Statement on Court of Appeals decision in Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, et al v Vullo

Statement from Dennis Poust, executive director, NYS Catholic Conference on the Court of Appeals decision in Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, et al v Vullo:

“We are disappointed in this ruling and believe it is wrongly decided. We continue to believe that the regulatory action by the state, as well as subsequent legislative action, requiring religious organizations to provide and pay for coverage of abortion in its employee health plans is unconstitutional and unjust.

“It will come as a surprise to exactly no one that abortion violates the tenets of the Catholic Church. By forcing this mandate on our ministries, the state has unconstitutionally entangled itself in the free exercise of our faith. We fully expect the plaintiffs ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn this ruling and the earlier decisions on which it is based. The Supreme Court already has vacated this New York court decision once, remanding it to be reconsidered. We are confident the Court will grant a writ of certiorari again now that the New York courts have disregarded recent Supreme Court religious liberty precedent.”

The Catholic Conference represents the Bishops of New York State in public policy matters.