Today on "Kresta in the Afternoon" - August 24, 2012

Talking about the "things that matter most" on August 24

4:00 – Reflections on the LCWR Assembly As Next Steps Are Taken in Response to Vatican Call for Reforms
Veteran Catholic reporter Ann Carey attended the annual meeting of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious last week to report on their response to the mandate from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to reform their organization. Ann writes, “I had the very real sense that some sisters feel that the Church can address problems in the modern world only by reconsidering some of its doctrine. Thus, I developed a better understanding of the Vatican’s concern that the LCWR seems to want to negotiate doctrine. Attending the LCWR assembly also made clear to me that the LCWR sisters and the Vatican have a divergent ecclesiology and even a different language. So, the gulf between the two parties is wide, and they both need our prayers…” Ann joins us to summarize the meeting.

4:20 – Subsidiarity, Solidarity, and the Lay Mission: Bishop Morlino Discusses Paul Ryan and the Ryan Budget
During the final bruising months of a presidential election that could hinge on the shifting views of Catholic “swing” voters, Americans can expect to witness disputes that showcase legitimate questions about the practical impact of VP candidate Paul Ryan's policies and partisan hit jobs that fail to provide a holistic treatment of Catholic teaching. Now, Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, Ryan’s bishop, has waded into this election-year minefield, clearly concerned that a valued member of his flock is being unfairly attacked by partisan forces. In a column posted on his diocesan website Aug. 16, Bishop Morlino vouches for Ryan’s Catholic bona fides, but stresses that his remarks should not be viewed as an endorsement of Ryan or any candidate. Bishop Morlino joins us today to discuss that column.

4:40 – Kresta Comments

5:00 – Kresta Comments

5:20 – Who's Counting?: How Fraudsters and Bureaucrats Put Your Vote at Risk
The 2012 election will be one of the hardest-fought in U.S. history. It is also likely to be one of the closest, a fact that brings concerns about voter fraud and bureaucratic incompetence in the conduct of elections front and center. If we don't take notice, we could see another debacle like the Bush-Gore Florida recount of 2000 in which courts and lawyers intervened in what should have involved only voters. John Fund is here to focus attention on many problems of our election system, ranging from voter fraud to a slipshod system of vote counting that noted political scientist Walter Dean Burnham calls “the most careless of the developed world.”

5:40 – What are the Options for Non-exempt Employers under “Obamacare”?
On February 15, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) promulgated the Final Rule concerning what is known as the contraception mandate. Employers who offer group health insurance in a business of any size must comply for all employee health plan years beginning on or after August 1, 2012. The mandate requires that all non-grandfathered group health plans (including student health insurance plans) and health insurance issuers provide the full range of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved contraceptive methods, patient education, and counseling as “preventive services” for women, as specified under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). So what are the moral options for non-exempt employers? Dr. John Haas of the National Catholic Bioethics Center is here to explain it.