{"id":31544,"date":"2026-04-15T12:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T16:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=31544"},"modified":"2026-04-15T12:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T16:41:11","slug":"catholic-nuns-could-face-jail-time-for-refusing-to-obey-new-yorks-transgender-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/04\/catholic-nuns-could-face-jail-time-for-refusing-to-obey-new-yorks-transgender-law","title":{"rendered":"Catholic Nuns Could Face Jail Time For Refusing to Obey New York\u2019s Transgender Law"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A group of Catholic nuns are suing New York state over a 2023 state law that requires them to house patients according to gender identity and not biological sex. For over 100 years, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne have operated Rosary Hill, a 42-bed facility that provides free care for terminally ill patients nearing the end of their life. The Sisters filed a complaint<\/a> on April 6 against the state\u2019s \u00a0LGBTQ Long-Term Care Facility Residents\u2019 Bill of Rights<\/a>, signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, one month after their request for a religious exemption went unanswered. The Bill requires facilities like Rosary Hill to assign patients to rooms based on their gender identity \u201ceven over the opposition of the roommate.\u201d In addition to requiring staff to refer to patients by preferred pronouns, the Bill also requires Rosary Hill to \u201ccreate communities\u2019 affirming patients\u2019 sexual preferences, to accommodate patients\u2019 desire for extramarital relations, and to post notices affirming compliance with these requirements.\u201d According to the Sisters\u2019 complaint, staff are also required to \u201cundergo \u2018cultural competency training indoctrinating them in these practices and in gender ideology.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Catholic Church has restricted blessings on gay marriage and teaches the supremacy of biological sex over gender identity. In a wide-ranging interview<\/a> for his biography, Pope Leo XIV stated, \u201cIt seems to me very unlikely, at least in the near future, that the doctrine of the Church will change its teachings on sexuality and marriage.\u201d \u201cIt would contradict the teachings of the Bible concerning God\u2019s creative sovereignty, contradict reason and truth, and betray our sacred obligation not to knowingly harm other persons, particularly the most vulnerable,\u201d the complaint from the Sisters stated. \u201cThe implications are so much greater than whether to utter the words \u2018he\u2019 or \u2018she.\u2019 Indeed, to demand that a Catholic deny another\u2019s sex is to require him or her to affirm another religious worldview.\u201d The Sisters assert that the Bill violates their First Amendment Rights. To date, Rosary Hill has already received three \u201cDear Administrator Letters\u201d from the New York Department of Health warning them they must comply with the law. Non-compliance could lead to fines up to $2,000 per violation which could rise to $5,000, as well as court-ordered forced compliance, loss of licensing, and even up to one year in prison.<\/p>\n

In a statement to Fox News<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> a spokesperson for Hochul\u2019s office stated, \u201cWhile the Department does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation, the NYS Department of Health is committed to following state law, which provides nursing home residents certain rights protecting against discrimination including, but not limited to, gender identity or expression.\u201d Mother Marie Edward, general superior of the Hawthorne Dominicans, defended the Sisters. \u201cWe Sisters have taken care of patients from all walks of life, ideologies, and faiths,\u201d she said in a press release<\/a>. \u201cWe treat each patient with dignity and Christian charity. We have never had complaints. We cannot implement New York’s mandate without violating our Catholic faith.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A group of Catholic nuns are suing New York state over a 2023 state law that requires them to house patients according to gender identity and not biological sex. For over 100 years, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne have operated Rosary Hill, a 42-bed facility that provides free care for terminally ill patients nearing the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":31547,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nCatholic Nuns Could Face Jail Time For Refusing to Obey New York\u2019s Transgender Law<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Catholic nuns sue New York over law requiring gender-identity-based housing, saying it violates religious freedom.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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