Owners of Chicago Bears hold meeting against HHS contraception edict

Virginia and Patrick McCaskey host Reclaiming Religious Liberty Leadership Summit

Patrick McCaskey, the Bears' senior director of special projects, also addressed the crowd, serenading them with a religious liberty-themed rendition of "Bear Down, Chicago Bears."

Concerns about the federal government's mandate that some religious institutions offer health insurance policies that cover their employees' contraceptives and its implications for religious freedom aren't new. Dozens of Catholic organizations have sued the federal government, arguing that the rule would force them to contradict the Vatican's teachings.

The mandate has two high-profile opponents in Patrick McCaskey and his mother, Virginia, who is the Bears' principal owner. But Patrick McCaskey said it would be "unfair to say the Bears, as an organization, agree" with everything that was said Sunday. His mother said it would be "inappropriate" for the team to take an official stand on the mandate.

"We're doing what we can by hosting this event and by our personal efforts," Virginia McCaskey said.

The three-hour conference featured more than a dozen speakers who expressed concern about perceived government hostility toward religion in general and Christianity in particular. About 100 people attended the event, held in the room where the Bears' special teams units meet.

Some speakers cited evidence of religious persecution in abortion laws, gay marriage and efforts to characterize opponents of the contraception mandate as anti-women.

continue at Chicago Tribune

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