CHARLOTTE — It remains unclear how the Charlotte City Council's move to enshrine rights of "gender expression" and "gender identity" in its anti-discrimination ordinance might affect the 13 Catholic churches and five Catholic schools located within the city.
Diocesan officials said the ordinance's possible impacts on Charlotte churches and schools are unknown, and for now they are taking a wait-and-see approach.
On Feb. 22, City Council members voted 7-4 to expand the Charlotte's anti-discrimination ordinance to include "marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression" alongside existing protections for race, gender, age and disability beginning April 1.
The decades-old law governs access and services for all public property, nearly all businesses including restaurants and retail stores, taxi services, and city business contracts. It contains no exemption for churches or religious facilities. Violators could be reported to the city council and could face legal action from the city attorney.
The city council's move follows a failed vote last March on the same measure, when opponents successfully rallied against it. The city council's decision came at the end of a contentious council meeting and a rally organized again by hundreds of opponents outside the Government Center in Charlotte.
Religious leaders, business people and many city residents said they were alarmed at the ordinance which now allows, among other things, people to choose a public restroom or locker room corresponding to their sexual orientation, "gender identity" or "gender expression." For example, men who identify as women can use a women's bathroom or public shower.
The city's anti-discrimination ordinance previously exempted public bathrooms, showers "and similar facilities which are in their nature distinctly private."
Many local religious leaders, including Bishop Peter Jugis, called the proposal a threat to public safety and decorum.
"God made men and women biologically different. As a society we must respect that difference, and continue to maintain separate public bathrooms for men and women for the sake of modesty and safety," Bishop Jugis said in a statement Feb. 22.
N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory, a former mayor of Charlotte, also expressed opposition to the ordinance, saying changes to restroom access could "create major public safety issues."
Before the city council vote, McCrory warned in an email to council members that there could be "immediate state legislative intervention" to block the ordinance.
Some conservative state lawmakers led by House Speaker Tim Moore said Feb. 23 that they were "exploring legislative intervention to correct this radical course."
But it is uncertain when and how state legislators could override the city ordinance. The Legislature does not convene until April 25, and the city ordinance takes effect April 1.
Besides intervention by the Legislature, courts might eventually declare the ordinance void on the grounds that it exceeds the authority granted the city in its charter or that it violates the state's building code and law against indecent exposure, said local attorney Robert Potter Jr.
Legislators could also put the issue on the ballot for a referendum, as Houston did last fall when its city council passed a similar ordinance to protect "gender identity." Residents there voted overwhelmingly in November to repeal the measure, 61 percent to 39 percent.
Meanwhile, the city ordinance conceivably could impact public and athletic events held at Catholic schools, public events and meetings held at parish halls, and at the Eucharistic Congress held each September at the city-owned Charlotte Convention Center. But for now, diocesan leaders are waiting and watching how the political battle might unfold.
"Since there are indications that the state legislature may change or eliminate the ordinance, we are waiting to see what happens," said diocesan spokesman David Hains.
Catholic churches and schools located within the city limits are: Our Lady of the Assumption Church and School, St. John Neumann Church, Our Lady of Consolation Church, St. Ann Church and School, St. Gabriel Church and School, St. Patrick Cathedral and School, St. Peter Church, St. Vincent de Paul Church, St. Thomas Aquinas Church, St. Matthew Church and School, St. Joseph Vietnamese Church, St. John Lee Korean Church and Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.
Whether the anti-discrimination ordinance applies to churches and church activities hinges on how the ordinance's use of the term "public accommodation" is interpreted, noted Potter. Federal laws on public accommodations contain a specific exemption for religious institutions, he said, but the Charlotte ordinance does not.
The city code currently defines "public accommodation" as "a business, accommodation, refreshment, entertainment, recreation, or transportation facility of any kind, whether licensed or not, whose goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations are extended, offered, sold or otherwise made available to the public."
The ordinance may more likely apply "the farther you get from actual worship" – to non-church related activities, Potter said.
