Dr. Kidglove and the Lords Bishop

And so the Captain Courage mask comes off, revealing once again the real occupant of the Oval Office, Dr. Kidglove.

Caving in characteristic fashion, he is thumbing his nose at women's health rights and doing the Obama Flip Flop on the requirement that all employer health plans must cover birth control as preventive care for women.

Religious employers were outraged by the rule, even though it exempted  churches and houses of worship. Republicans, responding to the powerful lobbying force of the Roman Catholic bishops organization, clamored against requiring Catholic organizations to violate church teachings and long-held beliefs against contraception. Never mind that a majority of Catholic women quietly ignore the teachings and practice birth control anyway.  How dare that Kenya-born Muslim in the White House encourage women to make their own decisions in these matters!  This is a Christian nation!!

Frequent Commenter Fleabane shared this from Daily Kos:

My Dear Lord Bishop:

(I just assume you prefer the medieval title). I sat in the pew on Sunday morning recently and listened with interest to your letter warning of the threat to religious liberty posed by the Obama administration's recently announced rules regarding mandated coverage for contraception and other health care procedures you find distasteful.

 I have to say I found it to be the most brilliant letter from you regarding the Church's social teaching since the one last year about the rights of workers (in Indiana and Wisconsin) to bargain collectively.

What's that you say? You wrote no such letter? I could have sworn that a couragous leader such as yourself . . . .Oh well, never mind. I must be thinking of your forceful letter endorsing an end to capital punishment consistent with the church's longstanding teaching regarding the sanctity of human life. ... You never wrote such a letter? 

I must have in mind the letter all the bishops had read at mass prior to the invasion of Iraq condemning that war as unjust consistent with the Pope's statement and the Church's Just War doctrine. ... You say the bishops never authored such a letter?

(Perhaps) I have in mind the letter from just this past Sunday with its profound and moving acknowledgment of the pain caused by the sexual abuse scandal and it's solemn promise to remove from service those implicated in the scandal as well as a commitment to compensation and healing for the victims. What?!? . . . You didn't write that one either. 

Frankly, my Lord Bishop, I'm getting tired of only hearing from you on behalf of right wing talking points. There is much that is inspiring, humane and progressive in the Church's social teaching tradition, but . . .you might find that people paid more attention if you did not appear so partisan. . .

To which your Pianist can only add the suggestion that some day you might want to talk about your tax exemption, Lord Bishop, which calls for NON-partisanship.  Another letter you'll never write.