The Archbishop of Melbourne. Denis Hart, has welcomed the decision of the Victoria state Government to recognise the need to protect religious freedom in its proposed Equal Opportunity Act.

In a column in the Age, a leading Melbourne daily, Archbishop Hart said that religious freedom was “a fundamental human right” which could not be “ignored or read down”.

Under some versions of the proposed law, faith based groups, charities, schools and other organisations could have lost their right to hire people based on their religious belief.

Archbishop Hart stressed that maintaining the distinctiveness of religious institutions was vital in maintaining a choice for individuals in terms of education and health. Parents, he wrote, had “a fundamental right to choose a religious education for their children”.

They made this choice, he added, “with a clear understanding that their children will experience an environment where the faith and values of the church are evident in teaching, learning and pastoral practice”.

Retaining the right to recruit staff who reflected Catholic values was important, he went on, because staff in Catholic schools were “expected to give positive witness and stand as role models to the Catholic faith and its values”.

“It is expected that staff refrain from representing views that conflict with this position,” the Archbishop added.

The same was true of Catholic hospitals. While these had much in common with state-run hospital, there were also differences.

This was particularly the case in matters of ethics, he said. Catholic views on the care of the pregnant woman and protection of the pre-born child “are well known” Archbishop Hart wrote, adding that Catholic views “on artificial nutrition and hydration and end-of-life care can differ from that of those who do not share our beliefs”.

These views were reflected in codes of ethical standards, “which necessarily are part of employment conditions just as they are in state-run hospitals” he went on.

This requirement was necessary, Archbishop Hart said, “if Catholic health and aged care institutions are to meet the expectations of the community that they will offer services in accordance with the teachings of the church”.

There were medical procedures and practices in state hospitals, including abortion, “that would never be provided by a Catholic hospital”.

Rebutting the argument that if Catholic institutions receive government funding, they should not enjoy exemptions to discrimination laws, he pointed out that the Catholic community was a major contributor to the tax pool.

“The contribution of Catholic institutions and organisations to social capital is immeasurable. For many taxpayers, Catholic and non-Catholic, the Catholic service provider is their first choice,” he added.