Are Catholic bishops abandoning nonpartisanship in contraception battle?

Some Catholics are wondering whether bishops have abandoned their historic nonpartisanship as they campaign against contraception provisions in President Obama's healthcare plan.

By Mitchell Landsberg, Los Angeles Times

June 13, 2012, 5:00 a.m.
ATLANTA — The nation's Roman Catholic bishops have long prided themselves on being political without being partisan, throwing themselves into the scrum of public affairs without aligning themselves with one party or the other.

Now, some Catholics are beginning to wonder out loud whether the bishops have abandoned their historic nonpartisanship — or, at least, are at risk of being seen that way — as they press forward with a vigorous campaign against contraception provisions in President Obama's healthcare plan.

Led by the indomitable Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, the bishops are arriving in Atlanta for their annual spring meeting this week determined to throw the spotlight on what they perceive as an assault by the Obama administration on religious liberty.

In that fight, the bishops have the support not just of many Catholics but of evangelical Christians and others on the conservative side of the religious and political spectrum — including Mitt Romney, the Republican challenger who has repeatedly portrayed Obama as an enemy of religious freedom.

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-na-bishops-politics-20120613,0,582933.story

This goes back to the Kerry Communion wars.