Posted on 10/26/2017 6:08:09 PM PDT by marshmallow
Marking the culmination of a four-year legal effort that went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. government on Friday agreed to a settlement that will permanently exempt Thomas Aquinas College from the so-called HHS Contraceptive Mandate of the Affordable Care Act.
“This is an extraordinary outcome for Thomas Aquinas College and for the cause of religious freedom,” says Thomas Aquinas College President Michael F. McLean “It is a relief to know that the College can continue its 46-year mission of offering excellent Catholic liberal education without facing the threat of crippling financial penalties resulting from our commitment to the full teachings of the Catholic Church.”
Instituted in 2012, the HHS Mandate sought to compel all employers — even Catholic ones — to provide free contraceptive, abortifacient, and sterilization coverage to their employees. In 2013 the College and several co-plaintiffs, citing the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, challenged the mandate in federal court. The litigation eventually made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 2015 agreed to consider the lawsuit, as well as six others, in the consolidated case of Zubik v. Burwell. One year later, the Court took the unusual step of vacating the lower court opinions and remanding the consolidated cases back to their respective courts of appeal for further consideration.
(Excerpt) Read more at thomasaquinas.edu ...
If only this could apply to all Catholic colleges and universities.
TAC has set the precedent, any Catholic/Christian institution that wants the same freedom of religious expression can use this case.
The DOJ should invite other similar colleges to sue using this college’s lawsuit as a template. When they do, the DOJ should offer to settle under the identical permanent basis.
Oh my, will the Bergoglio approve this? Perhaps this subject will be saved for a future plane ride with the atheist reporter with whom Bergoglio ad libs, and somehow ad libs turn into abrogation of the Gospel, or Canon Law.
I hope this helps the Little Sisters of the Poor.
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