Initially, a mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services ordered religious organizations to cover contraception for free regardless of their feelings about it. The ensuing firestorm, in which Republicans attacked President Obama for limiting religious freedom, prompted the administration to modify its rule.
DeGioia added: “We will be monitoring further regulatory and judicial developments related to the Affordable Care Act.”
Georgetown has played a role in several political controversies this spring — one involving a GU law student who was labeled a “slut” and a “prostitute” by conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh after she testified before Congress in support of the coverage mandate.
More recently, more than 80 members of Georgetown’s faculty and administration wrote to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) challenging him for using Catholic doctrine to defend the social spending cuts contained in his most recent budget.
The budget echoes “the values of your favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand, rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” the letter states.
“We would be remiss … if we did not challenge your continuing misuse of Catholic teaching to defend a budget plan that decimates food programs for struggling families, radically weakens protections for the elderly and sick, and gives more tax breaks to the wealthiest few,” it read, in part.
The message came two days before Ryan gave a lecture on its campus, where he was met by protesters.
He defended the budget plan before a small audience, according to reports.
“The overarching threat to our whole society today is the exploding federal debt,” he said. “The Holy Father, Pope Benedict, has charged that governments, communities and individuals running up high debt levels are ‘living at the expense of future generations’ and ‘living in untruth.’ “