"Even if the ordinance does not apply to churches themselves," he said, "it may apply to schools and activities like fairs, bingo, athletic events or other activities where the public is invited. If a church rents its activity center to the public, then the ordinance may apply there."
He added, "Certainly, if the diocese rents the Charlotte Convention Center for the Eucharistic Congress, then it should be aware that the city will apply this new policy to all of its own facilities."
Hains said the convention center staff told him they are meeting next week to evaluate the ordinance and as yet do not have any guidance for the diocese or its plans for the Eucharistic Congress this September.
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor
Read the anti-discrimination ordinance
ASHEVILLE — Father Joseph Koterski knows a thing or two about teaching the Ignatian spiritual exercise known as the “Examen” in an approachable way.
A Jesuit priest and philosophy professor at Fordham University in the Bronx, he shares living quarters with 150 freshmen each year.
Among his many other duties, he leads student discussions for about an hour most nights beginning at 10 p.m. When he finally gets ready for bed, it is the same Examen he teaches his students that helps him fall asleep with a peaceful conscience.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Charlotte sponsored Father Koterski’s presentation on the Examen to a packed room Aug 24 at St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville. Similar talks were also held that same week at St. Barnabas Church in Arden, St. John the Evangelist Church in Waynesville, and St. Eugene Church in Asheville. The event at St. Eugene was offered in both English and Spanish.
The Examen is a prayerful 10-minute daily examination of conscience that is no less useful today than in the 16th century when St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits, originated the spiritual practice. Father Koterski tweaked the five steps by using the word “G-R-A-C-E” to help recall the Examen as one reviews the day.
Pictured: Jesuit Father Joseph Koterski conducted several talks in the Diocese of Charlotte last month. His reflections on the Ignatian Examen were sponsored by Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte. (Giuliana Polinari Riley | Catholic News Herald)
“G” stands for gratitude. “Think of something we are grateful for, or something we know we ought to be grateful for and give thanks to God for it. This is not just another self-help exercise,” Father Koterski emphasized. “It’s a prayerful exercise, directed to Jesus.”
He noted that his own practice includes sitting on the floor in the dark after his long day is over. “It can be done anywhere, but I would suggest not doing it lying down,” he quipped.
“R” stands for a request for light. “We need light in our homes and skies, “ he explained. “We need interior light, too. It may be general or specific – a spotlight God uses or something like those little red penlights that museum docents use to illuminate something not so apparent in a painting or sculpture. Sometimes there are things we don’t want to look at, or never even think to look at. So, we ask to see what God wants us to see.”
“A” stands for an account of actions and attitudes. “I ask the Lord to help me choose and look more deeply at one or two out of my day,” he explained. “I may focus on something that went poorly – a conversation or a class. It may also be something that went well and I want to learn from it. It’s not just analyzing myself in my own voice. No embellishment or hiding details. It’s a prayer to Jesus. I’m telling this to someone I trust who really knows me and can help me see and evaluate.”
He emphasized the importance of dealing with anger from our day, avoiding a preoccupation with one’s negative thoughts and actions. “That tape (which continually replays in our brains) usually tries to rationalize or justify our actions and viewpoints,” he said. “We need to push the stop button, give it to our guardian angel as many times as necessary, and save it for our Examen when we may be more objective. The goal is to get some truth. It’s not just to build us up or tear ourselves or someone else down.”
“C” stands for charting one’s course. If things are going well, continue on course; if not, correct it, he said. “If there’s sin, there could be need for an Act of Contrition or the need to prepare for confession,” he said. He suggested looking for patterns of temptation and sin.
“E” represents entreating the Lord for energy and enthusiasm to carry out one’s course. “It can be as simple as the Lord’s Prayer.”
He concluded, “I look forward to this 10 minutes. It’s an acquired taste. But, for me, it’s like clearing my desk at night. It’s saying, ‘Lord, it’s your world, You take care of it, and I did my best today, but now I want to look and make sure that’s true.’ It’s important to have some time to sit in the dark and ask for light.”
— Beth Searles, Correspondent