Cardinal Timothy Dolan says the Catholic Church could have been one of Obamacare’s “cheerleaders” — but some of the mandates, such as the contraception requirements, meant Catholics were “being asked to violate” their beliefs. 
 
 “You have voiced your displeasure with certain aspects of it in terms of mandates for hospitals and so forth,” NBC's "Meet the Press" host David Gregory said in an interview aired Sunday. “What about the overall goal of it? Do you think it will ultimately prevail? Would you like it? Do you think it's important for the country that universal healthcare insurance is available?” 
 
 “Yup. And I'm glad you allow me to make that distinction, David,” the Archbishop of New York. “We bishops have been really kind of in a tough place because we're for universal, comprehensive, life-affirming healthcare. We, the bishops of the United States, can you believe it, in 1919 came out for more affordable, more comprehensive, more universal healthcare. That's how far back we go in this battle, okay?” 
 
 (Sunday Shows in 90 seconds: Iran, NSA, Obamacare) 
 
 “So we're not Johnny-come-latelies,” Dolan added. “We've been asking for reform in healthcare for a long time. So, we were kind of an early supporter in this. Where we started bristling and saying, ‘Uh-oh, first of all this isn't comprehensive, because it's excluding the undocumented immigrant and it's excluding the unborn baby,’ so we began to bristle at that.” 
 
 Secondly, “we said, ‘And wait a minute, we Catholics who are kind of among the pros when it comes to providing healthcare, do it because of our religious conviction, and because of the dictates of our conscience. And now we're being asked to violate some of those.’” 
 
 That’s when “we began to worry and draw back and say, ‘Mr. President, please, you're really kind of pushing aside some of your greatest supporters here. We want to be with you, we want to be strong. And if you keep doing this, we're not going to be able to be one of your cheerleaders.’” 
 
 And that, he said, “sadly is what happened.” 
 
 Read more about: Obamacare, Catholic Church, Timothy Dolan ||||| This time, both sides really are doing it. 
 
 There was only one person who appeared onstage at both the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention, and he used his platform tonight to not-too-subtly snipe at the agenda we've been hearing defended all week, including a mention of those "waiting to be born, welcomed and protected." That would be New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who was hastily added to give a benediction at the DNC after he agreed, to some controversy, to do the same at the RNC. 
 
 Tonight, he was given pride of place immediately after President Obama. "Grant us the courage to defend life," he said, and added, "Renew in all our people a profound respect for religious liberty, the first, most cherished freedom." 
 
 But lately, when Dolan has said "religious liberty," he's really been talking about your birth control. This is the same man who was successfully courted by Romney in their mutually rabid opposition to the contraceptive coverage mandates in the Affordable Care Act, and who is suing the Obama administration over the policy -- the same man who has called Obama's stance on gay marriage "saddening." (At the RNC, the statement was more muted: "We ask your benediction upon those yet to be born, and on those who are about to see you at the end of this life.) 
 
 And here was a very coded kick at the platform support for gay marriage: "Show us anew that happiness is found only in respecting the laws of nature and of nature’s God. Empower us with your grace so that we might resist the temptation to replace the moral law with idols of our own making, or to remake those institutions you have given us for the nurturing of life and community." 
 
 Before the appearances were symmetrical, several Catholics criticized the Tampa appearance as an unnecessarily partisan move, despite the Archdiocese's insistence that the appearance was not an endorsement. “Cardinal Dolan’s appearance in Tampa will damage the church’s ability to be a moral and legitimate voice for voiceless, as those who view the Catholic Church as being a shill for the GOP have just a bit more evidence to prove their case,” wrote Michael O’Loughlin. 
 
 We heard a lot about a different sort of Catholicism tonight -- from Caroline Kennedy, who said pointedly, "As a Catholic woman, I take reproductive health seriously, and today, it is under attack," to Jill Biden, who cited pro-choice Joe Biden's "strong Catholic faith." Yesterday, we heard from a nun who has been traveling around the country arguing that the Ryan budget "failed a moral test." In order to defuse the implied Romney endorsement, the DNC and the Obama campaign saw fit to welcome in a man who has shown little interest in compromising with them or working with them at all, and whose faithful adherents are hardly persuadable. It was a rare discordant note in a week of remarkably consistent and coherent declarations of principle. ||||| Catholic Bishops Reject Compromise On Contraceptives 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Patrick Semansky/AP Patrick Semansky/AP 
 
 It seems the third time wasn't the charm, after all. 
 
