Washington D.C., Feb 9, 2012 / 03:01 am
Despite rumors of a compromise on the government's controversial contraception mandate, the White House has not offered any concessions to the U.S. bishops’ conference and has not contacted them about possible negotiations.
Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn. told CNA in a Feb. 8 statement that “no one from the Administration has approached the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops for discussions on this matter of a possible ‘compromise.’”
Bishop Lori, who chairs the bishops’ committee for religious liberty, maintained that “the only acceptable solution to the HHS mandate is for the Administration to rescind completely the mandate to cover abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception.”
He stressed that no organization or employer should “be compelled to pay for, provide for, or to refer others in any way to ‘services’ which violate their consciences.”