I just read an article about the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Atlanta. They are up in arms about the government requirement that their for-profit affiliated businesses must provide contraceptive services to their female employees as part of their employer-provided health insurance.

They are morally outraged. That requirement smacks of intrusion by government into their religious freedom.

I would ask, where was that moral outrage when they were covering up for numerous pedophile priests? During that time, the bishops were noticeably silent while actively covering up the facts and giving those despicable priests a place to hide from the law.

The Catholic Church is also working very hard to make sure that marriage rights are denied to same-sex couples. I understand their feelings on this subject, but no one is forcing them to marry same-sex couples in the church, so why should they have any say in the matter?

They say that it is a moral issue. Again, I would say that the history of the Catholic Church on a number of moral issues leaves them very little ground to stand on.

This country was conceived with the idea of separation of church and state. The last time religion and government were intermixed, witches were burned at the stake.

Keep your faith and worship any way you desire, but don’t try to imprint your faith onto others.

Robert Tremaine, Livermore Falls