Religious Liberty off the White House table

Friday, March 9th, 2012

Religious liberty is “off the table” at the White House, and Cardinal Timothy Dolan is urging his fellow bishops to “prepare for tough times”.

In a letter to all US Bishops, Dolan said at a recent meeting the White House officials told bishops conference staff that revisiting the mandate or broadening the contraception exemption in order to address “the broader concerns of religious freedom is off the table.

“The White House seems to think we bishops simply do not know or understand Catholic teaching,” Dolan said.

The newly elevated Cardinal said that religious freedom is therefore under attack and the bishops will not cease in the struggle to protect it.

“We did not ask for this fight, but we will not run from it,” Dolan said.

“We will not let this deception stand,” he said, adding that “the Church hardly needs to be lectured about health care for women” because, due largely to the work of religious sisters, the Church is “the largest private provider of health care for women” in the United States.

Although the bishops have accepted the president’s invitation to “work out the wrinkles,” the process “seems to be stalled,” Cardinal Dolan told his fellow bishops.

He stressed the importance of the unity of the bishops conference and the importance of finding other ways to fight the mandate.

Dolan said the bishops conference is preparing catechetical resources on the Church’s teaching on religious freedom, however also said that legal action maybe the best path and will offer the most light.

Sources