Posted on 06/18/2012 1:07:36 PM PDT by marshmallow
The Catholic Health Association's president calls for a broader religious exemption.
WASHINGTON — In a striking reversal with unpredictable political consequences, President Barack Obama’s most powerful ally in his fight with the U.S. bishops over the contraception mandate has reversed herself.
In a five-page letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, dated June 15, Sister Carol Keehan, the president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association (CHA), registered her opposition to the federal law requiring co-pay-free contraception, abortion drugs and sterilization for all private employer health plans.
“The more we learn, the more it appears that the ... approaches for both insured and self-insured plans would be unduly cumbersome and would be unlikely to adequately meet the religious-liberty concerns of all of our members and other Church ministries,” stated the letter, which was signed by Sister Carol and two other CHA board members.
“[I]t is imperative for the administration to abandon the narrow definition of ‘religious employer’ and instead use an expanded definition to exempt from the contraceptive mandate not only churches, but also Catholic hospitals, health-care organizations and other ministries of the Church.”
The Obama administration had no immediate comment, but a Washington Post article on the late-breaking story underscored the significance of Sister Carol’s unexpected reversal:
“As the largest private health-care provider in the nation, overseeing a network of hundreds of hospitals and medical facilities, the CHA is a critical player in health-care issues. Many accused Keehan of showing the White House more deference than she did the hierarchy.”
(Excerpt) Read more at ncregister.com ...
Course correction or attempt to save face? With all charity, I can’t help but lean toward the latter.
This is actually a poison pill and is almost worse than their first position. She is actually using the IRS definition of religious organization, which would effectively exclude most Catholic colleges and institutions from qualifying as Catholic and therefore would force them to accept Obamacare.
The bishops need to call her on this. She has simply found a more devious way of supporting Obamacare.
I think the rebuke of the women religious may have opened her eyes a litte and prompted a, shall we say, “come to Jesus” response.
Carol squirms with but days left before the SC likely puts this to rest. She has no problem being against the Church but doesn’t want to be on the wrong side of the great Court.
a man in a red pointy hat got her mind right, apparently
First a qualifier: My father was Catholic as is my wife. I reside in Western NY and in this very dumbocrap, union infested area, the Catholic church is so damned socialist they are hard to take seriously and it is easy to experience a little Schadenfreude when they step into some real crap.
They JUMPED into bed with our Marxist President on Health Care and now all of a sudden found out they were just used.
Well WNY Catholics (I cannot hold an informed opinion in other areas of the country) when you lay down with dogs you get fleas and you got what you deserved.
Ironically and sadly, the Catholic Church has an excellent health care system in Western NY with numerous hospitals in the area and those hospitals will be controlled by the communists who now want to force birth control/abortion down their throats.
The Bishops must have talked to Sister Carol a second time.
Last warning?
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