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U.S. Catholic bishops oppose Obama birth-control plan (Reuters)

Editor - Religion News — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 23:19:33 +0000

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Catholic Church leaders said they will fight President Barack Obama’s controversial birth-control insurance coverage policy despite his compromise that religious employers would not have to offer free contraceptives for workers, shifting the responsibility to insurers.

In an abrupt policy shift aimed at trying to end a growing election-year firestorm, Obama on Friday announced the compromise.

But the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said its concerns were not addressed and cited “serious moral concerns.”

In a statement issued Friday evening, the bishops said Obama’s proposal “continues to involve needless government intrusion in the internal governance of religious institutions, and to threaten government coercion of religious people and groups to violate their most deeply held convictions.”

“We will therefore continue – with no less vigor, no less sense of urgency – our efforts to correct this problem through the other two branches of government,” the bishops said in urging Congress to take

Under fire, Obama adjusts his birth control policy (AP)

Editor - Religion News — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:20:31 +0000

WASHINGTON – Under fierce election-year fire, President Barack Obama on Friday abruptly abandoned his stand that religious organizations must pay for birth control for workers, scrambling to end a furor raging from the Catholic Church to Congress to his re-election foes. He demanded that insurance companies step in to provide the coverage instead.

Obama’s compromise means ultimately that women would still get birth control without having to pay for it, no matter where they work. The president insisted he had stuck by that driving principle even in switching his approach, and the White House vehemently rejected any characterization that Obama had retreated under pressure.

Yet there was no doubt that Obama had found himself in an untenable position. He needed to walk back fast and find another route to his goal.

The controversy over contraception and religious liberty was overshadowing his agenda, threatening to alienate key voters and giving ammunition to the Republicans

Can birth-control flap rekindle ‘repeal ObamaCare’ crusade? (The Christian Science Monitor)

Editor - Religion News — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:20:28 +0000

Washington – President Obama’s scramble to revise a controversial health-care mandate eased, but did not end, a sharp clash with Roman Catholic Church leaders that spread to Capitol Hill and beyond.

The fix, announced Friday, shifted the costs of paying for employee birth-control coverage from church-affiliated employers, whose opposition to birth control is a matter of church teaching, to insurance companies.nbsp;

But it may not go far enough to satisfy church leaders or Republicans, who see the surge in support for religious freedom as an opening to overturn the president’s signature health-care reform.

RECOMMENDED: Health-care reform 101 – what the bill means to you

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) – reportedly blindsided by the Obama administration’s initial mandate, announced on Jan. 20 – called the White House revision “a first step in the right direction,” but not more.

“While there may be an openness to respond to some of our concerns, we reserve

Obama shift seeks to defuse birth-control fight (Reuters)

Editor - Religion News — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:20:28 +0000

(Reuters) – President Barack Obama, in an abrupt policy shift aimed at quelling an election-year firestorm, announced on Friday that religious employers would not be required to offer free birth control to workers and the onus would instead be put on insurers.

But Catholic Church leaders and Obama’s Republican opponents, who had railed against the Democratic president’s new rule on contraceptives as a violation of religious freedom, signaled that divisions remain over the hot-button social issue.

The compromise by the Obama administration sought to accommodate religious organizations, such as Catholic hospitals and universities, outraged by a new rule that would have required them to offer free contraceptive coverage to women employees.

Instead, the new approach puts the burden on insurance companies, ordering them to provide workers at religious-affiliated institutions with free family planning if they request it, without involving their employer at all, the White House said.

“Religious liberty will be protected, and a

Under fire, Obama adjusts his birth control policy (AP)

Editor - Religion News — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:20:25 +0000

Yet there was no doubt that Obama had found himself in an untenable position. He needed to walk back fast and find another route to his goal.

The controversy over contraception and religious liberty was overshadowing his agenda, threatening to alienate key voters and giving ammunition to the Republicans

First lady fixes on must-dos prior to election run (AP)

Editor - Religion News — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:20:24 +0000

LONGWOOD, Fla. – Gearing up for a tough political season ahead, Michelle Obama said Saturday she’s trying to get as much done as possible before the general election campaign starts to drown out everything else.

“It’s sort of like working before vacation — only it’s not a vacation,” she said in an interview with a handful of reporters. “It’s that same notion of `How much time do we have? What do I have to do?’”

The first lady said she’s also reminding herself not to take things personally once the rough-and-tumble of the campaign gets going.

“Things are different in a campaign environment,” she said. “It’s a competition. Things are said. You just take it one day at a time.”

The first lady said she’ll devote three days a week to politics once the campaign is in full swing, but she wants to continue working on her signature issues of fighting childhood obesity and

Can birth-control flap rekindle ‘repeal ObamaCare’ crusade? (The Christian Science Monitor)

Editor - Religion News — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:20:20 +0000

But it may not go far enough to satisfy church leaders or Republicans, who see the surge in support for religious freedom as an opening to overturn the president’s signature health-care reform.

RECOMMENDED: Health-care reform 101 – what the bill means to you

“While there may be an openness to respond to some of our concerns, we reserve

First lady fixes on must-dos prior to election run (AP)

Editor - Religion News — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:20:14 +0000

The first lady said she’s also reminding herself not to take things personally once the rough-and-tumble of the campaign gets going.

“Things are different in a campaign environment,” she said. “It’s a competition. Things are said. You just take it one day at a time.”

The first lady said she’ll devote three days a week to politics once the campaign is in full swing, but she wants to continue working on her signature issues of fighting childhood obesity and

Obama shift seeks to defuse birth-control fight (Reuters)

Editor - Religion News — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:19:26 +0000

“Religious liberty will be protected, and a

Under fire, Obama adjusts his birth control policy (AP)

Editor - Religion News — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:19:22 +0000

WASHINGTON – Under fierce election-year fire, President Barack Obama on Friday abruptly abandoned his stand that religious organizations must pay for free birth control for workers, scrambling to end a furor raging from the Catholic Church to Congress to his re-election foes. He demanded that insurance companies step in to provide the coverage instead.

Yet there was no doubt that Obama had found himself in an untenable position. He needed to walk back fast and find another route to his goal.

The controversy over contraception and religious liberty was overshadowing his agenda, threatening to alienate key voters and giving ammunition to the