ROME – Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan vowed today that he’s “not going to give up” the fight against the Obama administration’s mandate calling for birth-control coverage in all health care plans – saying he’ll use Congress to help him change the policy.
“We will now seek to remedy the situation through legislation if we have to at this point,” Dolan told The Post. “We’re not going to give up.”
The statement came just days after Dolan penned a scathing letter to bishops, saying the mandate – even after a compromise set forth by President Obama – “is intruding in the definition of who is and who is not a religious employer.”
On Friday, Obama announced that religious groups such as the Catholic Church would not have to directly pay for insurance coverage that included birth control, sterilization and abortion service.
But Dolan said he spoke with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on a bill that would put the issue to an end.
Rubio and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) have put forward legislation that would allow any employer the right to deny birth control coverage if it runs against their religious beliefs.
“I speak to lawmakers – both Republican and Democrat – all the time,” he said. “The legislative route is one way to try and remedy the issue. [Rubio’s] bill would do that.”
The White House said Monday that the Senate bill is “dangerous and wrong.”
Dolan also said he’s still open to talking with Obama about this issue.
“We will take President Obama at his word and we hope he will dialogue with us,” he said.