a lot of furious catholics and those who are not even catholic of the phone banks on capitol hill swamped many e-mail systems we are told bombarded and an uproar the likes of which this town has not seen since the great health care debate and the very same issue that is triggering this anger right now, a requirement in the law that religious organizations include bit control coverage in their health care plan not only a moral no no for catholics, but a case of state stomping on church for a bunch of knockouts. that big, that fire resolution, and that holy war. reports that the white house is trying to dial this back, but my next guest here to say there is only one solution, take it back. take it completely back. cardinal calls it an assault on religious liberty and the archbishop of washington joining me exclusively now. cardinal, good to have you. did you expect this reaction
amendments to the constitution, are we saying you can keep some and trade in others? it reminds me when i was teaching a youngster about the ten amendments and he said do you have to follow all of them at the same time? neil: that kid was me in school. you get six or seven out of ten, that technically is passing. guest: so, it is the same with the bill of rights, are we going to trade in some so we can keep others? i don t think that s the route to go, i think we have to find a way in which our freedom as we have always exercised it, is simply maintained. it is this mandate that is new, not the presence of the church, not the presence of charities and hospitals and schools. neil: why would the president risk it? he won the catholic vote not last election by eight or nine points and there is a distinction define practicing catholics and those who do not practice but he won them both,
that began with card falls like you, you know, bringing people s taxi to it but now it has become a holy brush fire. guest: what is happening the more people learn what is at stake here, the more people are speaking up. it is not just the catholic issue but an issue that touches all religions, and all organizations that draw their inspiration from their faith. and what and happening across the country is the more people lend about this mandate, the more they are saying, this is wrong. this is just not right. neil: for you, cardinal, the issue is the state stomping on the church, just telling you to violate your conscience? guest: the issue is whether or not all of us, all of the fate-based entities have a place in the work of the common good.
contraception forever. they will never change and the church is well-known, the church s position is well-known. this is not appear issue of the morality of contraception. this is an issue about the government interfering with the internal works of an established relettous organization by taking money from them because they refuse to follow a law. the church is being fined, or will be fined, if this isn t changed, for not purchasing insurance coverage for its female employees, or male, employees who require contra contraceptive information. neil: could they fulfill the requirement by directing those people elsewhere? guest: they could fulfill the requirement by just giving them health insurance that doesn t cover this. they could fulfill that requirement as a moral obligation to their people. but that will not satisfy the government. the government which now tells us, (a) you must have health
summer. dr. king is best known for calling government to account. for demanding that a nation to grant all of its citizens equal rights, justice, and the dignity that coming with being treated fairly and without discrimination. but dr. king was also deeply critical of the church, particularly in the letter he wrote from birmingham jail in april of 1963. it has resonance today where voters will soon collect their preferred republican nominee to contest the presidential election. instead of challenging politicians and institutions, dr. king said this about the church of the 1960s. the contemporary church is a weak, ineffect yule voice with an uncertain sound. so often it is the arch defender of the status quo. far from being disturbed, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the