"With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear,” said Biden during the Oct. 11 debate in Danville, Ky.

“No religious institution—Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital—none has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide,” he argued. “That is a fact.”

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The Link...

www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/bishops-say-biden-made-inaccurate-mandate-statement/



“This is not a fact,” responded the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in an Oct. 12 statement.

The bishops’ conference criticized Biden’s remarks on the federal contraception mandate, calling them “inaccurate.”

Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan responded by saying, “Now I have to take issue with the Catholic Church and religious liberty. If they agree with you, then why would they (dioceses and other Catholic institutions) keep suing you? It’s a distinction without a difference.”

Issued under the authority of the Affordable Care Act, the controversial mandate requires employers to offer health insurance that covers contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs.

In recent months, more than 100 plaintiffs – including both Catholic and non-Catholic universities, charitable organizations and private businesses – have filed lawsuits challenging the mandate, arguing that it infringes upon their constitutional right to free exercise of religion.

Ryan raised the issue of the mandate during the debate while answering a question about the Catholic faith shared by both contenders. Ryan said that the mandate “troubles” him because it threatens religious freedom.

In responding to Biden’s claims, the bishops’ conference emphasized that the mandate includes only a narrow exemption for religious employers. The exemption applies only to non-profit organizations that exist primarily for the inculcation of religious values and both employ and serve primarily members of their own faith.

Therefore, the conference said, any religious charities, hospitals and social agencies that serve all people of any faith – including Georgetown Hospital and the other organizations named by Biden – are not covered by the exemption, which was finalized in February 2012.

The bishops’ conference also underscored that while the administration has proposed an additional “accommodation” for these non-exempt religious organizations, the proposal “does not even potentially relieve these organizations.”

The accommodation, which is still in its preliminary stages, offers a series of suggestions to relieve non-religious organizations from funding the controversial coverage if they object to it, while still including the coverage as part of the plans.

However, critics say the suggestions all amount to an accounting gimmick, because they would still require the objecting organizations to pay for the coverage indirectly, through necessarily increased premiums.

The bishops’ conference argued that under the proposed schemes religious organizations “will have to serve as a vehicle, because they will still be forced to provide their employees with health coverage, and that coverage will still have to include sterilization, contraception, and abortifacients.”

“They will have to pay for these things, because the premiums that the organizations (and their employees) are required to pay will still be applied, along with other funds, to cover the cost of these drugs and surgeries,” it added.

The bishops’ conference said that it continues to ask the Obama administration “in the strongest possible terms” to take action that truly removes “the various infringements on religious freedom imposed by the mandate.”

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The Catholic church would be better of removing their consistant freedom of hiding the many pedophile priests from having access to little boys. Talk about hypocracy.

You right about that and Biden is a liar, no?

I thought it was common knowledge that both candidates got some of their 'facts' wrong in the debate

like in every debate before it,,,,

He now been officially bich-slapped by da' church.

I just hope, whoever gets elected, that America rises to it's former glory.

Nice attempt at spin, but it won't work.

did I say something untrue?

was there a debate Im unaware of where neither candidate got a single fact wrong (preferrably called by some 'lying')?

Please try to stay on topic.
and use spell check.

It appears to me that you are downplaying what Vice President Biden said, as if it is no big deal. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops thinks it's a big deal.

Im not sure which glory it is, but I too hope america does well,,,

well, I guess Im not a catholic bishop

just a voter tired of the back and forth nitpicking like there is any one side that never gets anything wrong

Its not off topic at all, its just that the post clearly disturbed you. By the way you misspelled "yo quedo taco bell" its actually "yo quiero taco bell". Not to worry, everyone misspells.

Sorry, but it is off topic. I don't care if I misspell Spanish. Not my language.

Its not mine either, misspell is a misspell in any language. And it is not of topic, the topic does include the Catholic church critiquing, and I pointed out that they have moral issues that need the same adamance they are quick to express politiclly. But that is what disturbed you. Perhaps if indeed its off topic, let us get back, if not, reporting it is an option. And English is not my language either, im not British.