Texas bishop on Catholic HHS Sec. Becerra’s religious liberty changes: ‘Maybe we should send him a catechism’

Health and Human Services (HHS) Sec. Xavier Becerra, a self-described Catholic, might need to revisit his faith’s catechism, Bishop Joseph Strickland suggested on Wednesday.

Fox News asked Strickland, who oversees the diocese of Tyler, Texas, about Becerra’s department revoking waivers for faith-based child welfare groups and altering enforcement provisions for religious liberty.

“More brokenness from so[-]called Catholics,” Strickland told Fox News. He added that “maybe we should send him a Catechism.”

The catechism, which lays out doctrine for the Catholic faith, asserts that religious liberty is a “natural right” that “ought to be acknowledged in the juridical order of society in such a way that it constitutes a civil right.”

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It adds that the right has inherent limits, which “must be determined for each social situation by political prudence, according to the requirements of the common good and ratified by the civil authority.”

Last week, HHS announced that it would revoke waivers for faith-based entities, such as foster care organizations that refused to serve same-sex couples. Becerra said at the time that “we treat any violation of civil rights or religious freedoms seriously.” That statement echoed others he made during his confirmation hearing but didn’t resemble his actions, critics have said.

HHS did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment. In a press release last week, the department defended its decision to revoke the waivers.  

Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra answers questions at a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to discuss reopening schools during COVID-19 at Capitol Hill on Sept. 30, 2021, in Washington, D.C. 
(Greg Nash-…