Catholic groups file suit over HHS birth control mandate
Dozens of Catholic universities  dioceses and other institutions filed lawsuits in courts around the country on Monday (May 21) in a coordinated effort  spearheaded by the U.S. hierarchy and Catholic conservatives  to overturn the Obama administration’s contraception mandate plan.
“This filing is about the freedom of a religious organization to live its mission  and its significance goes well beyond any debate about contraceptives ” said Notre Dame’s president  the Rev. John Jenkins  who famously awarded President Obama an honorary degree in 2009 despite anger from U.S. bishops.
The Obama administration and its allies  including some Catholic groups  reject those assertions and say a proposed compromise to the mandate effectively bypasses any entanglement in birth control coverage by faith-based groups.
In addition  the part of the mandate that deals with religious groups does not go into effect for more than a year  and the Obama administration is currently processing feedback from Catholic groups — including many who filed lawsuits — on how to accommodate their concerns in the final regulation.
While the lawsuits effectively raise the pressure on  the Obama administration  in the ongoing negotiations — while raising the profile of the hierarchy’s religious liberty campaign this summer — the filings also prompted questions about how united the hierarchy is in challenging  the Obama administration  on the contraception mandate.
Dozens of Catholic universities  dioceses and other institutions filed lawsuits in courts around the country on Monday (May 21) in a coordinated effort  spearheaded by the U.S. hierarchy and Catholic conservatives  to overturn the [TGT] administration’s contraception mandate plan.
“This filing is about the freedom of a religious organization to live its mission  and its significance goes well beyond any debate about contraceptives ” said Notre Dame’s president  the Rev. John Jenkins  who famously awarded [TGT] an honorary degree in 2009 despite anger from U.S. bishops.
The [TGT] administration and its allies  including some Catholic groups  reject those assertions and say a proposed compromise to the mandate effectively bypasses any entanglement in birth control coverage by faith-based groups.
In addition  the part of the mandate that deals with religious groups does not go into effect for more than a year  and the [TGT] administration is currently processing feedback from Catholic groups — including many who filed lawsuits — on how to accommodate their concerns in the final regulation.
While the lawsuits effectively raise the pressure on  the [TGT] administration  in the ongoing negotiations — while raising the profile of the hierarchy’s religious liberty campaign this summer — the filings also prompted questions about how united the hierarchy is in challenging  the [TGT] administration  on the contraception mandate.