"In response to a great number of mischaracterizations in the media, Catholic Charities USA wants to make two things very clear," reads a statement on their website.
"1) We have not endorsed the accommodation to the HHS mandate that was announced by the Administration last Friday; 2) we unequivocally share the goal of the US Catholic bishops to uphold religious liberty and will continue to work with the USCCB towards that goal."
They add: "Any representation to the contrary is false."
The so-called endorsement of the mandate by Catholic Charities USA was announced on major Sunday talk shows this past weekend by White House chief of staff Jacob Lew, and has also been trumpeted by the press as an indication that there may be cracks in what has otherwise been solid Catholic opposition to the mandate.
In addition, Catholic Charities is listed on an official White House blog as being one of "a wide range of individuals and organizations" that are praising the accommodation.
The mischaracterizations came from an initial statement about the "accommodation" which stated that Catholic Charities "welcomes the administration's attempt to meet the concerns of the religious community." But it also said they were looking forward to reviewing the final language. What was meant as a good will gesture for the president was taken out of context.
Thus far, Fox News appears to be the only media outlet covering this clarification.
Sadly, the White House still has this erroneous information on its blog, which also fails to report that Sr. Carol Keehan has withdrawn her support for the mandate as well.
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