Register Radio - Religious Liberty and Napa Institute

This week on Register Radio, can businesses cite religious objections and refuse to pay for contraception in the new health-care plan? Or do individuals lose their religious liberty rights when they go into business? Elena Rodriguez talks to Maria Montserrat Alvarado from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty about the March 25 Hobby Lobby oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the second half of the show, Dan Burke talks with Tim Busch, founder of the premier Catholic leadership conference, the Napa Institute. They talk about the mission and goals of the institute, along with many other reasons that this conference has had such a significant impact on Catholic leaders in America.

 

Montserrat Alvarado and Religious Liberty

Maria Montserrat Alvarado joined the Becket Fund in 2009 to help run the Voices Symposium Conference in Mexico City. She was elevated to her current position in 2010, and she leads initiatives in development, communications, events/conference planning and administrative/financial management.

On March 25, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of two businesses — Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties.  Both businesses sued the Obama administration in September 2012 over the Health and Human Services’ mandate because the mandate forces these businesses to pay for contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs, which both of these businesses object to because it violates the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The question before the court is that if individuals have religious rights, and individuals make up a business, why would businesses not have religious rights like individuals do?

“Ever since the Greens started Hobby Lobby in their garage, their religious beliefs have guided them to do good for their employees,” said Alvarado, including starting wages at 90% above minimum wage, closing early in the evenings and being closed on Sundays. They are protecting their employees’ family time and providing “Cadillac-level” health benefits, Alvarado noted, respecting the right of their employees to purchase whatever drugs and devices they want. What Hobby Lobby is asking for in this case is to not be forced to pay for benefits that violate their own religious beliefs.

Alvarado referenced Justice Kennedy’s recent comment in the oral arguments: “Our first freedom should not be left in the hands of government bureaucrats.” That’s what’s happening here, she said, as government agencies like the IRS and HHS decide who gets religious liberty without any reference to the Constitution or the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which passed during the Clinton administration with great bipartisan support.

The government has already created a number of exemptions for political reasons, so it doesn’t make sense why there can’t be a protection for religious liberty, Alvarado pointed out, noting that Americans “should not be forced to sacrifice their freedom so that they can provide a living for their families. They should not have to check their religious liberty at the door the moment that they start making a profit.”

The court’s ruling should be in late June and has the potential to impact the outcome of many other for-profit cases.

You can go to the Becket Fund website and follow the “HHS Central” information as well as the updates on the Hobby Lobby case.

 

Tim Busch and the Napa Institute

Tim Busch is the founder of The Busch Firm, which specializes in high net worth estate planning, real estate, business transactions and tax issues.  He is also founder and CEO of Pacific Hospitality Group, LLC, a hotel development and management company that owns and manages seven hotels. 

Since 1990, Tim has been an active member of Legatus.  He is also a member of the board of Christ Cathedral Corp. in the Diocese of Orange, Calif. He is a co-founder of the Magis Institute with Father Robert Spitzer, which sponsors spiritual ministries.  In 2011, Tim and Father Robert Spitzer co-founded the Napa Institute, an annual intellectual apostolic conference.

The purpose of the Napa Institute is to help form lay and ordained Catholic leaders. It was inspired by an article written by Archbishop Charles Chaput about how society is becoming  dominated by a secular culture. The conference intends to form participants to survive in that kind of culture.

Everyone is welcome to attend the conference, but it’s targeted toward those who are existing or potential lay or ordained leaders.

There are 31 different presentations that are challenging and academic but also very short (30 minutes). The institute operates under three different themes: faith and reason, economic justice and art and beauty.

Another goal is to expose people to good Catholic ministries, Busch said, such as the Augustine Institute, as well as various Catholic universities and such.

The speakers are available for further interaction with attendees after their talks. “It’s really an opportunity for everybody who wants to be part of the mission of the Catholic Church to get together once a year and touch base on what opportunities are available, what’s happening — how can we work together,” Busch said.

There are at least five Masses a day, with two Masses a day celebrated by a cardinal or a bishop. According to Busch, “It’s so important that we get exposed beyond just the Mass that we see at our Sunday parish and see that there are other opportunities” for liturgical worship.

There are several spiritual directors available, as well as different retreats in different traditions, plus adoration, Rosaries and much more. “This is a critical element of our program: to make sure people leave … enriched as to their spirituality,” Busch said.

“We’re all in a different part of our pilgrimage here on earth,” Busch said, but we share the same goal of being saints. The interactions of the Napa Institute allow Catholics to appreciate the richness of the Catholic heritage and to connect to each other, he emphasized.

“We cannot let the culture tell us what we’re to believe in,” Busch added.

This summer’s conference is July 24-27 and will feature Cardinal James Harvey, Father Spitzer, Tim Gray, Stephen Barr and Archbishop Chaput, among many others. There are 12 bishops, two cardinals, 25 priests and many religious sisters already attending.

“If you’re interested in your faith and your Church, it’s going to be there on steroids,” Busch assured potential attendees.

Learn more about the Napa Institute at its website.

Listen to this week’s show online or via your MP3 player.