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CINCINATTI, Ohio, April 5, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Xavier University, a Catholic University in Cincinnati, announced Monday that it was abolishing coverage for contraception and sterilization in its health care policy, prompting an outcry from some members of the school’s faculty. 

The change, which was announced in a letter from the school’s President, Fr. Michael Graham, will go into effect on July 1, 2012. According to Fr. Graham, the controversy over the HHS mandate requiring Catholic institutions to provide coverage for contraception, abortifacient drugs, and sterilization prompted him to re-examine the school’s healthcare policy. The mandate is set to go into effect in August of 2013.

“As a Catholic priest and as a president of a Catholic University, I have concluded that, absent a legal mandate, it is inconsistent for a Catholic institution to cover those drugs and procedures the Church opposes,” Fr. Graham wrote. However, he noted, coverage would still be provided “in cases of medical necessity, for non-contraceptive purposes.”

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Fr. Graham added that “from the Church’s perspective,” Obama’s proposed “accommodation,” which purports to have the insurance companies rather than the employer foot the bill for contraceptive coverage, was “insufficient for a number of reasons.”

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In a letter dated the same day the decision was announced, members of the faculty committee said that some faculty and staff at Xavier, “including practicing Catholics,” believed that “the Church should reconsider its position on birth control,” but added that covering costs for procedures that are “currently” against Church teaching might “call into question our Jesuit Catholic identity.”

However, the letter also claimed that the President had bowed to the “outside pressure” of Catholic Bishops, and expressed concern that this might weaken “the semi-autonomous status of our university.”

“We can only assume U.S. Catholic Bishops decided to compel Catholic institutions that are not already mandated by state law to provide this coverage to come out publicly against it,” the letter said. “This action might be more disruptive than productive, but if it comes from U.S. Catholic Bishops, it is what it is.”

The faculty also complained that their exclusion from the decision-making process neglected the principle of “shared governance,” and called the timing of the decision “somewhat confusing.”

“It seems odd that a decision to stop covering birth control and sterilization procedures has so quickly been implemented to begin on July 1, 2012 when there are numerous contingencies at play that could overturn the decision,” read the letter.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Faculty Committee Chair Shannon Byrne circulated the letter to her colleagues in an email attachment along with an invitation to attend an April 12th meeting about the decision.
In the text of the email, Byrne also questioned the legality of Fr. Graham’s decision.

“From a benefits standpoint, does anyone, including the President of Xavier, have a right to make changes to the university health coverage plan in the middle of the year?” she wrote, according to the Enquirer. “We would like to see if insurance law permits an employer to change benefits after six months that employees are expecting for the entire year.”

A spokesperson from the University declined to comment on the situation.