Notre Dame off the ObamaCare Reservation

The sometime RINO (religious in name only) Catholic university has joined the 1st amendment cause. Notre Dame sues Obama Administration over HHS rule:

Let me say very clearly what this lawsuit is not about:  it is not about preventing women from having access to contraception, nor even about preventing the Government from providing such services.  Many of our faculty, staff and students -- both Catholic and non-Catholic -- have made conscientious decisions to use contraceptives.  As we assert the right to follow our conscience, we respect their right to follow theirs.  And we believe that, if the Government wishes to provide such services, means are available that do not compel religious organizations to serve as its agents.  We do not seek to impose our religious beliefs on others; we simply ask that the Government not impose its values on the University when those values conflict with our religious teachings. We have engaged in conversations to find a resolution that respects the consciences of all and we will continue to do so.

This filing is about the freedom of a religious organization to live its mission, and its significance goes well beyond any debate about contraceptives.  For if we concede that the Government can decide which religious organizations are sufficiently religious to be awarded the freedom to follow the principles that define their mission, then we have begun to walk down a path that ultimately leads to the undermining of those institutions.  For if one Presidential Administration can override our religious purpose and use religious organizations to advance policies that undercut our values, then surely another Administration will do the same for another very different set of policies, each time invoking some concept of popular will or the public good, with the result these religious organizations become mere tools for the exercise of government power, morally subservient to the state, and not free from its infringements.  If that happens, it will be the end of genuinely religious organizations in all but name.

You know, ND, maybe if your leadership hadn't kissed Obama's ring and dissed those of sincere religious belief, he and his HHS czarina Sebelius wouldn't have been so emboldened on ObamaCare.

P.S. Georgetown's disgrace.

Related posts: The Shame of Notre Dame, Notre Dame Pro-Life Fallout, Open Letter to Notre Dame President, Free the ND 88, No, Mr. President, Empty Words, The Sin of Pride, Notre Dame's Betrayal