In my first post this morning, I lamented how few voices had been raised in opposition to the health care mandates on liberal grounds. And, not five minutes after posting that, I turned to Rocco Palmo to get any breaking Church news and, voila, he had a link to an editorial at Commonweal entitled "Illiberal Mandates" that makes the case.
Commonweal is not Fox. Catholics on the left who have been indifferent to this issue and have been unpersuaded by my arguments should carefully consult the central argument put forth by the editors at Commonweal: "except when life or limb is at stake, it is hard to see what is “liberal” in coercing religious individuals and institutions. There are other ways that contraception can be made available to employees of Catholic institutions, should they choose to use it. One does not need to oppose contraception to see that, in this case, it’s far less important than the principle, and practice, of religious freedom."
