“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?” (2 James: 14). The bishops correctly point out that the work of the Church in her public ministries is inseparable from the life of faith.
Throughout the past year, we have been assured by the Administration that we will not have to refer, pay for, or negotiate for the mandated coverage.We remain eager for the Administration to fulfill that pledge and to find acceptable solutions—we will affirm any genuine progress that is made, and we will redouble our efforts to overcome obstacles or setbacks,” said Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), in a February 7 statement. “Thus, we welcome and will take seriously the Administration’s invitation to submit our concerns through formal comments, and we will do so in the hope that an acceptable solution can be found that respects the consciences of all.At the same time, we will continue to stand united with brother bishops, religious institutions, and individual citizens who seek redress in the courts for as long as this is necessary.”
He listed three key areas of concern: the narrow understanding of a religious ministry; compelling church ministries to fund and facilitate services such as contraceptives, including abortion-inducing drugs, and sterilization that violate Catholic teaching; and disregard of the conscience rights of for-profit business owners. These are the same concerns articulated by the USCCB Administrative Committee in its March 2012 statement, United for Religious Freedom.
Cardinal Dolan said the new proposal seemed to address one part of the church’s concern over the definition of a church ministry but stressed that “the Administration’s proposal maintains its inaccurate distinction among religious ministries.
“It appears to offer second-class status to our first-class institutions in Catholic health care, Catholic education and Catholic charities. HHS offers what it calls an ‘accommodation’ rather than accepting the fact that these ministries are integral to our church and worthy of the same exemption as our Catholic churches.”
Cardinal Dolan highlighted problems with the proposed “accommodation.”
“It appears that the government would require all employees in our ‘accommodated’ ministries to have the illicit coverage—they may not opt out, nor even opt out for their children—under a separate policy,” he said.
He also noted that “because of gaps in the proposed regulations, it is still unclear how directly these separate policies would be funded by objecting ministries, and what precise role those ministries would have in arranging for these separate policies. Thus, there remains the possibility that ministries may yet be forced to fund and facilitate such morally illicit activities.”
Indented Content Excerpted From: http://www.usccb.org/news/2013/13-037.cfm
Dear Editor:
As a contributor to the National Catholic Reporter has indicated, Cardinal Dolan risks alienating millions of Catholics by not accepting what tthe Obams Administration has offered. Furher, as I have argued in the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly (forthcoming issue), the bishops position fails to view health care benefits in a balanced way and loooks upon them as 19th-century plantation owners did. Since employees contribute to these benefits, what they cover in terms of treatments and services should be decided collaboratively, and the values and beliefs of all should be respected. Surely, such a respectful approach would enhance the reputation of “Catholic” employers, whereas the current system in which the beliefs and values of non-Catholics are ignored or violated simply perpetuates the narrowminded, intolerant image of Catholics in USA
Dr. Michael E. Allsopp
Professor of Philosophy
Mercy College of Health Sciences
Des Moines, IA 50309
Dr. Allsopp seems to suggest that the bishops’ policy should be directed, in part, toward improving the image of American Catholics. Perhaps that’s not what he meant to say. But if that was indeed his meaning, his suggestion strikes me as odd. The bishops are duty-bound to imitate Christ; I have difficulty believing that Christ’s actions were directed, even in part, toward securing a good image for himself.