The Conscience Project is dedicated to the advancement of religious freedom, conscience protections and parental rights || led by @BayerPicciotti.
Washington, D.C.
Joined August 2023
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WATCH: Why not display the Ten Commandments in classrooms?
Director @BayerPicciotti explains how these displays reflect the moral framework that shaped our founding documents and why the Supreme Court can protect that principle.
Director @BayerPicciotti joined @AveAfternoon to discuss how the Church is engaging in conversations about Virginia’s upcoming amendments and their implications for religious freedom.
Virginia’s upcoming ballot measures raise important questions about religious freedom. The Church has both the right and responsibility to speak on the common good and guide the faithful.
Can the Church remain silent when political decisions touch on the foundations of life, marriage, and the common good?
In this piece, Paul D. Scalia examines two proposed amendments to Virginia’s constitution concerning abortion and marriage, exploring the Church’s responsibility to speak on moral questions, the limits of state authority, and the role of religious witness in public life.
To read the piece, visit firstthings.com/virginias-ba…
Religious freedom protects the Church’s right and responsibility to teach the faithful, speak on the common good, and encourage action rooted in faith.
Director @BayerPicciotti explores what’s at stake for religious liberty in Virginia.
dailysignal.com/2026/10/16/r…
READ: “Arlington has shown that religious freedom allows church leaders to say to the faithful what they hold to be true and to urge them to act on it.”
Director @BayerPicciotti explains how religious freedom is at work in the Arlington diocese in @DailySignal.
dailysignal.com/2026/10/16/r…
India’s proposed FCRA amendments could jeopardize Christian charities and churches serving the country’s most vulnerable. Unlike America’s FARA, these measures could put faith-based charitable work at risk of government seizure.
In the @ChristianPost, Director @BayerPicciotti explains why Secretary Rubio must urge India to protect religious freedom.
christianpost.com/voices/rub…
.@BayerPicciotti joined @AveAfternoon to discuss assisted suicide laws and the troubling message they send: that the answer to aging and suffering is to end the lives of the elderly, rather than provide the care and support they deserve.
A religious liberty clinic at Notre Dame Law School is urging the Supreme Court to strike down Texas’ Ten Commandments law, arguing it imposes religious instruction on children.
Director @BayerPicciotti explains why this view misreads religious liberty and the Establishment Clause in @NCRegister.
ncregister.com/commentaries/…
🔊Listen: “Catholics should be concerned about this kind of overreach of a local government’s authority”
Director @BayerPicciotti joined @EWTN’s Register Radio to discuss upcoming Supreme Court cases, including Grand v. City of University Heights, and the implications for religious liberty.
One year ago today, Washington agreed not to enforce a law that would force Catholic priests to violate the sacred seal of confession. Becket defended the priests’ right to uphold their vows, ensuring they wouldn’t have to choose between their faith and jail time.
Priests should never have to choose between upholding their sacred vows and facing jail time. In 2025, Washington passed a law requiring Catholic priests to report suspected abuse or neglect disclosed in confession, despite the Church’s 2,000-year-old teaching that confession is sacred and must remain confidential.
Becket defended the priests in court, and one year ago today, Washington agreed to not force them to violate the sacred seal of confession. Learn more: becketfund.org/case/etienne-…
ALT Etienne v. Ferguson, showing a confessional booth
ALT One Year Ago Today, Washington agreed to not force clergy to violate the sacred seal of confession. Last year, Catholic priests in Washington faced an impossible choice between obeying their faith or complying with the law. A new state law mandated that priests report instances of abuse or neglect that they hear about in the sacrament of confession, despite the Church’s long-standing teaching that confession is sacred and must remain confidential,
ALT a tradition upheld for over 2,000 years. Washington law has long respected that tradition, just as it protects private conversations with lawyers and others. But the state tried to single out Catholic priests, while giving a pass to lawyers. With Becket’s help, five bishops and several parish priests challenged the law in federal court. Days before the law was scheduled to take effect, the court blocked the law and protected the sacred seal of confession while the case continued.
ALT In October 2025, the state of Washington agreed to settle the case and to not force priests to violate the sacramental seal.
The confessional is not a legal loophole for child abusers. In the @dcexaminer, Director @BayerPicciotti explains why protecting children and religious liberty are not mutually exclusive, and why the court’s ruling blocking Washington’s law was an important defense of both. washingtonexaminer.com/opini…
NEW: A case involving the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist could have broader implications for religious land use and the role of the state in protecting religious liberty.
Director @BayerPicciotti explores what’s at stake in @NCRegister.
ncregister.com/commentaries/…
Conscience Project retweeted
Brian and Jill Hall have sacrificed a lot to give their children a Catholic education. When Colorado launched its UPK program, they were excited to send their preschooler to St. Mary, a school already woven into their community. But the state’s rules prevented them from using UPK funding there because of the school’s religious beliefs.
Now, the fight for fair access to preschool funding is headed to the Supreme Court. On November 3, the Court will hear St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy. Learn more: youtu.be/sxMxiqqGJyI
NEW: "A faith that may be freely exercised only within the church is a faith the state has already succeeded in controlling."
Director @BayerPicciotti examines how people of faith in blue states are facing growing challenges to practicing their beliefs beyond church walls in @FDRLST.
thefederalist.com/2026/10/09…
Director @BayerPicciotti discusses upcoming Supreme Court cases that will impact religious freedom and parental rights on @AveAfternoon.
As the push for assisted suicide grows, we must reject the idea that the elderly are a burden. Caring for them with love and dignity reminds us that every human life has value.
Director @BayerPicciotti featured in @NCRegister. 👇ncregister.com/commentaries/…
The Supreme Court will open its new term on Monday with a docket that is shaping up to be a syllabus in religious liberty and parental rights, and that is no coincidence.
Director @BayerPicciotti explores the cases to watch in @NCRegister. 👇
ncregister.com/commentaries/…
Sometimes the best way to begin a conversation about faith is simply to be present, curious, and warm. That attention can open the door to a deeper conversation about God.
Director @BayerPicciotti explores how everyday encounters can become opportunities to share the faith in @NCRegister.
ncregister.com/commentaries/…
This fall, the Supreme Court will decide if Colorado can deny Catholic families Universal Preschool Program funding over gender ideology.
Director @BayerPicciotti breaks down St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy on @AveAfternoon.
Preschool is no place to teach three- and four-year-olds to choose their own gender, but Colorado is forcing parents to choose between government support and their religious beliefs.
Full Video: Why is Colorado Excluding Catholic Schools From Tuition Assistance? 👇
youtube.com/watch?v=M1xhPt49…
President Trump has nominated @CissieGLynch to be IRF Ambassador and appointed @BishopBarron, Andrew Brunson, and @RealJoeGrogan to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Director @BayerPicciotti discusses the new nomination and appointments and what they mean for religious freedom around the world in @DailySignal.
dailysignal.com/2026/09/23/i…
The importance of defending religious freedom extends far beyond U.S. borders.
Learn more about @RFInstitute’s 2026 Annual Dinner, celebrating the importance of religious freedom around the world. 👇religiousfreedominstitute.or…
