Updated: *153* Bishops (Over 80% of Dioceses) Have Spoken Out Against Obama/HHS Mandate

CatholicVote.org ^ | February 2012 | compiled by Ed Peters

[Salvation]

Updated: *153* Bishops (Over 80% of Dioceses) Have Spoken Out Against Obama/HHS Mandate

by Thomas Peters
6 days ago

In the past I’ve compiled a list of all the bishops speaking out on a particular controversial issue (for instance, over Notre Dame’s invitation to President Obama) — here are the bishops who have spoken out against the Obama/HHS mandate.

[See my ongoing coverage of Obama/HHS's war against religious liberty here, here, here and most recently here. I'm also tweeting more updates @AmericanPapist.]

If I have missed anyone please let me know in the comments! And please double-check that your bishop really is not there before posting. The list is not in any particular order at this point.

Items in bold mean the statement was read at all diocesan Masses or included in all parish bulletins on Sunday:

• Roger Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles, CA (Emeritus)
• 1. Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan of New York City, NY
• 2. Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin, TX
• 3. Archbishop Robert Carlson of St. Louis, MO
• 4. Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix, AZ
• 5. Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit, MI
• 6. Archbishop John Nienstedt of Saint Paul & Minneapolis, MN
• 7. Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, WI
• 8. Bishop Paul Etienne of Cheyenne, WY
• 9. Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, CT
• 10. Bishop Thomas Doran of Rockford, IL
• 11. Cardinal-designate Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore, MD
• 12. Bishop Felipe Estevez of Saint Augustine, FL
• 13. Bishop James Conley of Denver, CO
• 14. Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, IL
• 15. Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh, PA (Twice!)

