More From Kaveny | National Catholic Reporter

More From Kaveny | National Catholic Reporter by MSW.  MGB: She is hitting all the right notes, especially in citing the 2000 EEOC decision which made contraception itself cover-able, although not with first dollar coverage.  More importantly, she raises the claim of a faithful Supreme Court Justice who must balance her religious views against the legal matters in the case.  It is interesting to up the ante and add the possibility that the USCCB had decided that she must vote to deny this coverage or refrain from going to Communion (talking about putting a finger on the scale).  The response to such an action would of course be that she would have to recuse herself from the case, as would all Catholic Justices - leaving prior precedents in place.  Of course, in that case, because the USCCB is essentially a collection of papal appointees, such an act could be considered sedition in service to a foreign power and the Papal Nuncio would have to be expelled - turning the Roman Catholic Church back to a mission church.  If the American hierarchy were self-appointing, however, no such danger would exist and it could exercise more in terms of moral authority.