Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the USCCB, released a
statement today responding to the proposed
changes to the HHS mandate that were announced by the Obama administration
last week. While laying out what he sees as problems with the new regulations
and insisting that the bishops will continue to “seek redress in the courts for as long as this is
necessary,” Dolan’s statement doesn’t offer a characterization of the proposed
changes and maintains a mostly positive tone. The USSCB press release on Dolan's statement says that new proposal “shows some movement by the
Administration but falls short of addressing U.S. bishops' concerns.”
Dolan’s full statement is below; the USCCB press release on
it is here.
Statement of Cardinal Timothy
Dolan Responding to Feb. 1 Proposal from HHS
For almost a century, the Catholic bishops of the
United States have worked hard to support the right of every person to
affordable, accessible, comprehensive, life-affirming healthcare. As we
continue to do so, our changeless values remain the same. We promote the
protection of the dignity of all human life and the innate rights that flow
from it, including the right to life from conception to natural death; care for
the poorest among us and the undocumented; the right of the Church to define
itself, its ministries, and its ministers; and freedom of conscience.
Last Friday, the Administration issued a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the HHS mandate that requires coverage for
sterilization and contraception, including drugs that may cause abortions. The
Administration indicates that it has heard some previously expressed concerns
and that it is open to dialogue. With release of the NPRM, the Administration
seeks to offer a response to serious matters which have been raised throughout
the past year. We look forward to engaging with the Administration, and all
branches and levels of government, to continue to address serious issues that
remain. Our efforts will require additional, careful study. Only in this way
can we best assure that healthcare for every woman, man and child is achieved
without harm to our first, most cherished freedom.
In evaluating Friday's action regarding the HHS
mandate, our reference remains the statement of our Administrative Committee
made last March, United for Religious Freedom, and
affirmed by the entire body of bishops in June 2012.
In that statement, we first expressed concern over
the mandate's "exceedingly narrow" four-part definition of
"religious employer," one that exempted our houses of worship, but
left "our great ministries of service to our neighbors, namely, the poor,
the homeless, the sick, the students in our schools and universities, and
others in need" subject to the mandate. This created "a 'second
class' of citizenship within our religious community," "weakening
[federal law's] healthy tradition of generous respect for religious freedom and
diversity." And the exemption effectuated this distinction by requiring
"among other things, [that employers] must hire and serve primarily those
of their own faith."
On Friday, the Administration proposed to drop the
first three parts of the four-part test. This might address the last of the
concerns above, but it seems not to address the rest. 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. And finally, it seems to take away something that we had
previously—the ability of an exempt employer (such as a diocese) to extend its
coverage to the employees of a ministry outside the exemption.
Second, United for Religious Freedom explained
that the religious ministries not deemed "religious employers" would
suffer the severe consequence of "be[ing] forced by government to violate
their own teachings within their very own institutions." After Friday, 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. In part 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. Here, too, we will continue to analyze the proposal
and to advocate for changes to the final rule that reflect these concerns.
Third, the bishops explained that the "HHS mandate
creates still a third class, those with no conscience protection at all: individuals
who, in their daily lives, strive constantly to act in accordance with their
faith and moral values." This includes employers sponsoring and
subsidizing the coverage, insurers writing it, and beneficiaries paying
individual premiums for it. Friday's action confirms that HHS has no intention
to provide any exemption or accommodation at all to this "third
class." In obedience to our Judeo-Christian heritage, we have consistently
taught our people to live their lives during the week to reflect the same
beliefs that they proclaim on the Sabbath. We cannot now abandon them to be
forced to violate their morally well-informed consciences.
Because the stakes are so high, we will not cease
from our effort to assure that healthcare for all does not mean freedom for
few. 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. 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.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York
February 7, 2013