Roman Catholic Bishops and Obama

From Time, by Amy Sullivan:

To the average outside observer, the issues in Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC seem genuinely thorny, pitting the desire to protect religious freedom against the desire to prevent discrimination. But to many religious conservatives, the case–in which the Justice Department has filed a brief arguing for a narrow definition of the “ministerial exception”–is further evidence of the Obama Administration’s war on religious liberty.

Come again, you say? While you may not have heard much about this charge against the President, you surely will over the next year. Heading into this election season, the U.S. Catholic bishops are making defense of religious liberty their signature issue. Last week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops launched an Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty to act as a watchdog to combat what the bishops say is an “assault” on religious freedom by the Obama administration. Religious liberty is the only specific issue scheduled for discussion next month at the bishops’ annual meeting. In announcing the formation of this new committee, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York said, “Never before have we faced this kind of challenge to our ability to engage in the public square as people of faith and as a service provider. If we do not act now, the consequence will be grave.”

In addition to the Supreme Court case, which the USCCB describes as an “attack on the critically important ‘ministerial exception,’” the bishops identify the administration’s efforts to challenge the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act as a threat to religious liberty. But the issue that has really rallied them against Obama is the proposed HHS rule that would require insurers to cover contraception.