 The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has officially rejected the Obama Administration's latest attempt to ensure that women with health insurance get access to no-cost contraceptive coverage without violating the rights of religious employers. 
 
 The administration issued the rules last Friday. While other groups that oppose abortion and birth control immediately dismissed the proposal, the influential bishops held back, saying only that they "welcomed the opportunity to study the proposed regulations closely." 
 
 Now, however, it's clear that this attempt by the administration doesn't clear the bar for the bishops, either. 
 
 The proposal calls for insurance companies — rather than religious hospitals, universities or charities — to provide contraceptive and sterilization coverage. But that's not good enough, said a statement from Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the conference. 
 
 "It appears that the government would require all employees in our 'accommodated' ministries to have the illicit coverage — they may not opt out, nor even opt out for their children — under a separate policy," Dolan said. 
 
 He also complained that while the rules seek to accommodate nonprofit religious employers (including churches themselves, which are exempt from the coverage requirement, along with affiliated entities like educational institutions), they don't relieve for-profit employers of the obligation. 
 
 "In obedience to our Judeo-Christian heritage, we have consistently taught our people to live their lives during the week to reflect the same beliefs that they proclaim on the Sabbath," said Dolan, referring to owners of non-religious businesses who are suing the federal government because they say the coverage violates their personal religious beliefs. "We cannot now abandon them to be forced to violate their morally well-informed consciences." 
 
 Compared with some of Dolan's previous complaints about contraceptive coverage requirements, the latest statement was more measured. "We welcome and will take seriously the Administration's invitation to submit our concerns through formal comments, and we will do so in the hope that an acceptable solution can be found that respects the consciences of all," he said. ||||| Some Catholics expressed relief but others were unmoved after President Barack Obama on Friday loosened a requirement that religious employers cover contraception in health plans, an issue that had turned into a political firestorm in recent weeks. 
 
 President Obama on Friday announced a new policy that no longer requires a broad swath of religious organizations to provide employees with contraception coverage in health-insurance plans. Laura Meckler discusses on The News Hub. Photo: AP 
 
 Under the new policy, religious employers opposed to most forms of birth control wouldn't be required to directly pay for such coverage in their workers' insurance policies. Instead, insurance companies would be required to offer contraception without explicitly charging either the religious employer or worker. That shift means the cost of providing the coverage to religious employers is likely to be spread across all policyholders by insurers. 
 
 Bishops who had led opposition signaled the change could satisfy some concerns but "we reserve judgment on the details until we have them," said Archbishop Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "Today's decision to revise how individuals obtain services that are morally objectionable to religious entities and people of faith is a first step in the right direction." 
 
 Friday's announcement won over some Catholic leaders, but parishioners were divided. 
 
 "Government doesn't have a place telling Catholic institutions what they have to do. Not just Catholics, but any religious institution," said Jo-Ann Corsillo, a 53-year-old accountant and practicing Catholic in New York City. "I think that government should basically butt out." 
 
 Frank Franz, a 58-year-old practicing Catholic from the Bronx, N.Y., said he supported the compromise: "Someone who believes in birth control and wants to use it should have access to it, but you shouldn't make someone who opposes it provide it." 
 
 In a year where the economy was supposed to dominate the November elections, the contraception backlash showed that social issues could have a powerful influence on the race. Republicans used the controversy to paint Mr. Obama as assailing religious rights—and adding another black mark against the 2010 health overhaul that spawned the policy. 
 
 The debate also exposed a rift within the White House that pitted some Catholics against high-level women in the administration who argued for broad contraceptive coverage. 
 
 Aides said Friday's settlement showed the president fighting for birth-control access, an issue popular among independent women who are key to the 2012 election. 
 
 "No woman's health should depend on who she is or where she works or how much money she makes," Mr. Obama said in televised remarks from the White House. "As we move to implement this rule, however, we've been mindful that there's another principle at stake here—and that's the principle of religious liberty… As a citizen and as a Christian, I cherish this right." 
 
