American Catholic bishops force Catholic Hospital Association to toe the anti-birth control line

Via Political Animal, the American Catholic Bishops twist arms to get their "flock" to adopt their extreme anti-birth control agenda:

Sharpening an election-year confrontation over religious freedom and government health insurance rules, the nation's Catholic hospitals on Friday rejected President Barack Obama's compromise for providing birth control coverage to their women employees. The Catholic Health Association was a key ally in Obama's health care overhaul, defying opposition from church bishops to help the president win approval in Congress. But the group said Friday it does not believe church-affiliated employers should have to provide birth control as a free preventive service, as the law now requires.

Of course a few months ago, the CHA endorsed the compromise. E.J. Dionne famously urged the President to grant "accommodations" to religious institutions. I disagreed, not the least of the reasons being there never would be an "accommodation" that would satisfy the bishops.

The American Catholic Church has decided birth control is the most pressing scourge in this country. And in doing so, the Church has not shown the least compunction in openly politicking against Democrats. And it is not just isolated priests.

As the CHA's forced flip flop demonstrates, the Catholic Church is demanding absolute fealty not only to their "teachings," but to their priorities and political activism.

The War on Nuns instituted by the Catholic hierarchy should remove any delusions for Catholic progressives about what they are up against. The "leaders" of  the Church are not your allies.