While one can understand that Fox "opinion," as the mouthpiece for the conservative Catholic right, would be on the side of the Catholic bishops in their opposition to the Obama health care mandate that they provide free birth control for their employees (with seven pro-bishop pieces and no opposition), one would assume that Fox "fair & balanced" "news" would be more - uh - "fair & balanced." "America's Newsroom" is one such program but obviously that didn't stop Martha MacCallum, part of Roger Ailes' stable of Catholics, from pushing the propaganda of her Catholic bishops which, as defined by the title of the video, is that Obama is waging jihad ("holy war") against Catholics. And for those Catholics who missed last Sunday's Mass and the reading of the bishops' letter regarding this issue, Martha provided a sweet pulpit for Archbishop Dolan to spread the word.

MacCallum reported that the rule requires that religiously affiliated institutions provide free birth control to their employees. She played video of thrice married but very Catholic Newt Gingrich vowing to overturn Obama's anti-religious edicts and right wing Fox pundit Charles Krauthammer talking about Obama's "war on the Catholic Church" which, he thinks, will be an "extremely important issue." And the piece de resistance was Sarah Palin's chacterization of Obama's "war on religious freedoms." And who did the "fair & balanced" MacCallum bring in to discuss this? Why it was Fox's official and only clergy person, the right wing Father Jonathan Morris who is having a fabulous time in Israel as part of Archbishop Dolan's entourage.

The sweet little padre just effused about how Dolan is praying while the Obama administration "has decided to enter into a battle" not with just Catholics but anybody who "believes in our right to religious freedom." Of course, the doe eyed petite prelate didn't mention that the only other religious groups defending "religious freedom" are anti-choice evangelicals and Orthodox Jews. He claimed that "it's not about contraception" or the Catholic Church (and he said that with a straight face!!!), "it's about religious liberty." (Right, the liberty to discriminate against women because you don't believe in women's reproductive rights). MacCallum said that it's also about how, with health care reform, these institutions will have to provide insurance plans that include the same basic things and they're saying there's no exemptions.

Without noting that these institutions can opt not to provide health care plans, alleged news person MacCallum claimed that they have to "sign up and go along with these procedures...and that's clearly a major issue." Morris then mentioned the exemptions that "are a slap in the face." He asserted that Catholic hosptials don't check "baptismal certificates" for their patients. Of course, what he didn't say was that they employ non-Catholic women who do not believe that birth controls send them straight to the lake of fire. He then became almost histrionic about the year's preparation period being given to religious institutions. He continued to blither about religious liberty and how this isn't just a Catholic issue.

MacCallum played video of Fox pal Archbishop Dolan who brayed about how terrible this is and - are ya ready for it - encouraged the viewers to let their political leaders know that they object to the policy. Morris claimed that Obama supporters are saying that Obama has reneged on his promise to uphold religious liberty and that isn't "moral."

 I don't know about the "morality" of Fox News being in bed with the Catholic bishops (in a chaste and heterosexual way) but is it really "fair & balanced?"