• 16. Bishop Walker Nickless of Sioux City, IA
• 17. Bishop Paul Loverde of Arlington, VA
• 18. Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee, WI
• 29. Bishop Kevin Vann of Fort Worth, TX
• 20. Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas, TX
• 21. Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati, OH
• 22. Bishop William Medley of Owensboro, KY
• 23. Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, GA
• 24. Bishop Peter Libasci of Manchester, NH
• 25. Bishop Frederick Campbell of Columbus, OH
• 26. Bishop Richard Malone of Portland, ME
• 27. Bishop Anthony Taylor of Little Rock, AR
• 28. Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, OK
• 29. Bishop Patrick McGrath of San Jose, CA
• 30. Bishop Joseph Bambera of Scranton, PA
• 31. Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, FL (also apostolic administrator of Pensacola-Tallahasee, FL)
• 32. Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angelas, CA
• 33. Daniel Cardinal DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, TX
• 34. Bishop Leonard Blair of Toledo, OH
• 35. Donald Cardinal Wuerl of Washington, DC
• 36. Bishop Patrick Zurek of Amarillo, TX
• 37. Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, IN
• 38. Bishop William Callahan of La Crosse, WI
• 39. Archbishop John Myers of Newark, NJ
• 40. Bishop Bernard Hebda of Gaylord, MI
• 41. Bishop David O’Connell of Trenton, NJ
• 42. Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, NE
• 43. Bishop Michael Mulvey of Corpus Christi, TX
• 44. Archbishop Timothy Broglio of Military Services, USA
• 45. Sean Cardinal O’Malley of Boston, MA
• 46. Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, WI
• 47. Bishop Richard Lennon of Cleveland, OH
• 48. Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans, LA
• 49. Bishop Alexander Sample of Marquette, MI
• 50. Bishop Michael Burbidge of Raleigh, NC
• 51. Bishop Walter Hurley of Grand Rapids, MI
• 52. Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, IL
• 53. Bishop Francis Malooly of Wilmington, DE
• 54. Bishop Peter Jugis of Charlotte, NC
• 55. Bishop Francis DiLorenzo of Richmond, VA
• 56. Archbishop Roger Schwietz of Anchorage, AK
• 57. Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo, ND
• 58. Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tuscon, AZ
• 59. Bishop Robert Muench of Baton Rouge, LA
• 60. Bishop Sam Jacobs of Houma-Thibodaux, LA
• 61. Bishop Michael Jarrell of Lafayette, LA
• 62. Bishop Ronald Herzog of Alexandria, LA
• 63. Bishop Glen Provost of Lake Charles, LA
• 64. Bishop Michael Duca of Shreveport, LA
• 65. Bishop Dale Melczek of Gary, IN
• 66. Bishop Michael Jackels of Wichita, KS
• 67. Bishop Peter Christensen of Superior, WI
• 68. Bishop John Noonan of Orlando, FL
• 69. Bishop Gregory Hartmayer of Savannah, GA
• 70. Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, CA
• 71. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, PA
• 72. Bishop Michael Driscoll of Boise, ID
• 73. Bishop Robert Cunningham of Syracuse, NY
• 74. Bishop David Kagan of Bismarck, ND
• 75. Bishop Paul Bradley of Kalamazoo, MI
• 76. Bishop Placido Rodriguez of Lubbock, TX
• 77. Archbishop John Vlazny of Portland, OR
• 78. Bishop Joseph McFadden of Harrisburg, PA
• 79. Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Center, NY
• 80. Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs, CO
• 81. Bishop Timothy McDonnell of Springfield, MA
• 82. Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, FL
• 83. Archbishop Henry Mansell of Hartford, CT
• 84. Archbishop Michael Sheehan of Santa Fe, NM
• 85. Bishop Robert Gruss of Rapid City, SD
• 86. Bishop Gerald Barbarito of Palm Beach, FL
• 87. Bishop Michael Cote of Norwich, CT
• 88. Bishop Edward Kmiec of Buffalo, NY
• 89. Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, KS
• 90. Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, KY
• 91. Bishop Roger Foys of Covington, KY
• 92. Bishop John LeVoir of New Ulm, MN
• 93. Bishop Gerald Barnes of San Bernadino, CA
• 94. Bishop Terry LaValley of Ogdensburg, NY
• 95. Bishop Salvatore Matano of Burlington, VT
• 96. Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle, WA
• 97. Bishop Martin Amos of Davenport, IA
• 98. Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha, NE
• 99. Bishop Edward Burns of Juneau, AK
• 100. Bishop John Quinn on Winona, MN
• 101. Bishop Joseph Cistone of Saginaw, MI
• 102. Bishop John Gaydos of Jefferson City, MO
• 103. Bishop Daniel Conlon of Joliet, IL
• 104. Bishop Robert Guglielmone of Charleston, SC
• 105. Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, FL
• 106. Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines, IA
• 107. Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, MA
• 108. Bishop James Tamayo of Laredo, TX
• 109. Bishop John Kudrick, Eparchy of Parma, OH
• 110. Bishop John Barres of Allentown, PA
• 111. Bishop Ronald Gainer of Lexington, KY (better link needed)
• 112. Bishop Lawrence Brandt of Greensburg, PA
• 113. Bishop Joseph Tyson of Yakima, WA
• 114. Bishop Gerald Dino, Eparchy of Phoenix, AZ
• 115. Bishop George Murry of Youngstown, OH
• 116. Bishop Richard Seminack, Eparchy of Chicago, IL
• 117. Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, MI
• 118. Bishop Tod Brown of Orange, CA
• 119. Bishop James Johnston of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, MO
• 120. Bishop James Wall of Gallup, NM (better link needed)
• 121. Bishop Arthur Serratelli of Paterson, NJ
• 122. Bishop Matthew Clark of Rochester, NY
• 123. Bishop Fernando Isern of Pueblo, CO
• 124. Bishop Richard Stika of Knoxville, TN
• 125. Bishop Michael Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston, WV
• 126. Archbishop Jerome Hanus of Dubuque, IA
• 127. Bishop Robert Brom of San Diego, CA (forthcoming, I am told)
• 128. Bishop David Choby of Nashville, TN (forthcoming, I am told)
• 129. Bishop Armando Ochoa of Fresno, CA (also apostolic administrator of El Paso, TX)
• 130. Archbishop-elect William Skurla, Eparchy of Pittsburgh (better link needed)
• 131. Bishop Paul Swain of Sioux Falls, SD
• 132. Bishop Joseph Galante of Camden, NJ
• 133. Bishop George Coleman of Fall River, MA
• 134. Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio, TX
• Monsignor Kurt Kemo (apostolic administrator) of Steubenville, OH
• Father Barry Brinkman (apostolic administrator) of Salina, KS
• 135. Bishop Terry Steib of Memphis, TN
• Bishop William Skystad (apostolic administrator) of Baker, OR
• 136. Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City-Saint Joseph, MO
• 137. Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, CA
• 138. Bishop George Thomas of Helena, MT (forthcoming)
• 139. Bishop Edward Braxton of Belleville, IL (forthcoming)
• 140. Bishop Timothy Doherty of Lafayette, IN
• 141. Bishop Michael Warfel of Great Falls-Billings, MT
• 142. Bishop Michael Pfeifer of San Angelo, TX
• Edward Cardinal Egan of New York City, NY (Emeritus)
• 143. Bishop William Dendinger of Grand Island, NE (forthcoming)
• 144. Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, RI
• 145. Bishop Curtis Guillory of Beaumont, TX (forthcoming)
• 146. Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, TX
• 147. Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa, OK
• 148. Bishop Mark Bartchak of Altoona-Johnstown, PA
• 149. Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, ID
• 150. Bishop Joseph Pepe of Los Vegas, NV
• 151. Bishop Randolph Cavo of Reno, NV
• Bishop Alvaro Corrada (apostolic administrator) of Tyler, TX
• 152. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, NY
• 153. Bishop Charles Thompson of Evansville, IN

SPECIAL MENTION: “The Assembly of Orthodox Bishops in North America just issued a formal statement of protest against the HHS mandate in which the Assembly, representing all 53 Orthodox bishops in North America, references their complete agreement with the statements of the USCCB.”

THANK YOU to everyone who has helped me build and correct this list.

