In a pluralistic society, we have to balance the greater good against religious liberty. This right isn’t an absolute. When it considered the subject 23 years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that even if smoking peyote is part of your religious practice, the government can still arrest you for it. So observant soldiers might be required to fight on the Sabbath, or (if they are Quakers) fight at all, while Hare Krishna can’t play tambourines at the airport.

When a law is reasonable, as unintrusive as possible, and only incidentally affects religion, there is no exemption required. In other words: The Obama administration didn’t have to issue new regulations. But it did. The president didn’t have to placate the bishops, but he is trying to anyway. Maybe they should say five Our Fathers and five Hail Marys in gratitude.

You really need to read the whole thing: What the Catholic Bishops Owe President Barack Obama: Margaret Carlson