Dear Catholic Bishops: Stop Spamming Me. I Won't Vote for Romney. Leave Joe Alone.

Listen guys - and I can say that because, well, we all know you're all male - but I'm really sick of getting mandatory emails from my child's school and from my parish because you've told them they have to tell me MY RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IS BEING INFRINGED UPON !!!!!

No. It's not. I went to mass Saturday and the week before, and the week before that, and no one tried to stop me. I will continue to go, and no one is infringing upon my religious freedom (OR YOURS) because somebody might have to pay for a birth control pill so a woman who is NOT CATHOLIC doesn't get pregnant. Seriously. What is wrong with you? YOU feel "assaulted"? That's almost laughable.

You can't bully me. I'm not taking the Obama sign out of my yard and I doubt the dozens of cars in the Catholic Church parking lot with OBAMA/BIDEN bumper stickers are going to peel them off because you're upset about Joe Biden.

Yes, you're mad at Joe Biden because you think he "misstated facts" in the VP Debate last week, so you got together and decided to send out a mass directive to ALL CATHOLICS making sure they know you feel infringed upon. Well, I love my church and I won't leave it.

But to you guys I say, just stop your whining already. My church will NOT tell me how to vote. In fact, since you thought Ryan's budget was "immoral", you're kind of batting 0/2 on YOUR choice, aren't you? You'd be very very lucky to have MORE Catholics like Joe Biden holding high office. (copy of email below)

USCCB Responds To Inaccurate Statement Of Fact On HHS Mandate Made During Vice Presidential Debate
October 12, 2012

WASHINGTONThe U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued the following statement, October 12. Full text follows:

Last night, the following statement was made during the Vice Presidential debate regarding the decision of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to force virtually all employers to include sterilization and contraception, including drugs that may cause abortion, in the health insurance coverage they provide their employees:

"With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No religious institutionCatholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospitalnone has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact."

This is not a fact. The HHS mandate contains a narrow, four-part exemption for certain "religious employers." That exemption was made final in February and does not extend to "Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital," or any other religious charity that offers its services to all, regardless of the faith of those served.

HHS has proposed an additional "accommodation" for religious organizations like these, which HHS itself describes as "non-exempt." That proposal does not even potentially relieve these organizations from the obligation "to pay for contraception" and "to be a vehicle to get contraception." They will have to serve as a vehicle, because they will still be forced to provide their employees with health coverage, and that coverage will still have to include sterilization, contraception, and abortifacients. They will have to pay for these things, because the premiums that the organizations (and their employees) are required to pay will still be applied, along with other funds, to cover the cost of these drugs and surgeries.

USCCB continues to urge HHS, in the strongest possible terms, actually to eliminate the various infringements on religious freedom imposed by the mandate.

For more details, please see USCCB's regulatory comments filed on May 15 regarding the proposed "accommodation": www.usccb.org/about/general-counsel/rulemaking/upload/comments-on-advance-notice-of-proposed-rulemaking-on-preventive-services-12-05-15.pdf