Takes to the Courts.
No less than eight attorneys on the papers from Jones Day file suit for the Archdiocese of Washington with other impacted religious interests against not only Sebellius but Tim Geitner, the Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and the entire Treasury Department. Looks like a full frontal Republican assault in an election year. But they have a point. Suit in DC Fed Ct HERE
Irony of Ironies would have it that Sebellius gets invited as a commencement speaker to Georgetown where the President Jack DeGoia is a John Carroll Society member and metaled honoree. This prompted the blogosphere to go nuts as well as various PR outlets of the Archdiocese (Catholic Standard, etc.) Even the Washington Post got in on the action with battling editorials and the one writen by the President of the John Carroll Society saying the Cardinal didn't really demand they disinvite her (they would have ignored it anyway.)
The unfortunate thing is that the bad blood engendered by the Cardinal's Chancellor's losing streak on the homophobic anti-gay partner health insurance rant has set the tone a bit. How can you take seriously an organization that just cancelled ALL health insurance for all spouses because they refused to cover gay's spouses on a 'we are concerned about protecting your health" issue. They lost and looked like kids taking all their marbles and going home. Other people who have had experiences less pleasant than the PR campaign face paints with the Chancellor wish they found actual Constitutional scholars to make the point.
This issue on First Amendment non-Establishment grounds is a serious one not just for Catholics. The federal courts, as much as there is general fear and loathing of the works of the church lately have to take it legally seriously because the Foundational First Amendment Freedom at stake affects everyone. The broader principles regarding government intrusion into missions of religious bodies doing religiously inspired work under a religious mission goes to the heart of our First Amendment protections. The fact that Georgetown seemed to embrace the government policy by the invitation to Sebelius muddies the waters in that some religious institutions are saying we can live with this particular policy proposal- doesn't bend us out of shape apparently. Note that none of the Jesuits or Georgetown are on the suit.
This is one that could go all the way to the Supreme Court- on which now sit the following Catholic Judges: Roberts, Alito, Scalia (whose son is a priest), Sotomayor, Kennedy--- a majority. But that doesn't necessarily define how they will rule, except for Scalia whose son will make him go to confession if he doesn't vote for Wuerl. Will we see any recusals?
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