Bishop Robert Barron and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone warned on March 16 that pro-life Catholics are facing increasing pressure in the health care sector, during remarks at the U.S. Religious Liberty Commission’s fifth hearing.
The issue is significant as it highlights ongoing legal and social challenges for Catholic organizations and individuals who object to certain medical procedures on religious grounds. The speakers pointed to recent court cases and legislative efforts that they say threaten the ability of Catholic institutions to operate according to their beliefs.
Cordileone, a member of the commission’s Advisory Board of Religious Leaders, discussed the prolonged legal battle involving the Little Sisters of the Poor over government contraceptive mandates. “These are women who deserve our utmost respect and esteem, and I can vouch for this from personal experience,” Cordileone said. “Why then would these humble, holy, and self-giving women have to find themselves in a multiyear, burdensome litigation with the federal government over a contraception insurance mandate that was part of the Affordable Care Act?”
He noted that although the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Little Sisters in 2020, a federal court ruled against them in August 2025 regarding exemptions to contraceptive requirements. The sisters appealed this decision later that year. Cordileone also referenced lawsuits against Catholic hospitals in California related to abortion services and gender transition procedures. He warned that adverse rulings could threaten all Catholic hospitals in California.
“Every year there are bills introduced into our state Legislature to expand private insurance coverage for sterilization, IVF, abortion, surrogacy, gender-affirming care, and so forth,” he said. “If these bills include a religious exemption, the exemption usually only covers organizations that fit a very narrow definition: employs people of their same faith, serves people of their same faith, and has the primary purpose of inculcating religious values. So here we have the secular government defining for religious communities what it means to be religious.”
“If we lose this fight, we will have lost the soul of our country,” he said.
Barron echoed Cordileone’s concerns about Catholics being pushed out of health care and social services. “I think they want us out of health care,” he said. “They want us out of education.” Barron emphasized that religious leaders must continue articulating their understanding of human good despite pressures from secular ideology: “We’ve got to come forward in the public space, articulate what is the human good. I think we’ve become more reticent, and we’ve succumbed to the pressures from the secular ideology,” he said.
The Religious Liberty Commission was established by President Donald Trump in 2025 to advise on threats to religious freedom. Its creation has been challenged by several multifaith advocacy groups who argue its membership is not fairly balanced.
Looking ahead, both Barron and Cordileone indicated continued advocacy for protections allowing Catholic institutions to act according to their beliefs within health care settings.
