New York State threatens to shut down Catholic nuns’ 125-year ministry caring for dying cancer patients unless they affirm woke gender ideology over their faith.
Story Highlights
- Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne filed federal lawsuit on April 6, 2026, against New York’s LGBTQ Long-Term Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights.
- State demands facilities use preferred pronouns, house by gender identity, and affirm sexual preferences, clashing with Catholic teachings on sex and gender.
- Sisters received three warning letters since March 2024; they refuse compliance, facing fines and license revocation.
- Law exempts Church of Christ, Scientist but not Catholics, raising equal protection issues under the 14th Amendment.
Sisters Defend 125-Year Legacy of Compassionate Care
The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne operate Rosary Hill Home, a 42-bed facility in New York providing free end-of-life care to terminally ill cancer patients with limited resources. For nearly 125 years, the sisters have served patients from all backgrounds without government interference in their faith-based mission. This ministry embodies traditional American values of charity, individual conscience, and limited state overreach into private religious practice.
New York Preparing to Punish Catholic Nuns Caring for Dying Patients for Refusing to Follow Woke Gender Identity Rules @AAGDhillon https://t.co/bEXXY6b1bN #gatewaypundit via @gatewaypundit
— Debra Dosch (@DebraDosch) April 12, 2026
State Mandate Forces Faith Violation
New York’s LGBTQ Long-Term Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights requires facilities to assign rooms by chosen gender identity, even against roommates’ wishes, use preferred pronouns, accommodate extramarital relations, and post affirming notices. Staff must undergo gender ideology training. The sisters argue this compels them to deny biological sex, affirming a conflicting worldview that contradicts Catholic doctrine on God’s creation.
Escalating Warnings Lead to Federal Lawsuit
The New York Department of Health sent three “Dear Administrator Letters”—March 2024, October 2024, and January 2025—demanding compliance. The sisters have not complied and state they do not intend to, facing immediate fines and license revocation for the facility and staff. On April 6, 2026, they sued in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, naming Governor Kathy Hochul and health officials as defendants.
Constitutional Claims Challenge Discrimination
The lawsuit asserts First Amendment free exercise violations and 14th Amendment equal protection breaches. The law grants exemptions to Church of Christ, Scientist facilities but excludes Catholics, evidencing discriminatory intent. Legal representatives call it an “existential threat,” noting the sisters prefer ministry over litigation. The state defends the law as anti-discrimination protection but declines comment on the pending case.
Broader Threat to Religious Liberty and American Principles
This case pits religious freedom against state-enforced ideology, echoing frustrations across political lines with government overreach by elites prioritizing agendas over citizens’ rights. Faith-based providers nationwide watch closely, as closure would deny free care to vulnerable patients. The outcome could set precedent limiting such mandates, preserving space for conscience-driven service rooted in founding principles of liberty.
Sources:
Nuns challenge New York LGBT law they say violates their faith | U.S. – Christian Post
Dominican Sisters challenge New York gender-identity law in court – EWTN News
Dominican Sisters Challenge New York Gender Identity Law in Court – The Catholic Thing
