From Matt
Smith, President
Catholic
Advocate
The 60-day comment period for the Health and Human Services
(HHS) mandate came to a close on Monday.
But the Obama administration announced that the free contraception mandate will go into effect in August before the deadline! HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Monday, "As of Aug. 1, 2013, every employee who doesn't work directly for a church or a diocese will be included in the benefit package."
According to Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, "in our Catholic tradition, the right to religious freedom proceeds from the inherent dignity of each human person." This is why Catholic Advocate has done so much over the past three years to alert people of faith to the Obama administration's assault on religious liberty and lobby Congress to pass conscience protection legislation. So today I want to take a moment to highlight some of the formal comments issued by Catholic organizations. I believe you'll not only find these comments interesting, but a source of hope that we haven't lost this battle yet.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Anthony R. Picarello, Jr., Associate General Secretary & General Counsel
Michael F. Moss, Associate General Counsel
But the Obama administration announced that the free contraception mandate will go into effect in August before the deadline! HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Monday, "As of Aug. 1, 2013, every employee who doesn't work directly for a church or a diocese will be included in the benefit package."
According to Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, "in our Catholic tradition, the right to religious freedom proceeds from the inherent dignity of each human person." This is why Catholic Advocate has done so much over the past three years to alert people of faith to the Obama administration's assault on religious liberty and lobby Congress to pass conscience protection legislation. So today I want to take a moment to highlight some of the formal comments issued by Catholic organizations. I believe you'll not only find these comments interesting, but a source of hope that we haven't lost this battle yet.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Anthony R. Picarello, Jr., Associate General Secretary & General Counsel
Michael F. Moss, Associate General Counsel
"...Under the current proposal, no exemption of
accommodation is available at all for the vast majority of individual or
institutional stakeholders with religious or moral objections contraceptive
coverage. Virtually all Americans who enroll in a health plan will ultimately
be required to have contraceptive coverage for themselves and their dependents,
whether they want it or not. Likewise, unless it qualifies as a "religious
employer," every organization that offers a health plan to its employees
(including many religious organizations) will be required to fund or facilitate
contraceptive coverage, whether or not the employer or its employees object to
such coverage. This requirement to fund or facilitate produces a serious moral
problem for these stakeholders. We have raised all these issues
previously..."
"...The Administration continues to exclude from the definition of "religious employer" a wide array of organizations that undeniably are "religious" and undeniably "employ" people. Just as before the NPRM, most Catholic ministries of service—such as Catholic hospitals, charities, and schools—are deemed not to be "religious employers" and therefore remain subject to the mandate. By its own admission, the NPRM's change to the definition of "religious employer" will "not expand the universe of employer plans that would qualify for the exemption beyond that which was intended in the 2012 final rules." 78 Fed. Reg. at 8461. The exemption was too narrow before the NPRM, and having changed only slightly in scope, it remains too narrow. Instead, the definition of "religious employer" should include all bona fide religious employers..."
"...The Administration continues to exclude from the definition of "religious employer" a wide array of organizations that undeniably are "religious" and undeniably "employ" people. Just as before the NPRM, most Catholic ministries of service—such as Catholic hospitals, charities, and schools—are deemed not to be "religious employers" and therefore remain subject to the mandate. By its own admission, the NPRM's change to the definition of "religious employer" will "not expand the universe of employer plans that would qualify for the exemption beyond that which was intended in the 2012 final rules." 78 Fed. Reg. at 8461. The exemption was too narrow before the NPRM, and having changed only slightly in scope, it remains too narrow. Instead, the definition of "religious employer" should include all bona fide religious employers..."
Knights of Columbus
Carl A. Anderson, Supreme Knight
...The newest proposed rules change some minor details but
the critical moral and Constitutional offense remains the same. Individuals and
entities that object to paying for abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and
sterilization must pay for these interventions either directly or indirectly,
and they must initiate coverage for these interventions, either directly or
indirectly. The Mandate specifically fails to exempt individuals, even though
the First Amendment expressly protects individual religious belief and
practice. The government places itself in the untenable position of deciding
that some consciences are fit for protections, while others are not.
Our Church teaches that, "[n]obody may be forced to act against his convictions, nor is anyone to be restrained from acting in accordance with his conscience in religious matters in private or in public, alone or in association with others, within due limits." This teaching on human freedom flows not from a hoped-for tolerance of religious belief by state, but rather from the dignity of each human being, who is bound to seek the truth and to hold it as he comes to know it. To require a person to violate his conscience, then, is to require him to surrender not only his rights, but also his dignity."
Our Church teaches that, "[n]obody may be forced to act against his convictions, nor is anyone to be restrained from acting in accordance with his conscience in religious matters in private or in public, alone or in association with others, within due limits." This teaching on human freedom flows not from a hoped-for tolerance of religious belief by state, but rather from the dignity of each human being, who is bound to seek the truth and to hold it as he comes to know it. To require a person to violate his conscience, then, is to require him to surrender not only his rights, but also his dignity."
Pennsylvania Catholic Health Association
Sister Clare Christi Schiefer, OSF, President
"...PCHA
urges that employers, charitable, health care and educational facilities,
insurers and individuals with religious or moral objections be excluded from
the mandate. The assault on religion mounted by this mandate is staggering. It
is time for the mandate to be amended to shed the bias against the very
ministries created to advance Christ's gospel values. Finally, PCHA urges
removal of the inclusion of prescription contraception including
abortifacients, surgical sterilization and counseling from the list of
preventive services..."
No comments:
Post a Comment