 Under the health care law passed in March 2010, insurers must cover preventive care at no out-of-pocket cost for consumers. The Institute of Medicine recommended that contraception be included on the list of covered services. The Obama administration said last month it would include contraception when the preventative care requirement takes effect in August. 
 
 That spawned a backlash. Catholic priests and bishops had railed against the policy in Sunday masses. GOP lawmakers and presidential candidates slammed the White House for what they described as an assault on religious liberty and some Democrats also voiced concerns. 
 
 Enlarge Image Close Associated Press President Barack Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius 
 
 Before the president spoke Friday, he telephoned Archbishop Timothy Dolan, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Sister Carol Keehan, head of the Catholic Health Association; and Cecile Richards, head of Planned Parenthood, to discuss the shift, an administration aide said. Sister Keehan and Ms. Richards were among the first people to praise the announcement. 
 
 Sister Keehan said she was "pleased and grateful that the religious liberty and conscience protection needs of so many ministries that serve our country were appreciated enough that an early resolution of this issue was accomplished." She gave her backing to the health care overhaul law during some of the most contentious debates over it. 
 
 Several Republican lawmakers, however, described the policy as a "fig-leaf" in press releases, and the leaders of Concerned Women for America, a conservative group, described it as "inane." 
 
 GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum said he was "not at all" satisfied. "This is a war of government trying to use its power to force you to do things," he said Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. 
 
 A key issue for the bishops and Catholic ethicists will be determining whether the proposals adequately shield religious employers from facilitating access to contraception. 
 
 Such liberal Catholic groups as Catholics United praised the decision, but others, such as Catholics for Choice, said the administration had given "victory number one to the bishops." 
 
 Sandra Fluke, a student at Georgetown University's law school who campaigned for access to contraception for students at Catholic institutions, said that she was "really thankful." 
 
 The Rev. John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, said in a statement that he "applaud[ed] the willingness of the administration to work with religious organizations to find a solution acceptable to all parties." 
 
 Supporters of the policy change say it won't cost insurers extra because contraceptive services are cheaper to provide than maternity coverage. A report by Department of Health and Human Services officials found that previous expansions of contraception coverage had zero cost increase. 
 
 Others disagreed. "There is no free lunch and there is no free contraception," wrote Bob Laszewski, a health care consultant and former insurance executive, in a blog post Friday. 
 
 The insurance industry was caught by surprise. Industry officials said they learned of the decision early Friday without any discussions with the Obama administration over how it might work or how much it would cost. 
 
 Obama, hoping to quell a political backlash, announced a new policy that no longer requires religious organizations to provide employees with contraception coverage. Louise Radnofsky has details on Lunch Break. 
 
 "Aetna certainly will comply with the policy announced today, but we need to study the mechanics of this unprecedented decision before we can understand how it will be implemented and how it will impact our customers," said Mohit Ghose, a company spokesman. 
 
 The decision left people on both sides of the debate wondering why the administration had not proposed this solution from the start. 
 
 Late last year, the White House appeared to be leaning toward a broader exemption for religious organizations. Archbishop Dolan, for instance, came away from a conversation with Mr. Obama optimistic the president was sympathetic to his concerns. But the delay in issuing the regulations gave advocates time to lobby the White House the other way. 
 
 Internally, the pro-coverage views were championed by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, while others in the administration, including Vice President Joe Biden and then-Chief of Staff Bill Daley, argued the requirement would be read by some Catholic leaders as an intrusion into religious liberty. Denis McDonough, one of Mr. Obama's deputy national security advisers who has advised the president on Catholic issues, also supported the Catholic perspective. 
 
 Administration officials considered a model like one used in Hawaii, where religious employers who exclude contraception from their plans pay a reduced premium. But lawyers concluded that model was unworkable nationwide. 
 
 From the start, Mr. Obama had misgivings about the policy announced last month. He was uncomfortable issuing a policy that would be read as offensive to people like Sister Carol, who had worked with the White House, according to people familiar with his thinking. But he was told that other options would leave large numbers of women without access to contraception. 
 
