Print friendly
This weekend would be an ideal time for the leaders of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to reconsider the political strategy they have adopted in their fight against the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate.
In their bid to undo that offensive mandate, the bishops could theoretically look for help from each branch of the US government: executive, legislative, and judicial. But in the course of this week they have received very clear signs that two of those roads are already closed.
- The executive branch–the Obama administration–has portrayed orthodox Catholics as extremists and thus to exacerbate divisions within the Church in America.
- The US Senate defeated a bid to enact the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act, the bishops’ preferred legislative remedy to the mandate. The bill could be brought up for a vote again under more favorable circumstances, but even if a few senators change their votes and the bill gains approval, it is exceedingly unlikely that the margin of victory will be enough to overcome a presidential veto. Since we can be sure that President Obama would veto this legislation, it’s time to face facts: there will be no legislative solution.
True, the USCCB can still hope for help from the judiciary. Cardinal Dolan rightly notes that the courts may be the best bet to overturn the mandate–and perhaps the entirety of the Obama health-care plan. If the Supreme Court rules that Obamacare is unconstitutional, the problem will disappear. But if the courts let the legislation stand, the bishops are out of options.
Or are they?
Continue reading: US bishops need a new strategy against Obama mandate
Image: About Catholicism
Related Posts:
News category: Features.