NOTE: If you would like a statement by an Eastern Rite bishop to be included please send me the link/document or post it in the comments! Thank you. I’m trying to provide documentation for all the bishops listed and Eastern Rite bishops have been harder for me to track down. Thank you for understanding!

UPDATE: Of the 183 dioceses (by my count) in the U.S. who have a bishop currently serving as its head, 155 of them have issued statements. So over 80% of bishops who head dioceses have spoken out against the Obama/HHS mandate.

[maryz]

Nothing from Cdl George yet? That surprises me . . .

And nothing from Nancy Pelosi's bishop . . . sadly, that doesn't surprise me . . . :(

[STJPII]

Ping

[Angry_White_Man_Syndrome]

My parent's Baptist Preacher is making a big deal about this. He spent his whole Sunday Service on how wrong this was and how Baptist needed to stand with Catholics. I hope this is keep as a election issue. However, I am sure Republicans will screw it up in some way.

[Angry_White_Man_Syndrome]

My parent's Baptist Preacher is making a big deal about this. He spent his whole Sunday Service on how wrong this was and how Baptist needed to stand with Catholics. I hope this is keep as a election issue. However, I am sure Republicans will screw it up in some way.

[STJPII]

I’m Catholic and the 50% approval rating, although down from 67%, is still too high.

[don-o]

However, I am sure Republicans will screw it up in some way.

The fact is - this Obama Outrage has crossed the line of the "political." The Bishops (finally) are abandoning their foolish alliance and approval of left-socialitic gov't paternalism. Now that the water is boiling, they are awakening

[Elvina]

I was pleased to see Bishop Bradley's letter in our bulletin yesterday. He asked us to contact our representatives which I need to do today. I was inspired to check out the Bishop's Facebook page, so I could argue further with my Protestant and pro-death friends and relatives, and found this link which does a good job disputing the Administration's lies: White House Misrepresents Its Own Contraceptive Mandate

I had especially wondered about that 98% of Catholic women using oral contraceptives figure, since most of my Catholic friends have tons of kids. It turns out that figure is deceptive like most of the things B. Hussein puts out.

[Mrs. Don-o]

I heard that Cdl George said he himself expects to die peacefully in bed,. but he expects his successor to die in prison, and the one after that to be executed in the public square.

I will look for that quote.

[Angry_White_Man_Syndrome]

I had especially wondered about that 98% of Catholic women using oral contraceptives figure, since most of my Catholic friends have tons of kids. It turns out that figure is deceptive like most of the things B. Hussein puts out.

I heard the number was somthing like 80% but that includes anyone that says they are Catholic. Most of which only see the inside of a Church twice a year.

[maryz]

I remembered the quote and looked for it myself — it’s from 2009, during the gay “marriage” thing in Chicago. He seems to have spoken powerfully at the time about infringements on religious liberty, which is why I would have expected to see him on the list.

[Elvina]

Yes, I would like to know what the percentage of contraceptive-users is for faithful Catholics, but I suppose that is hard to sort out. As Patrick Coffin says on Catholic Answers Live: You should judge the effectiveness of a prescription by the effects on those who actually take the medicine, not those who refuse to follow the prescription. This message may be obscured in this case, since we are referring to those who don’t take the medicine as following the Church, but you get the picture!

[bboop]

Los Angeles Archdiocese here. Does anyone know whether this was to be read in all churches nationwide? If it is up to the Archbishop? I know that Archbishop Gomez spoke out against the mandate. Is it up to the individual parishes? It has not yet been read in our church, which is very orthodox and conservative....

[Reo]

Add Bishop Paul Sirba of Duluth, MN with this letter linked here: http://www.dioceseduluth.org/cmanager/File/Communications/Bishop_Sirba_Letter_on_HHS.pdf

As for Bishop Kicanis of Tucson, his comments only reference the local March for Life, and in no way mention the HHS ruling. NO statement regarding the ruling appears anywhere on the diocesan website. I would question whether he should be included on the list. We are very fortunate and blessed that the bishops chose Cardinal-designate Dolan rather than Kicanis as their leader last year.

[OKSooner]

"The Pope? And tell me, how many divisions does he have?"

- Josef Stalin

[Salvation]

Those numbers are what the msm put out. I don’t believe they match the actual numbers. But where do we go to find those.

I just glad that all the denominations are down in their support or Obortion O.

[Salvation]

This just may be the issue that unities all Christians. Who would have ever guessed that Obama could do that? <sarc off

[Salvation]

I agree.

Especially when one of the planks of the dimocrat platform is the support of abortion.

[Salvation]

If Catholics are using any kind of contraception — they are not REAL Catholics, but CINOs.

They need to go to Confession and learn about Natural Family Planning after that.

[Salvation]

The article states that the bolded names mandated that the letters be read in all parishes.

[philman_36]

I was trying to show that the vote was generally 50/50.
The "vote" on this by the bishops is, roughly, 80-20.

I just hope it is reflected the same in the next election.