 The policy allowed a year's delay for religious groups. The president believed that would be enough time to find a solution that accommodated all sides. But the political reaction quickly grew fierce, dominating conversation in Washington. The backlash caught the president's advisers off guard. 
 
 Late last week, Mr. Obama ordered aides to speed up the review and find an accommodation quickly, the president said Friday. 
 
 Mr. Obama's advisers held a series of phone calls and meetings to find a way out. The challenge, people familiar with the discussions say, was to find a solution that quelled the controversy but didn't reverse the president's core principle of ensuring women had access to contraceptives. Politically, the president's advisers feared a compromise alienated both Catholic leaders and women's groups that backed the birth control coverage. 
 
 Mark Childress, the newly appointed White House deputy chief of staff, was assigned to lead the review. A lawyer who had worked at HHS and on Capitol Hill, he has been charged with "quarterbacking" thorny political policy matters, one aide said. He brought fresh eyes to the problem, other people familiar with the process explained. Officials again looked at the Hawaii model and again were told it was unworkable nationally. The final solution was a variation on that approach, one that was never considered in the first round of discussions, officials said. 
 
 —Danny Yadron, Sumathi Reddy and Jennifer Maloney contributed to this article. 
 
 Write to Louise Radnofsky at louise.radnofsky@wsj.com, Laura Meckler at laura.meckler@wsj.com and Carol E. Lee at carol.lee@wsj.com ||||| Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
 
 WASHINGTON — Despite strong resistance from religious organizations, the Obama administration said Friday that it was moving ahead with a rule requiring most employers to provide free insurance coverage of contraceptives for women, a decision that has touched off a legal and political battle likely to rage for another year. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The final rule, issued under the new health care law, adopts a simplified version of an approach proposed by the government in February to balance the interests of women with the concerns of the Roman Catholic Church and other employers with religious objections to providing coverage for contraceptives. 
 
 After considering more than 400,000 comments, administration officials refused to budge on the basic principle. The rule, they said, is very similar to their proposal. An exemption is included for churches. But many Catholic hospitals, schools, universities and other religious institutions will have to take steps so that coverage is available to employees and their dependents. 
 
 The issue figured prominently in last year’s elections as President Obama and other Democrats pressed their advantage with female voters. At the same time, Catholic bishops waged a national campaign arguing that the federal policy infringed on religious freedom and violated the church’s social and moral teachings on birth control and abortion. 
 
 Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the group was reviewing the final rule. 
 
 Democrats describe the mandate for coverage of birth control as one of the chief benefits of the 2010 health care law, a boon to women and their health. 
 
 “The health care law guarantees millions of women access to recommended preventive services at no cost,” said Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services. “Today’s announcement reinforces our commitment to respect the concerns of houses of worship and other nonprofit religious organizations that object to contraceptive coverage, while helping to ensure that women get the care they need, regardless of where they work.” 
 
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 Republicans say the requirement shows how intrusive and onerous the law is. 
 
 The rule does not satisfy the concerns of certain religious organizations or businesses whose owners have religious objections to contraceptive coverage. 
 
 The United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, in Denver, said Thursday that the owners of Hobby Lobby, a craft store chain that describes itself as “a faith-based company,” could pursue their case against the rule. 
 
 Eric C. Rassbach, a deputy general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which has represented plaintiffs in that case and others challenging the law, said the final rule did nothing to meet the objections of his clients. 
 
 “The government tinkered with some mechanisms in the rule, but did not really get at the religious conscience questions,” Mr. Rassbach said. “So there is a fundamental conflict that will have to be resolved in court.” 
 
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 Under the rule, women are to have access to contraceptives without any premium, deductible, co-payment or other fees. 
 
 Some religious employers do not want their employees to have coverage of contraceptives, even if someone else pays for it. 
 
 A number of federal judges deferred decisions until the White House issued a final regulation. Publication of the rule clears the way for courts to act. 
 
 Under the new health care law, employers with more than 50 employees will generally be required to offer health insurance to employees, or the employers will be subject to financial penalties. 
 
