First Read - Catholic heavyweights challenge Obama rule on contraception

First Read - Catholic heavyweights challenge Obama rule on contraception ;..  The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and the University of Notre Dame separately filed lawsuits in federal court challenging a Health and Human Services rule that would require them to offer coverage for contraception, the use of which runs contrary to Catholic teaching.

"For the first time in this country’s history, the government’s new definition of religious institutions suggests that some of the very institutions that put our faith into practice — schools, hospitals and social service organizations — are not ‘religious enough,'" said Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, in a statement.

Father John Jenkins, the president of Notre Dame, said: "This filing is about the freedom of a religious organization to live its mission, and its significance goes well beyond any debate about contraceptives."