Court reinforces order blocking Pa. dioceses from HHS mandate requirement
…per employee per year, according to an HHS mandate Web page maintained by the Becket Fund, a law firm which has brought many of the lawsuits on behalf of religious…
Judges block expansion of religious exemptions to HHS mandate
…Health and Human Services’ requirement that most employers, including religious employers, cover contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs in their employee health plans. The mandate was put in place by HHS…
Groups settle in lawsuit against HHS contraceptive mandate
…Paula, California, one of the groups that fell under the Washington Archdiocese’s challenge of the HHS mandate to the Supreme Court, similarly thanked the law firm Jones Day for representing…
Church leaders welcome leaked HHS draft lifting contraceptive mandate
…where he signed the executive order, said the order “begins the process of alleviating the serious burden of the HHS mandate,” but he also stressed that the U.S. bishops will…
Trump administration expands exemptions on contraceptive mandate
…to having to fill out the form. The HHS mandate has undergone numerous legal challenges from religious organizations, including the Little Sisters of the Poor and Priests for Life. A…
Trump administration expands exemptions on contraceptive mandate
…the contraceptive mandate in recent years, which he described as an “unnecessary culture war fight.” Rienzi, noted that the HHS rule could have eliminated the contraceptive mandate completely but it…
Oral arguments heard in suits on religious exemption to mandate
…half a decade to correct the serious injustice caused by the HHS mandate.” “We expect and pray that the courts reviewing this decision will uphold the government’s new regulations that…
At closing Mass, people encouraged to pray, act for religious freedom
…HHS secretary. A group of Little Sisters of the Poor — whose religious order also challenged the mandate — sat in a pew near the front of the congregation and…
Court rules in favor of employer exemptions to contraceptive coverage
…from the contraceptive mandate. HHS provided this exemption in 2018, but several states challenged it, including California, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, saying HHS didn’t have the power to give this…
Religious liberty ‘rooted in dignity of human person,’ says archbishop
…to violate their consciences. “The HHS mandate greatly alarmed the bishops because it would require people of faith to make an impossible choice between paying extraordinary fines or violating the…
USCCB President’s statement on executive order
…J. Trump’s executive order: “Today’s Executive Order begins the process of alleviating the serious burden of the HHS mandate. We will engage with the Administration to ensure that adequate relief…
Notre Dame community reacts to controversy over contraceptive coverage
…the Obamacare abortifacient/contraceptive mandate.” The lawyers also cited the sworn testimony of Affleck-Graves, saying: “He described with considerable eloquence how the (HHS) mandate required actions contrary to the conscience of…
Divided court reexamines insurance coverage of contraceptives
…U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to write a comprehensive exemption to benefit religious ministries, including the Little Sisters of the Poor, from the contraceptive mandate. HHS provided this…
Church leaders view religious freedom order as positive step
…the order. In a statement issued after the order was signed, Cardinal DiNardo said the executive order “begins the process of alleviating the serious burden of the HHS mandate,” referring…
HHS urged to reissue rules to enforce required notice on abortion coverage
…of Congress who have signed an open letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar asking for the new regulations. “Obamacare’s abortion surcharge is practically invisible to consumers,” said Rep. Chris Smith,…
Supreme Court term ends with rulings on same-sex marriage, execution drugs, health care subsidies, more
…HHS mandate shield In a June 29 order, the Supreme Court continued to shield several Pennsylvania religious institutions from having to provide employees with health care coverage that includes contraceptives….
LCWR head says new era of communion with Vatican closes ‘cultural chasm’
…for the Doctrine of the Faith’s mandate for reform of LCWR recommended removal of the “Systems Thinking Handbook” from the group’s website. Sister Sharon said the handbook, which was rarely…
Federal judge halts Trump administration conscience protection rule
…In his 147-page opinion, Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, ordered HHS to vacate the rule, “Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights…
Door to door: Pope reaffirms missionaries’ mandate to knock on hearts
…mandate, which temporarily had been extended past the jubilee year, to continue indefinitely. “We must truly recognize that God’s mercy knows no limits and with your ministry you are concrete…
Christians have moral mandate to fight racism, populism, say speakers
…migrations.” Christian communities, he said, have a “moral and prophetic mandate” to seek out “constructive and effective ways to oppose xenophobia, racism and populist nationalism.” “All churches and their members…
Dioceses, other groups file suit over New York state abortion mandates
…to the “model language” mandate. In the undisclosed mandate, plaintiffs charge, abortion coverage “is encrypted in health insurance contracts under the rubric of ‘medically necessary’ surgery. This hidden coverage was…
Bishops urge renewed dedication to efforts to protect religious liberty
…for several years, but now under the Trump administration, an HHS rule has been proposed to exempt religious employers from the requirement. She also noted a transgender mandate that took…
LCWR speaker says times call for ‘partnerships, companions in mission’
…what led to an agreeable conclusion this spring to the Vatican’s doctrinal assessment of LCWR and mandate for reform. “Our greatest desire now is that the positive outcome of these…
March for Life in January will emphasize ‘pro-life is pro-science’
…stem cells, not those taken from aborted babies. On Sept. 24, HHS announced that it had it had terminated a contract between the Food and Drug Administration and Advanced Bioscience…
Judge Neil Gorsuch nominated to fill Supreme Court vacancy
…has strong views on religious liberty. He sided with the Little Sisters of the Poor in their challenge of the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act. And in Hobby…
Objections raised over Notre Dame’s new change on contraceptive coverage
…health plans. In October, Father Jenkins joined other Catholic leaders in praising a decision by the Trump administration to expand the religious exemption to an Obama-era mandate that all employers…
Catholic Lawyers Guild enhances faith, educates on key issues
…exceptions to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Mandate requiring private health insurance plans to include coverage for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, surgical sterilizations and abortion-inducing drugs….
Learning, leadership, sacredness all part of Catholic Daughters convention
…from being used to fund the abortion industry worldwide. The HHS (Health and Human Services) mandate that forced Little Sisters of the Poor and others to provide contraception, abortion and…
Evangelizing, energizing
…document to study in order to develop a clearer understanding of evangelization. The mandate given to the church by Christ is to “proclaim the Gospel to every creature,” Sister Ellen…
Other RFRA debates quieter, but history of laws has been roller coaster
…the court said Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties need not comply with a federal mandate to include a full range of contraceptives in employee health insurance. Both companies’ owners…
