic
institutions should have the freedom to carry out their mission without
government coercion. That struggle for liberty is a struggle for our own
liberty and, we would argue, a struggle for the liberty of all Americans.
It seems like it’s fairly unusual for Wheaton to do something
like this. Is it a big step? Does it feel out of your comfort zone?
We are reluctant filers. We’ve been appealing to the government
all year to provide an exemption for religious institutions— not merely
churches, but other religious institutions. It’s our conviction that
institutions like Wheaton College have religious freedoms too that ought to be
protected by the United States Constitution. It’s very distressing to have to
come to a point of actually filing a lawsuit on these issues. It’s a matter of
strong conviction and our board is unanimous that this is the right step to
take for Wheaton College. It’s certainly unprecedented for us to file a lawsuit
against the government, and we’re doing it only as a last resort.
The Becket Fund has been at
the forefront of resistance to the HHS Mandate and they played a key role in
coordinating Wheaton’s lawsuit with the Catholic University of America’s
lawsuit. Their website carried a report framing Wheaton’s decision as a
historic one:
This alliance marks the
first-ever partnership between Catholic and evangelical institutions to oppose
the same regulation in the same court.
“This mandate is not just a
Catholic issue—it threatens people of all faiths,” says Kyle Duncan, General
Counsel, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. “Wheaton’s historic
decision to join the fight alongside a Catholic institution shows the broad
consensus that the mandate endangers everyone’s religious liberty.”
Wheaton’s religious convictions
prevent it from providing its employees with access to abortion-causing drugs.
The college’s lawsuit acts to preserve its religious liberty and the right to
carry out its mission free from government coercion.
“Wheaton College and other distinctively Christian institutions
are faced with a clear and present threat to our religious liberty,” says Wheaton
College President Dr. Philip Ryken. “Our first president, the abolitionist
Jonathan Blanchard, believed it was imperative to act in defense of freedom. In
bringing this suit, we act in defense of freedom again.”
This news is already rippling
through the blogosphere and finding its way into major mainstream media outlets.
This story is running at The Hill, one of the leading DC publications on
politics.
The
suit from Ill.-based Wheaton College — dubbed the "Notre Dame" of
Protestant higher education — states that the controversial policy violates the
religious freedom of people who object to birth control or consider forms of it
equal to abortion…Catholic University filed its own suit in late May alongside
Notre Dame University and the Archdiocese of Washington.
"As
the president of the national university of the Catholic Church, I am happy to
express solidarity with our evangelical brothers from Wheaton College,"
said Catholic University President John Garvey.
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