Statement from Bishop Muench Regarding HHS Mandate

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I write to you concerning an alarming and serious matter that directly and negatively impacts the Church in the United States, striking at the fundamental right to religious liberty for all citizens of any faith.  The federal government, which claims to be “of, by and for the people,” has just dealt a heavy blow to almost a quarter of those people – the Catholic population – and to millions more served by the Catholic faithful.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees’ health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs and contraception.  Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those “services” in the health policies they write.  And almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of their policies.

In so ruling the federal administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our nation’s first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty.  As a result, unless the rule is overturned, we Catholics will be compelled to violate either our consciences, or to drop health coverage for our employees (and suffer the penalties for doing so).  The administration’s sole concession was to give our institutions one year to comply. read more...