Catholic Colleges Outnumbered by Other Christian Colleges Suing HHS

[buffalo]

Catholic Colleges Outnumbered by Other Christian Colleges Suing HHS

              For months, it’s been wrongly proclaimed that opposition to the HHS  contraceptive mandate was a Catholic thing. Instead, with regard to  colleges and universities, we might wish for more Catholic engagement.

With the announcement that East Texas Baptist University and Houston Baptist University filed lawsuits against the mandate, Catholic colleges suing the Administration are now outnumbered by non-Catholic Christian colleges.

According to The Becket Fund, 15 colleges are suing the Administration including seven Catholic colleges: Belmont Abbey College, Aquinas College in Nashville, Ave Maria University, the Catholic University of America, the Franciscan University of Steubenville, the University of St. Francis, and the University of Notre Dame.
While the number of lawsuits from Protestant and nondenominational colleges is great news for Christian unity, it also begs the question as to why there aren’t more Catholic colleges and universities joining the opposition to the infringement of religious liberty, especially larger institutions with resources.

Five of the seven Catholic colleges filing suits are among the faithful Catholic colleges recommended in The Newman Guide. Other Newman Guide colleges have been advised by attorneys not to sue—at least not yet—because of particular circumstances, likelihood of success, and lack of substantial resources. But all have been quite vocal against the HHS mandate, and many have participated in The Cardinal Newman Society’s formal appeals to HHS.

and

…Not one of the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. has joined in a lawsuit against HHS. In fact, a quick search for any mention of the HHS mandate on the website of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) reveals only one mention of the mandate, and that’s a statement in February thanking the president for his “compromise” which the bishops have said is inadequate—if we ever actually see it in the form of a regulation.

more…

 

[BroomWagon]

I listened to a program and Wheaton College is suing as well. Wheaton College is Billy Graham’s alma mater.

 

[Dale_M]

I can see why non-Catholic colleges would file separate lawsuits, since they do not have a national organization which is already doing so. But since the USCCB is leading the charge for Catholics, why is it important for additional Catholic colleges to file separate lawsuits?

 

[Seeker1961]

Maybe they’ve chosen to spend their money educating their students instead of paying an army of lawyers to fight a battle they would likely lose anyway.

 

[_Abyssinia]

I can see why non-Catholic colleges would file separate lawsuits, since they do not have a national organization which is already doing so. But since the USCCB is leading the charge for Catholics, why is it important for additional Catholic colleges to file separate lawsuits?

Because the court may only decide 1 lawsuit at a time which means Catholic colleges would not be exempted, so they would have to follow the HHS mandate and engage in mortal sin or pay fines. Why put themselves at risk of either and launch a lawsuit?

The more lawsuits, the more it sends a message to the Obama admin that Catholics will not put with a religious freedom infringing mandate

 

[JimG]

Because the court may only decide 1 lawsuit at a time which means Catholic colleges would not be exempted, so they would have to follow the HHS mandate and engage in mortal sin or pay fines. Why put themselves at risk of either and launch a lawsuit?

The more lawsuits, the more it sends a message to the Obama admin that Catholics will not put with a religious freedom infringing mandate

I agree. I wish that every religiously affiliated university would file suit, as well as every other religiously affiliated organization which will be forced to reject their religion by the HHS mandate.

I think even private businesses should band together to file class action lawsuits against the HHS mandate. There is no reason that individual business owners should be forced by the HHS mandate to violate their consciences.

 

[JimG]

Now, Tyndale House, a religious publisher, is also suing HHS. Apparently a publisher of bibles is not religious enough to get an exemption from the HHS mandate. The government will decide if you’re religious enough!

 

[_Abyssinia]

15 Catholic Colleges Sign Brief Supporting HHS Mandate Lawsuit

Some 15 Catholic colleges and universities have signed on to a new legal brief in support of lawsuits filed against the Obama administration over its controversial pro-abortion HHS mandate.

The Cardinal Newman Society has signed and helped organize Catholic college signers for the brief supporting Belmont Abbey College and Wheaton College. Both institutions demand immediate exemption from the Administration’s “contraceptive mandate,” which requires religious colleges to insure both employees and students for sterilization and contraception, including drugs that cause abortion.

The amicus brief was authored and filed Friday by attorneys of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which has worked closely with Catholic and other Christian colleges in defense of their constitutional rights.

“Belmont Abbey is not alone. Every faithful Catholic college is already suffering the damage caused by this ruinous mandate, which demands that they violate their deeply held Catholic beliefs,” said Bob Laird, Director of Programs for The Cardinal Newman Society. “Additionally, Christian colleges, businesses, and other employers who fear the loss of their religious freedom are similarly affected by the mandate. This amicus brief represents a united front in opposition to the Obama administration’s outrageous violation of religious freedom.”

Catholic colleges signing ADF the amicus brief are:

· Benedictine College (Kan.)

· Catholic Distance University

· Christendom College (Va.)

· College of Saint Mary Magdalen (N.H.)

· College of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More (Tex.)

· DeSales University (Pa.)

· Holy Spirit College (Ga.)

· Ignatius-Angelicum Liberal Studies Program

· John Paul the Great Catholic University (Ca.)

· Mount St. Mary’s University (Md.)

· St. Gregory’s University (Ok.)

· Thomas Aquinas College (Ca.)

· Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (N.H.)

· University of Mary (N.D.)

· Wyoming Catholic College (Wyo.)