The credibility gap

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NICK EICHER, HOST: Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast.

In an election year, both parties talk about expanding their coalition.

For Democrats, that has included a renewed effort to appeal to religious voters—especially those who may feel politically homeless.

EICHER: But critics say there is a disconnect between that outreach, and what’s happening in policy.

Here’s WORLD commentator Cal Thomas.

CAL THOMAS: Consider an order of Catholic nuns in Hawthorne, New York.

They care for the terminally ill—quietly, faithfully—for more than a century.

Now they are facing a new state mandate.

A New York law requires nursing homes to use pronouns, assign rooms, and grant restroom access based on a patient’s gender identity—or face fines, even jail time. It also requires facilities to create communities that affirm patients’ sexual preferences and accommodate requests for extramarital relationships.

Penalties start in the thousands. “Willful violations” can bring fines up to $10,000—or a year in prison.

The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne say those mandates violate their religious beliefs.

So they are pushing back—suing the state.

Their response, though, is simple.

They serve everyone.

Mother Marie Edward, who leads the order, put it this way: We treat each patient with dignity and Christian charity. We have never had complaints.

Apparently, that is not enough.

Which raises another question: What exactly is the standard now?

Have Democrats forgotten the Little Sisters of the Poor?

In 2011, the Obama administration required employers to provide contraceptives in their health insurance plans. Some large secular corporations were exempt.

Religious nonprofits like the Little Sisters were not.

They faced massive fines if they refused to comply.

They fought—and lost—case after case. Until the Supreme Court finally ruled in their favor. Later, an executive order under President Trump reinforced those protections.

That episode made something clear: religious liberty now depends, in large part, on who holds power.

Which brings us back to a deeper issue.

If standards keep shifting, are they really standards at all?

Those who believe God created us male and female have an answer rooted in Scripture.

But what about everyone else?

Is government now the final authority—something to be obeyed, even when it conflicts with conscience?

The late Bishop Fulton Sheen warned about what happens when moral standards become untethered from anything permanent.

He called it “false compassion”—a sympathy that erodes truth.

His warning still stands: If you do not behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you behave.

Remove objective standards, and society drifts into confusion.

That may be where we are.

Based on the Little Sisters case, the Hawthorne nuns have a strong argument.

They may even win.

But if history is a guide, their opponents aren’t likely to quit.

For WORLD, I’m Cal Thomas.

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