A leak that’s good news

Richard A. Sokerka

Leaks. They emanate from our nation’s capital by the boatload in attempts to sink the ship of state. Rarely does a leak provide good news. But one last week strengthens religious liberty in our nation.

This leak did not make headlines in the secular media outlets like all the others, but it needs to be broadcast loud and clear. The leak told of new regulations which would fulfill President Trump’s promise that the Little Sisters of the Poor and other religious groups would be protected from the HHS mandate. Under a new draft rule that fulfills a Supreme Court ruling, religious groups would be exempt from the Obama mandate forcing them to provide health insurance coverage for sterilization, contraception, and drugs and devices that may cause abortions or face astronomical fines if they did not comply.

Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, issued this response to the regulation that was leaked: “While they have yet to be formally issued and will require close study upon publication, the leaked regulations provide encouraging news. If issued, these regulations would appropriately broaden the existing exemption to a wider range of stakeholders with religious or moral objections to the mandated coverage— not just houses of worship. This not only would eliminate an unwarranted governmental division of our religious community ‘between our houses of worship and our great ministries of service to our neighbors,’ but would also lift the government-imposed burden on our ministries ‘to violate their own teachings within their very own institutions.’ (United for Religious Freedom 2012). Relief like this is years overdue and would be most welcomed. Regulations like these reflect common sense.”

Obama’s mandate was first announced in 2011, triggering dozens of lawsuits, including one by the Little Sisters of the Poor. The contraceptive mandate issue has been to the Supreme Court five times, and each time the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of broader protections for religious groups, but the Obama administration was unrelenting in trying to enforce it, issuing hefty fines for non-compliance.

Mark Rienzi, senior counsel with Becket, who represented the Little Sisters said, “At long last the United States government acknowledges that people can get contraceptives without forcing nuns to provide them. That is sensible, fair, and in keeping with the Supreme Court’s order and the President Trump’s promise to the Little Sisters and other religious groups serving the poor.”

The Catholic League addressed the leak of the regulations, saying, “The Trump administration is poised to upend the anti-religious rights provision of the HHS mandate written by the Obama administration. It promises to be better than what President Trump initially spoke about when he was running for office. Not only will the revised plan allow religious individuals and groups the right not to be complicit in providing for morally objectionable services, it will extend this right to non-religious persons and organizations. The reasoning of the Trump administration is both logical and equitable. This is one more sign that President Trump is religion-friendly, quite unlike his predecessor. Indeed, he is also showing respect for the conscience rights of non-believers.”

This was indeed a leak of monumental proportions, for our religious liberties have again been preserved in these regulations. And that’s good news for all people of faith.