When the Department of Health and Human Services announced changes to the rules mandating that health insurance plans cover contraception, sterilizations and drugs some consider to be abortifacient on Feb. 1, the Catholic world did not stand up and cheer. Rather, bishops and other institutions took several days to digest the changes, which expanded the pool of religious institutions that do not have to offer health insurance coverage for services that they find morally objectionable. Once they spoke, bishops and other leaders said the changes do not go far enough. In a Feb. 7 statement, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, expressed appreciation that the administration tried to address the concerns raised last year by the bishops, and said they look forward to continuing their efforts with all three branches of the federal government to come to a solution. When the mandate was announced in August 2011, religious organizations that had moral objections were exempted. But the definition of “religious organization” included only those institutions that predominantly employ and serve members of their own faith, with a purpose of inculcating that faith. That left out religiously sponsored charitable, medical and educational institutions, among others. The changes announced Feb. 1 would accommodate those agencies as well as their sponsoring churches. But Cardinal Dolan said the bishops object to language of the changes, calling them an “accommodation” for ministries rather than a recognition of the First Amendment rights of institutions and individuals. The bishops also object to the lack of any solution for private businesses whose owners’ consciences prevent them from complying with the mandate. An HHS spokeswoman said Feb. 1 no nonprofit religious institution — including churches, universities, hospitals and charities — will have to “arrange, contract, pay for or refer for” contraception insurance for employees or students who want it. In a video interview done in Rome and released by Catholic News Service, Cardinal George said that while the changes do widen the categories of organizations that can claim a religious exemption, they do not do anything about the fact that the government is taking it upon itself to decide what is and is not a religious entity, or offer any relief to private companies whose owners’ consciences would be violated by offering insurance for contraception, sterilization or drugs they consider to be abortifacients. “The institutions for which we are responsible will simply not cooperate,” Cardinal George said in the interview. After the announcement of the changes to the rules, federal Judge John Darrah on Feb. 8 dismissed a suit filed by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, St. Patrick High School, and the dioceses of Joliet and Springfield and their Catholic Charities agencies seeking an injunction against having the mandate enforced on them. It was one of 29 such suits filed by dozens of religious institutions in federal courts around the country. Another 15 suits have been filed by for-profit businesses, alleging a violation of their First Amendment right to freedom of religion. So far, there have been rulings on 14 of the for-profit business suits, with 11 of them getting injunctions to stop the federal government from enforcing the mandate on them while the cases work their way through the court system. Life, liberty campaign Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Respect Life Office and Office of Peace and Justice are cooperating on a “Project Life and Liberty” postcard campaign. Dozens of parishes across the archdiocese will distribute postcard packs at Masses the weekend of Feb. 23-24. The postcards — each pack includes two for each parishioner’s senators and one for each parishioner’s representative — urge members of Congress to support and strengthen existing laws against government funding and promotion of abortion and improve protection for religious freedom. Participants also will be offered a chance to supply their email addresses to the Catholic Conference of Illinois, so they can receive legislative updates and action alerts. The archdiocese has about 140,000 English and 20,000 Spanish postcards to distribute, said Margie Manczko Breen, director of the Respect Life Office. In the archdiocese, the postcard campaign is notable because it brings together the efforts of the Respect Life and Peace and Justice offices, Breen said. It is being supported by the USCCB’s Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, which has mounted several successful postcard campaigns in the last 20 years. “The administration’s mandate for contraceptive and abortifacient coverage in almost all private health plans, including those offered, sponsored and purchased by Catholics with religious objections, pose the most direct threat to religious freedom by the federal government in recent memory,” wrote Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, in a memo to diocesan pro-life directors. “And while the recent elections in one sense largely maintained the status quo in Washington, some want to read it as providing a ‘mandate’ for the president’s policies in this area — and some Republicans have fanned those flames by suggesting that the party needs to improve its fortunes by ignoring such ‘social issues.’ “The need has never been greater to show Congress that millions of Americans affirm life, and the liberty to uphold and respect life, on behalf of our most defenseless brothers and sisters.”