Dickens, Lewis & Marquis would quickly realize Catholic bishops' crying "foul" over insuring birth control at affiliated universities and hospitals is a Giant Red Herring. Catholic cardinals as well as bishops are using "religious liberty" to drive a mack truck through so they won't have to report child sex abuse to secular authority... nor pay over $700 million in judgments that are on appeal. Don't take my word for it, take Cardinal Egan's word for his belief now, retracting his apology 10 years ago, that the Church has no obligation to report abuse cases.
The bishops are reasserting that Canon Law rules, not governments, to get Congress to overturn the Supreme Court's unanimous decision in United States vs. Lee, 455 U.S. 252 (1982).
Justice Burger, writing for a unimous Supreme Court: "Congress and the courts have been sensitive to the needs flowing from the Free Exercise Clause, but every person cannot be shielded from all the burdens incident to exercising every aspect of the right to practice religious beliefs. When followers of a particular sect enter into commercial activity as a matter of choice, the limits they accept on their own conduct as a matter of conscience and faith are not to be superimposed on the statutory schemes which are binding on others in that activity. Granting an exemption from social security taxes to an employer operates to impose the employer's religious faith on the employees."This isn't new stuff - these folks mean business! A year ago in March, the "Rights of Conscience Act" Bills were filed in the House & Senate (H.R.1179 and S.1467) and referred to Subcommittees on Health. The Catholic bishops are now spending $50 million on public relations using code words like "freedom of religion" and "religious liberty" ... with help from their long-time frienemies.
I figure taking the Catholic Bishops' argument to its ultimate conclusion means spending $2 billion/year to Catholic affiliated universities and hospitals could be viewed as a violation of the Establishment Clause. Then Bishops can tell their Catholic faithful to pay those costs out of their own pockets so they needn't worry about abiding by federal law. Hummm... pitting Catholics against Catholics??
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