 Among the “essential health benefits” that must be provided are preventive services. In particular, the administration says, most health plans must cover sterilization and the full range of contraceptive methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration, including emergency contraceptive pills, like those known as ella and Plan B One-Step. 
 
 Under the rule issued Friday, the government said certain “religious employers” — primarily houses of worship — may exclude contraceptive coverage from their health plans for employees and their dependents. In effect, they will be exempt from the federal requirement to provide contraceptive coverage. 
 
 The rule also lays out what it describes as an accommodation for other nonprofit religious and church-affiliated organizations, like hospitals, universities and charities, that object to contraceptive coverage but do not qualify for the exemption. 
 
 Under the rule, these organizations will not have to contract, arrange or pay for contraceptive coverage to which they object on religious grounds. 
 
 Instead, the administration said, such coverage will be “separately provided to women enrolled in their health plans at no cost.” 
 
 Under this arrangement, a nonprofit religious employer must notify its insurer that it objects to contraceptive coverage. The insurer must then notify people in the health plan that it will arrange or pay for contraceptive services as long as they remain in the health plan. 
 
 Many employers serve as their own insurers and hire outside companies to administer benefits and pay claims. In such cases, the administration said, the “third-party administrator” must inform people in an employer-sponsored health plan that it is “providing or arranging separate no-cost payments for contraceptive services.” 
 
 Administration officials said the cost of contraceptive services would, for insurers, be offset by savings that result from the fact that women would be healthier and will have fewer births. 
 
 To reimburse third-party administrators for the cost of contraceptive services, the government said it would reduce the fees charged to certain health insurance companies for the privilege of selling insurance in federal marketplaces, or exchanges, being established in more than 30 states. Insurers will then be required to share some of those savings with third-party administrators for the self-insured health plans of religious employers that object to contraceptive coverage. 
 
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 The reduction in user fees would reflect the cost of contraceptive services, as well as “an allowance for administrative costs and margin,” or profit. The government would require third-party administrators to provide detailed information about the payments they made or arranged. 
 
 Federal officials had difficulty explaining how these arrangements would work in practice. They said they were leaving the details to employers, insurers and third-party administrators. 
 
 The Labor Department said it had the authority to require third-party administrators to provide, or arrange for an insurance company or other entity to provide, payment for contraceptive services. 
 
 The final rule is the administration’s fourth attempt in 20 months to articulate a policy requiring contraceptive coverage. 
 
 Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, said: “Today’s ruling strikes a fair balance between religious liberties and the reproductive rights of all women. Access to contraception shouldn’t be dictated by a woman’s employer.” 
 
 But Patrick J. Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, which promotes Catholic education, said the final rule did not respect the religious freedom of religious employers. “Now the lawsuits can proceed,” he said.
– The Catholic Church may be "pro-traditional marriage," but it's "not anti-anybody," Cardinal Timothy Dolan said today on NBC's Meet the Press. The church has simply "been out-marketed" when it comes to the issue of gay marriage, and "caricatured as being anti-gay," the Archbishop of New York continued. "When you have forces like Hollywood, when you have forces like politicians, when you have forces like some opinion-molders that are behind it, it's a tough battle." Elsewhere on the Sunday dial, per Politico: Dolan also said the Church could have been a "cheerleader" for ObamaCare, seeing as Catholic bishops are "for universal, comprehensive, life-affirming healthcare." The problem? The Affordable Care Act "isn't comprehensive, because it's excluding the undocumented immigrant and it's excluding the unborn baby." Speaking of ObamaCare, Rep. Mike Rogers said on the same program that Healthcare.gov's security standards show a "sheer level of incompetence." Specifically, he claimed, "The security of this site and the private information does not meet even the minimal standards of the private sector." On ABC's This Week, former National Security Adviser Tom Donilon weighed in on the Iran nuclear deal ("a very solid achievement") and Afghan President Hamid Karzai's refusal to sign the US-Afghan security agreement ("reckless"). And on CNN's State of the Union, Howard Dean and Rick Santorum sparred over ObamaCare. At one point, Santorum asked, "Is the president competent to do his job?" and Dean responded that though ObamaCare is not "ideal," "I fail to see how it has anything to do with the president’s competence. I lose my patience with this nonsense."