WORLD Magazine has a cover story on how the case of a small Benedictine college—and federal attempts to pressure it to pay for employees’ contraception—could foretell the loss of religious freedom after Congress overhauls healthcare:
For the 18 Benedictine monks living in a 142-year-old monastery in the tiny town of Belmont, N.C., life is intentionally simple: They rise early for prayer in a Gothic-style Basilica with wooden pews and hand-painted windows; they take care of the two-story monastery built with hand-hewn bricks; and they vow fidelity to Roman Catholic doctrine and teaching.
These days, that simplicity has grown complicated by a thorny combination: healthcare and the federal government.
The trouble stems from a conflict brewing at Belmont Abbey College, the 1,600-student, Catholic college connected to the monastery. Earlier this year, eight Belmont Abbey faculty members filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over a school policy rooted in Catholic doctrine: The college refuses to include birth control in its healthcare coverage for employees, citing Catholic teaching against contraceptives. The school also refuses to cover abortion or sterilization.
October 27th, 2009 | 10:27 am
Just sent the Becket fund a contribution to aid in their stand for religious freedom.
October 27th, 2009 | 12:40 pm
Interesting how the EEOC creates and enforces policies all on its own, without recourse to the legislative or judicial branches of government. I’m not saying this is necessarily an unconstitutional power…although its very existence may possibly be unconstitutional…but I do find it troubling when the government invents a new agency, endows it with decision-making power, and then sets the dogs upon us.
October 27th, 2009 | 5:36 pm
[...] World Magazine: Abbey’s road (HT: Joe Carter) [...]
October 28th, 2009 | 5:21 pm
One doesn’t need to be a monk or even a Catholic to see the danger lurking here. If federalized health care comes, this will be a picnic compared to the abuses which will result.
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