Concluding Points Before concluding this section on the public policy difficulties with contraceptive mandates, two final points must be made. The first concerns the possible misleading means by with the HHS mandate came about. The mandate arose from Recommendation 5.5 of the Women’s Preventive Services Committee of the Institute of …

August 9, 2012 Catholic News Service ANAHEIM, Calif. — Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson called the number of attendees at the Knights of Columbus 130th supreme convention in Anaheim “a testament to the growth and development” of the international fraternal organization.  

August 7, 2012 By Catholic News Service MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki joined other religious leaders in offering condolences and prayers to the people of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in suburban Oak Creek following an Aug. 5 shooting spree that left six of the temple’s members dead …

Legal Background The legal justification for mandated contraceptive coverage has its foundation in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In particular, mandate supporters cite Title VII of the act which prohibits discrimination against any person “with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s …

Adding greater complexity to the issue, in 2007 the same 8th Circuit Court of Appeals essentially rejected the revised EEOC guideline when it ruled in In re Union Pacific Railroad that refusing to provide contraceptive coverage did not violate either Title VII or the PDA. This court held that because …

[i] The full title is “Interim Final Rules for Group Health Plans and Heath Insurance Issuers Relating to the Coverage of Preventive Services Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” The Interim Rules were originally released in July 2010. [ii] The Interim Final Rules does contain a grandfather clause …

July 17, 2012 Catholic News Service CLEVELAND — Wiping sweat from his brow in the stifling heat, parishioner Wojtek Fleszar held up his rosary from atop the pulpit near the main altar of St. Casimir Church, under the mural depicting God as king of creation and Jesus as savior of …

June 28, 2012 Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 28 decision upholding the health reform law makes it even more urgent for Congress to act to fix the law’s “fundamental flaws” on abortion funding, conscience protection and immigrants’ access to health care, the U.S. bishops said.

June 26, 2012 Catholic News Service WASHINGTON — In what one observer called “the judicial equivalent of white smoke,” immigration advocates were largely happy with the June 25 Supreme Court ruling that struck down three key provisions of Arizona’s own immigration law.

June 20, 2012 Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Expressing his “deep concern” about terrorist violence in Nigeria, Pope Benedict XVI urged an end to “the shedding of the blood of so many innocent people.”