Catholic religious sisters now have the support of the Justice Department after a gender ideology-driven state crackdown threatened fines and jail time for adherence to their faith.
Secularists’ fondness for the First Amendment often misses the point entirely, favoring protection of government and its institutions from religion as opposed to its intended purpose — preserving religious liberty against government overreach.
Now, as the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne have taken New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and other officials to court for demanding adherence to the incompatible New York LGBTQ Long-Term Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights, the DOJ joined the suit to remind states about forced compliance in the “name of woke gender ideology.”
Announcing the intention to intervene, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement Thursday, “States should take notice that they cannot require Americans to abandon their religious beliefs in the name of woke gender ideology.”
“For more than a century, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne have provided free palliative care to indigent cancer patients in their last days,” she went on. “New York’s law would force these religious women to choose between their faith and their license if they wish to continue serving the dying.”
As previously reported, letters sent from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) beginning in March 2024 demanded affirmation of gender ideology at the Rosary Hill Home through the use of false pronouns while housing men with women. Failure to do so would result in fines to the tune of thousands of dollars, license revocation and a potential year of incarceration.
“We Sisters have taken care of patients from all walks of life, ideologies, and faiths. We treat each patient with dignity and Christian charity. We have never had complaints,” remarked Mother Marie Edward, O.P. (Ordo Prædicatorum) in a statement. “We cannot implement New York’s mandate without violating our Catholic faith.”
Equal treatment appeared to be lacking in the Empire State, as, during an appearance on “The Clay & Buck Show,” Dhillon argued the state’s law currently has “carveouts for other institutions” like the Church of Christ Scientist.
In New York, radical gender ideology is being forced on the longstanding Dominican Sisters hospice center. This violates equal protection & 1A — the @CivilRights Division @theJusticeDept will protect an institution’s right to provide ideology-free end-of-life care! pic.twitter.com/CkodTZsU72
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) June 22, 2026
Catholic Benefits Association general counsel Martin Nussbaum, representing the religious sisters, told Fox News Digital in a statement, “Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s formal certification of Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne v. Hochul as a case of ‘general public importance’ sends a welcome signal that a state’s policy preference for gender ideology does not trump the protection for religious freedom embedded in our country’s DNA.”
The challenge brought by the sisters is only the latest instance in which the self-styled Catholic governor has sided against the faithful in favor of pushing a state agenda. Previously, Hochul has pushed Catholic groups to cover abortions and she used religious language to advocate for COVID shots, arguing against any exemptions on the basis of faith.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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