I didn’t think we had reached the point in America where providing free contraception would be seen as a risky political maneuver, but here we are. Last month, the Administration agreed to universal access to birth control as part of the Affordable Care Act. Insurance companies would need to provide coverage for contraception in both employer plans and on the insurance exchanges without a co-pay.

Daniel Avila, a lawyer for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, has resigned over a column he wrote ascribing same-sex attraction to Satan. Church Lady jokes aside, Avila’s resignation reveals a great deal about the USCCB’s efforts to get religious exemptions to various federal regulations on health care and providing social services with federal money.

Avila’s apology seems more aimed at his former employers at the USCCB than to LGBTs, which says a great deal about the political priorities and goals of the USCCB.

As Obama buys into the deficit hysteria of the GOP, he is endangering not only the social safety net on which millions depend, but also his own particular job. One aspect of the 2012 election calculus that I don’t think Team Obama realizes is that a deal like this will throw away any hope he has of holding onto the Catholic voters that supported him in 2008.

In states like Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Missouri, Ohio, and Florida, Catholics are a sizable chunk of the electorate, and Obama cannot afford to alienate them. If he caves to the GOP on the debt ceiling negotiations and sacrifices Social Security and Medicare to protect the tax gimmicks so beloved by the MOTUs and banksters, these voters will not be happy.

Just let those states sink in: Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Missouri, Ohio, and Florida. Obama’s not going to win them without significant Catholic support, and cutting the social safety net is NOT going to help get those votes.

I wish that headline was in any way hyperbolic. And this comes out of a five-year study, not a quick answer to deflect criticism. This is the formal opinion of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In 2008, the Roman Catholic church was instrumental in two major battles against marriage equality — Maine’s Prop 1 and California’s Prop 8. Leading the fight nationally for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops was Louisville’s Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz. Last month, Kurtz was elected Vice President of the USCCB, after giving a powerful address on the USCCB ad-hoc committee’s work to defend marriage (a committee he chairs).

By elevating Kurtz to the #2 position at the USCCB, the bishops signaled their determination not simply to stand against marriage equality, but to work just as hard against anything that might lead to it as they work against anything that might possibly lead to thinking about considering something that might be akin to abortion.

This past week, two Roman Catholics in Illinois — Governor Pat Quinn and state House Speaker Michael Madigan — worked hard to get a civil unions bill passed the Illinois Legislature, much to the chagrin of the local bishop.

Welcome to the opening round of the 2012 culture wars, featuring the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Last week I wrote about three big scandals that no doubt gave Pope Benedict nightmares. Now, with a big story in the NYT, the nightmares continue, as bishops and canon lawyers — speaking on the record — call out the failures of then-Cardinal Ratzinger to deal appropriately with allegations of priestly child abuse when that was part of his office’s responsibility.

It’s never been particularly easy for strong women to use their gifts within the Roman Catholic church’s hierarchical structure and their understanding of the separate roles prescribed for men and women. These days, though, it’s getting even harder — and the debate is not something that affects solely Roman Catholics.

Look at the ongoing health care battle, where the USCCB continues to fight inside and outside the church, to impose their beliefs on the entire US medical system.

For a generation, the name at the top of the list of political heroes of the anti-abortion movement has been Henry Hyde. Bart Stupak wants to put his name at the top of that list for the next generation, and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops is trying their best to make that happen. For the USCCB and for Stupak, the world is a black and white place, and those in authority tell those lower down the totem pole which is which.

God help us.

Glenn Beck’s rant last week wasn’t an attack on Christians in general, but part of a conversation between Roman Catholic bishops and their potential political allies in evangelical and LDS circles, saying “If you want to ally yourself with the LDS and evangelicals, you better clean up your own house first and deal with all those lefty peace-and-justice priests. We don’t need allies like that.”

As a speechwriter, Marc Thiessen plays with words. His comments to justify Bush’s torture regime on the basis of the teaching of the Catholic Church, however, go too far. He better hope his priest doesn’t read the NY Times.