Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, issued a statement supporting the Supreme Court's recent ruling in the case of 303 Creative v. Elenis. In that case, the high court ruled in favor of a Colorado woman, Lorie Smith, a Christian web designer who does not want to create web pages for same-sex marriages, as they conflict with her religious beliefs.

“This case was never about discrimination,” Dolan said in his statement. Dolan chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee for Religious Liberty.

“It was about moral disagreement,” he continued. “The government must allow room for people to disagree on hot-button issues. It’s even more important when the person disagreeing has an unpopular view.”

“Ms. Smith is perfectly willing to design other kinds of websites for same-sex-attracted customers," Dolan said in the statement. "In the same way, the ministries of the Church provide goods and loving care to everyone in direct need of assistance, no questions asked. Problems only arise when the government tries to force us to support, by our words or actions, behavior that we believe is wrong.”

Smith, who owns the 303 Creative LLC website design firm, filed a lawsuit seeking to protect herself from potential repercussions under Colorado's anti-discrimination law. Her argument centered around her refusal to create web pages associated with any form of connection to same-sex marriages, and potential First Amendment violations if she is forced to "speak or stay silent.” Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act protects sexual orientation and gender identity, the Catholic News Agency said.

“In this case, Colorado seeks to force an individual to speak in ways that align with its views but defy her conscience about a matter of major significance,” Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in his majority opinion, the Catholic News Agency report said. “But, as this court has long held, the opportunity to think for ourselves and to express those thoughts freely is among our most cherished liberties and part of what keeps our republic strong."

President Joe Biden expressed his disapproval of the decision. In his reaction, he emphasized the importance of preventing discrimination based on one's identity or love interests.

"In America, no person should face discrimination simply because of who they are or who they love,” Biden said in a White House statement. “The Supreme Court's disappointing decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis undermines that basic truth, and painfully, it comes during Pride month when millions of Americans across the country join together to celebrate the contributions, resilience, and strength of the LGBTQI+ community.”