Catholic Transcript Online

HARTFORD – The Archdiocese of Hartford is vigorously opposing new federal health care insurance legislation that will require virtually all employers to pay for health coverage that includes sterilization, contraception, and medication that induces abortion.

Archbishop Henry J. Mansell and Michael C. Culhane, executive director of the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference, will outline how the federal decision violates Catholics’ First Amendment right to freedom of religion on a special edition of "In the After Glow" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, on WJMJ/88.9-FM radio. The call-in show, hosted by Father John Gatzak, will encourage listeners to participate in the conversation.

Sacred Heart High School students pose with Archbishop Henry J. Mansell on the steps of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Waterbury on Jan. 31 after the archbishop celebrated a Mass there for the student body in observance of Catholic Schools Week. Andrea Costa ’15, left, was awarded the Archbishop’s Scholarship, and Nick Yarosis ’15, second from left, received the Maximilian E. and Marion O. Hoffman Foundation Inc. Scholarship, awarded by the Foundation for the Advancement of Catholic Schools. Waterbury Mayor Neil M. O’Leary told the assembly that his administration "will "find plenty of ways to keep Catholic education a top priority" in Waterbury.  (Photo by Jack Sheedy)

By Nancy Frazier O’Brien

WASHINGTON (CNS) – Although Catholic leaders vowed to fight on, the Obama administration has turned down repeated requests from Catholic bishops, hospitals, schools and charitable organizations to revise its religious exemption to the requirement that all health plans cover contraceptives and sterilization free of charge.

(Read Archbishop Henry J. Mansell's column about the topic by clicking here.)

A group represents the Pro-Life Ministry of the Archdiocese of Hartford at the March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 23. Before the march, Archbishop Henry J. Mansell of Hartford celebrated Mass for about 200 people at the Washington Plaza Hotel. The Mass was followed by a breakfast at the hotel at which Msgr. James Moroney, professor of liturgy at St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Mass., and rector-elect of the seminary, was the keynote speaker. The pro-life demonstration marks the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion across the nation. (Photo by Janice Hunter)

WASHINGTON (CNS) – The Supreme Court Jan. 11 upheld the idea that a "ministerial exception" to anti-discrimination laws means the Church can't be sued for firing an employee who the Church classified as a minister.