HHS Final Rule Still Requires Action In Congress, By Courts, Says Cardinal Dolan

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' final rule on its mandate that requires employee health insurance for contraceptives, including abortion-causing drugs, and female sterilization does not appear, on first analysis, to eliminate "the need to continue defending our rights in Congress and the courts," Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York said July 3.

Cardinal Dolan issued the statement, after reviewing the ruling HHS made public June 28.

Cardinal Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, listed three areas of concern based on the March 2012 statement of the Administrative Committee, United for Religious Freedom: (1) the narrow definition of "religious employers" that are exempted, (2) the "accommodation" of religious ministries excluded from that definition, and (3) the treatment of businesses run by people who seek to operate their companies according to their religious principles.

"We are concerned as pastors with the freedom of the Church as a whole—not just for the full range of its institutional forms, but also for the faithful in their daily lives—to carry out the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ," Cardinal Dolan said.

A first concern with the definition of "religious employer," and the third concern with faithful business owners and other individuals, still have not been addressed at all.The second area of concern—the "accommodation" for religious charities, schools, hospitals, and other ministries of service—appears mostly the same, except for three relatively small changes that will require more time and analysis to evaluate.

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