Church State

The narrow religious exemption for the Obama administration's birth control mandate is "strangling," and the administration fails to understand the "horror" Catholics feel over the exemption, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said Tuesday on "CBS This Morning."

Dolan said he has spoken directly with President Obama regarding his concerns over the narrowness of the religious exemption, but added that he believes the Obama administration still doesn't get it.

"I worry that members of [Obama's] administration might not particularly understand our horror at the restricted nature of the exemption that they're giving us, that for the first time we can remember, a bureau of the federal government seems to be radically intruding on what the term of a church is," said Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and archbishop of New York. more >>

The Archdiocese of Washington, led by Cardinal Donald Wuerl, slammed Georgetown University on Tuesday for not withdrawing its invitation to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to speak at an awards ceremony.

In particular, the archdiocese rejected Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia's defense, issued Monday, for inviting Sebelius, who helped craft the controversial birth control mandate. The mandate, which will require employers, including many Catholic schools and hospitals, to provide health insurance that covers contraception, sterilization and some abortifacient drugs, has been criticized by Catholic institutions as well as pro-life and religious freedom advocates.

"Given the dramatic impact this mandate will have on Georgetown and all Catholic institutions, it is understandable that Catholics across the country would find shocking the choice of Secretary Sebelius, the architect of the mandate, to receive such special recognition at a Catholic university," the archdiocese said in a statement. "It is also understandable that Catholics would view this as a challenge to the bishops." more >>

A Colorado appeals court ruled last week that the state governors' previous proclamations regarding the National Day of Prayer were unconstitutional as they implied a "government endorsement of religion over nonreligion."

The three-judge appeals panel described their decision in a 73-page report on Thursday, May 10, declaring that the Colorado Day of Prayer proclamations were unconstitutional because they implied that religious persons were more favorable in the state's political community than nonreligious persons.

"A reasonable observer would conclude that these proclamations send the message that those who pray are favored members of Colorado's political community, and that those who do not pray do not enjoy that favored status," Judge Steven Bernard wrote in the report. more >>

A bill that would add a display of the prayer that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued for the D-Day invasion of World War II was introduced in the Senate Thursday.

The proposal, introduced by Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, would direct the Interior Secretary to install a plaque or inscription of the prayer at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. The House of Representatives version of the bill, sponsored by Ohio Congressman Bill Johnson, passed with a vote of 386 to 26.

Chris Long, president of the Ohio Christian Alliance, told The Christian Post that his organization has been supporting this measure for historic and spiritual reasons. more >>

Behind Easter and Christmas, Mother's Day draws the highest attendance in U.S. churches, a recent study shows.

LifeWay Research, a Christian research center, asked 1,000 Protestant pastors what the three highest attendance Sundays were throughout the year. Easter was first, indicated by 93 percent of the pastors asked, followed by Christmas with 84 percent, and Mother's Day with 59 percent.

"Clearly, mothers want to be present for the affirmation that is typically offered in most churches, but families also are present knowing their attendance will honor their mother," Scott McConnell, director of LifeWay Research, said in a statement. "Many families make church attendance on Mother's Day nearly obligatory." more >>

A teenage Canadian student was suspended for wearing a yellow t-shirt to school that reads "Life is Wasted Without Jesus."

William Swinimer, a 19-year-old Nova Scotia resident who attends Forest Heights Community School in Chester Basin, was given multiple in-school suspensions for wearing the shirt. Finally, he was also handed a five day out of school suspension, which ends Monday.

Faye Sonier, legal counsel for the Centre for Faith and Public Life of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, told The Christian Post that the school's disciplinary efforts were "inappropriate." more >>