Obama Administration Versus The Catholic Church; US Council Of Bishops Continues Their Legal Fight Against The HHS And Religious Freedoms

Now that the election is over, the fight between Barack Obama and the Catholic Church is over - right?  Not so fast.

The United States Council of Catholic Bishops continues to uphold their stance that many of the tenements of Obamacare are a violation of their religious freedoms.  Central at the argument is the mandate by the Obama administration that Catholic employers - a wide umbrella that not only includes parishes, but also hospitals, schools, and social service agencies - provide contraception and abortion funding as part of the health insurance coverage they provide their employees;  This would place the church in a position in which it would be forced to pay and provide for services that exist in confrontation with their religious beliefs.

The fight continues in the courts - where the Catholic Church has been winning important albeit silent rulings.

In a recent decision on one of the lawsuits, a federal judge April 3 granted a Catholic-owned Minnesota company a reprieve from complying with the mandate until a permanent decision is reached on its implementation under the health care law.

Obama sought to pacify the situation prior to last falls' election with legal-ease.  Catholic leaders say that those proposals only amount to a veil.  Jane Belford - the chancellor of the archdiocese of Washington countered with this description:

Belford described the "accommodation" for nonexempt religious organizations -- whereby a third party could be used to cover the cost of contraceptive coverage -- "an accounting maneuver that likewise effects no substantive change to existing law." She said the new proposal "creates insurmountable administrative and logistical difficulties for organizations, such as the archdiocese and its affiliates that operate or participate in large self-insured plans that provide coverage for multiple affiliated employers."

Meanwhile, the HHS Mandate - commonly called Obamacare - continues to march forward towards it's mulch-tiered roll-out dates.

HHS lawsuits aim to 'secure religious freedom,' bishop says.