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The Little Sisters who fought the big system heard the cheers, held back tears and accepted the Gaudium et Spes Award from the Knights of Columbus at the Knights’ annual gala “States Dinner” in Toronto.
Mother Loraine Marie Maguire, superior of the Little Sisters’ Baltimore province, nearly cried as she described how happy she felt walking out of the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C., after hearing a unanimous May 16 decision in Zubik v. Burwell.
The Supreme Court ordered lower courts to find a compromise to exempt the Little Sisters of the Poor and other religious employers from having to pay for health insurance that covers the cost of artificial contraception.
“I felt as if I was walking on air,” Mother Loraine Marie said. “It was one of the most hopeful, joy-filled days of my life.”
The Knights of Columbus provided $1 million to fund the exhaustive legal battle between the Little Sisters and the Health and Human Services mandate contained in rules for the 2011 Affordable Care Act.
“With a kind yet intrepid spirit, (the Little Sisters of the Poor) opposed government regulations that sought to force them to act against their consciences so that they may continue to carry out their longstanding service to the poor,” the award citation said.
The Little Sisters are the first religious order to receive the Gaudium et Spes Award, the highest honor bestowed only occasionally by the Knights. It was first given to Blessed Teresa of Kolkata in 1992. Other honorees include Chicago Cardinal Francis George in 2015, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz in 2010, and L’Arche founder Jean Vanier in 2005.
The award to the sisters fits into a religious freedom theme the Knights of Columbus promoted at their 134th Supreme Convention Aug. 2-4 in Toronto. The Knights also brought bishops from Iraq and Syria to participate. The Knights of Columbus played a significant lobbying role in persuading the U.S. Congress to declare massacres of Christians by the Islamic State group “genocide.”
Mother Loraine Marie said the Little Sisters of the Poor did not go looking for a high-profile fight against Washington, D.C., regulators. “We would never have chosen to become the public face of resistance to the HHS mandate,” she said.
Mother Loraine Marie told about 2,000 Knights gathered in Toronto’s Allstream Centre that rather than trying to win legal points, the Little Sisters want to get on with running their 27 homes for vulnerable, elderly Americans. She said she also hoped the media spotlight would help her order with new vocations.
The convention attracted Knights from the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Poland, Mexico, Mindanao, Guam, the Dominican Republic and all parts of the United States.
—CNS
