During the last Presidential election campaign, my favorite deacon thought that Obama was an empty suit.  I was concerned that he was not an empty suit. My gut kept screaming danger, danger!

Well, unfortunately, the President’s war on the Catholic Church in particular and freedom of religion in general has confirmed my worst fears.

His so called statement of accommodation has not persuaded me otherwise.  I think that I will have to re-think voting none of the above come November.

(Reuters) – President Barack Obama, in an abrupt policy shift aimed at quelling an election-year firestorm, announced on Friday that religious employers would not be required to offer free birth control to workers and that the onus would instead be put on insurers.

This is a complete Orwelian sham.  As the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty points out (H/T The Anchoress):

“According to a White House statement, some religious employers will no longer be required to provide insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization, and abortifacient drugs; coverage for those services will instead be provided for free directly by insurance companies. However, at least three problems remain. First, hundreds if not thousands of religious organizations self insure, meaning that they will still be forced to pay for these services in violation of their religious beliefs. Second, it is unclear which religious organizations are permitted to claim the new exemption, and whether it will extend to for-profit organizations, individuals, or non-denominational organizations. Third, money is fungible, and many religious organizations may still object to being forced to pay money to an insurance company which will turn around and provide contraception to its employees for free.

“It is especially telling that the details of this supposed ‘compromise’ will likely not be announced until after the election,” said Smith. “Religious freedom is not a political football to be kicked around in an election-year. Rather than providing full protection for the right of conscience, the administration has made a cynical political play that is the antithesis of ‘hope and change.’

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are proceeding with caution. Read their statement here. We will see. I don’t think that  cardinal designate Dolan will fall for this. Unless there is something in the details of the plan and a firm reason to believe that any compromise will not be rescinded if Obama is re-elected.