from the list of tax-exempt non-profits that a citizen can work for in order to have the government forgive the student’s college loan. Read all about in the Washington Post On Faith blog. Here’s an excerpt: Are clergy and teachers of religious faith/thought public servants? Is their work on par with that of others who work for 501c3 non-for-profit groups and for government agencies? It used to be, but as of January 31st, the federal government has changed its mind... Read more
That’s the title of a well-reasoned article published in the March 2012 issue of First Things. Authored by the University of St. Thomas Law School professor Robert K. Vischer, here’s how it begins: The law in several states now requires pro-life pharmacists to dispense the morning-after pill, Christian adoption agencies to place children with same-sex couples, and religious entities to pay for their employees’ contraceptives. The list of such violations of religious freedom keeps growing, along with the insistence that... Read more
David Rivkin and Ed Whelan write in the Wall Street Journal (15 February 2012): Last Friday, the White House announced that it would revise the controversial ObamaCare birth-control mandate to address religious-liberty concerns. Its proposed modifications are a farce. The Department of Health and Human Services would still require employers with religious objections to select an insurance company to provide contraceptives and drugs that induce abortions to its employees. The employers would pay for the drugs through higher premiums. For... Read more
Do religious-based organizations, such as Catholic hospitals and universities, and businesses owned by devout religious believers including Catholics, Evangelicals, Orthodox Jews, and Muslims, have the right under Obamacare to negotiate an agreement with an insurance company so that the insurance policy the employer offers to its employees does not include contraception, abortion, sterilization, etc.? Does an entrepreneur under Obamacare have a right to create an insurance company that in fact meets the needs of such employers? If the answer to... Read more
Over at Public Discourse, Matthew J. Franck, the Director of the William E. and Carol G. Simon Center on Religion and the Constitution of the Witherspoon Institute, has published a clear and informative account of why President Obama’s HHS accommodation is deeply flawed. What I like about Franck’s essay is that he addresses some of the objections raised by some defenders of the accommodations on this blog and elsewhere. Here’s an excerpt: As I say, non-religious Americans will not be able... Read more
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia had this to say in this morning’s Philadelphia Inquirer: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services refused on Jan. 20 to broaden the exception to its mandate that nearly all Catholic employers must cover contraception, abortifacients, and sterilization in their health-care plans. An “accommodation” offered Friday by the White House did not solve the problem. Instead, it triggered withering criticism from legal scholars such as Notre Dame’s Carter Snead, Harvard’s Mary Ann Glendon,... Read more
The following is an open letter authored by Francis Cardinal George, the Catholic Archbishop of Chicago. It is addressed to the Catholics of his diocese: Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: I write to you concerning a most serious matter that negatively impacts the church in the United States directly, and that strikes at the fundamental right to religious liberty for all citizens of any faith. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced on Jan. 20 that almost... Read more
The Whispers in the Loggia blog (WITL) has obtained a bishops-only internal briefing that was circulated soon after President Obama’s announcement of his HHS regulation “compromise.” According to WITL, what follows “is the text of tonight’s internal, bishops-only briefing, obtained by Whispers and signed by the aforementioned quintet: the conference president, Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan of New York, and the bench’s committee chairs for Pro-Life Activities, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston; Doctrine, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington; Domestic Policy, Bishop Stephen Blaire of... Read more
Here’s the text: Bishops Renew Call To Legislative Action On Religious Liberty February 10, 2012 Regulatory changes limited and unclear Rescission of mandate only complete solution Continue urging passage of Respect for Rights of Conscience Act WASHINGTON – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have issued the following statement: The Catholic bishops have long supported access to life-affirming healthcare for all, and the conscience rights of everyone involved in the complex process of providing that healthcare. That is... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In