Bishops Criticize Proposal on Birth Control Coverage WASHINGTON - Catholic Bishops have sharply criticized a compromise President Obama offered on Friday over a health care regulation requiring religious-affiliated employers to pay for insurance plans that offer free contraception, declaring that the new plan remains "unacceptable and must be corrected." In a statement issued late Friday night, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has led opposition to the proposal, said that a modification offered by the White House earlier that day in an effort to quell political furor did not go far enough in protecting religious liberty. Under the White House's new plan, religiously affiliated charities and universities would not be required to provide insurance plans that include birth control. However, if an employee wanted contraception services, the insurance company that administered the regular insurance plan would be required to provide it to that employee at no charge. The Catholic bishops, who earlier on Friday said that the plan was "a step in the right direction" but that they needed to study it further, said later that some of its details remained unclear. What was clear, they said, was that the plan "continues to involve needless government intrusion in the internal governance of religious institutions, and to threaten government coercion of religious people and groups to violate their most deeply held convictions." In particular, the church leaders said they were concerned about the nationwide mandate imposed by the Department of Health and Human Services for coverage of "sterilization and contraception," which raised "a grave moral concern." It said the government should simply exempt self-insuring religious employers and religious insurance companies from the mandate. The White House had no immediate comment.