The Busy Catholic

Catholic voters urged to press US government to rescind HHS mandate

It will be up to Catholic voters to convince the federal government to rescind a recent decision by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to go forward with a mandate that all health insurance plans cover contraceptives and sterilization free of charge, said Archbishop Charles J. Chaput.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia greets Dominican Sister Mary Sarah Galbraith at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 26 after she was installed as the new president of Aquinas College during a Mass of investiture. 

"Bishops can't tell politicians what to do, but Catholic voters can," the Philadelphia archbishop said during a visit to Nashville. Political leaders respond to pressure from citizens, he added, and Catholics ought to demand respect for religious values.

Archbishop Chaput joined fellow bishops in urging Catholics in the pew to be more politically active.

"The very principle of religious freedom, the first freedom in the Bill of Rights, is at stake here," he said. "That's a lot to be at stake. Once it's lost, you don't get it back."

The archbishop celebrated a Mass of investiture at Nashville's Cathedral of the Incarnation Jan. 26 for Dominican Sister Mary Sarah Galbraith as the new president of Aquinas College, which is owned and operated by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation. At the Mass, she was formally installed in the post she has held since last summer.

See The B.C. Catholic for more information.