…where, this morning,it was 35 degrees. The Deacon’s Wife and I are taking a winter break in a warmer climate — or trying to — and blogging will be light for the next few days. I’ll try to post periodically and moderate comments when necessary. Please behave yourselves. Since I’m away, I don’t have a homily for this weekend (is that cheering I hear in the distance?) but two great resources are A Concord Pastor and Msgr. Charles Pope. Pay... Read more
From the New York Times: For the White House, the decision announced Friday to soften a rule requiring religious-affiliated organizations to pay for insurance plans that offer free birth control was never really driven by a desire to mollify Roman Catholic bishops, who were strongly opposed to the plan. Rather, the fight was for Sister Carol Keehan — head of an influential Catholic hospital group, who had supported President Obama’s health care law — and Catholic allies of the White... Read more
From the New York Times: Although Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York has been leading the national fight against requiring Roman Catholic hospitals, universities and charities to cover birth control in their health insurance plans for employees and students, some Catholic institutions in his own diocese and others throughout New York State have for 10 years been complying with state law mandating precisely that coverage. The state began requiring contraception coverage in 2002, and Catholic institutions, after losing a... Read more
This just in: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sees initial opportunities in preserving the principle of religious freedom after President Obama’s announcement today. But the Conference continues to express concerns. “While there may be an openness to respond to some of our concerns, we reserve judgment on the details until we have them,” said Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, president of USCCB. “The past three weeks have witnessed a remarkable unity of Americans from all religions or none at... Read more
From AP: Amid a backlash from many Catholics and proponents of religious liberty, President Barack Obama announced Friday that his administration will not require religious institutions like hospitals and universities to provide free contraception to their employees in their health insurance. Speaking to reporters at the White House Friday, Obama offered a compromise that would allow women to obtain free contraception but would require them to obtain it directly from their insurance companies if their employers object to birth control because... Read more
For those of us who grew up having our childhoods captured on these wildly popular, affordable cameras — and who remember them as fixtures at countless birthdays, Christmases, baby showers, vacations — this is really sort of sad. Details: The Eastman Kodak Company said on Thursday that it would stop making digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames, signifying the end of an era for the company that brought photography to the masses more than a century ago.... Read more
Some background and analysis, from the New York Times: When after much internal debate the Obama administration finally announced its decision to require religiously affiliated hospitals and universities to cover birth control in their insurance plans, the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops were fully prepared for battle. Seven months earlier, they had started laying the groundwork for a major new campaign to combat what they saw as the growing threat to religious liberty, including the legalization of same-sex marriage. But the... Read more
Details: Single, 18-year-old female, likes having control over her own body, looking for affordable birth control. That’s Keely Monroe’s summary of her life at Fordham University, a Jesuit college in New York. “Finding contraception at Fordham was about as easy as finding a good man from a want ad,” Monroe said of her alma mater at a press conference held Thursday in Washington by Catholic Students for Women’s Health. The students spoke in favor of available birth control on campuses... Read more
“Requiring faith-based organizations to be religious only in the ways the government permits overthrows the pluralism that has been a hallmark of American public life. The administration’s rigid secular approach subverts religious liberty to the whims of governmental authority. Under the policy, a church dedicated to public service is no longer allowed to be a church.” — Rep. Bob Turner, who represents my district in New York City. Read it all Read more
CBS This Morning, actually. According to CNS: Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan of New York said he is “a little skeptical” that the Obama administration wants to find a compromise on the requirement that health plans for most religious employers cover contraceptives and sterilization free of charge. In an interview Feb. 9 with “CBS This Morning,” the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said he expressed his “disappointment and disapproval” when President Barack Obama called him Jan. 20 to... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In