FORT WAYNE – A federal rule requiring religious organizations to pay the full cost of birth control, possible abortion-causing drugs and sterilization under their employees’ health plans has aroused local ire, including the local Catholic church’s refusal to comply.

On Sunday, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Roman Catholic Diocese will make the church’s case against proposed provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to the people in the pews with a statement that will be read at Masses.

He issued a statement Thursday.

District leaders of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod are expected to discuss the issue at an upcoming national meeting, while the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, to which several area institutions belong, already has urged the White House to rescind the rule or expand its religious exemption.

Sean McBride, diocese spokesman, said the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposes the measure because it compels the church to violate its conscience by paying for drugs and medical services that go against its teachings.

Rhoades’ statement, which calls the ruling “an unprecedented attack” on religious liberty, urges Catholics to contact their elected representatives to support the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act that would reverse the decision.

“We cannot and we will not comply with this unjust federal order,” the statement said. It adds: “Many who do not share our beliefs also object to the HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) rules, recognizing that they are a violation of religious freedom and the rights of conscience.”

An exemption for religious groups that employ or serve “primarily” members of their own faith is too narrow and vague, McBride said.

The exemption would not apply to many Catholic schools, hospitals and social service agencies that are committed under church teachings to serving anyone, McBride said.

“This is a major problem for us because we don’t just serve Catholic people or employ Catholic people,” he said, adding that, for example, only 25 percent of students at the University of Saint Francis are Catholic.

“The gospel teaches us to go out and serve one another,” McBride said.

The Rev. Daniel May of Fort Wayne, president of the Indiana district of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, said that denomination does not share the Catholic position against birth control. But he finds the rule “troubling.”

“To require offering things that are against the will, the teachings, the confessions, biblical understandings or the conscience of the church is very difficult for us, and it seems inappropriate that any government proposal would have that effect,” he said.

May said the LCMS also employs people who are not members. Employees are part of a self-insurance plan that does not cover birth control unless required to maintain a woman’s health or used for reasons other than to prevent pregnancy, he said. The denomination opposes abortion, and employees’ insurance does not cover it, May said.

The issue likely will be discussed at an upcoming meeting of district leaders and the Rev. Matthew Harrison, LCMS president and formerly a pastor in Fort Wayne, May said.

At Huntington University, John Paff, vice president for university relations, said the college, founded by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, “is following the issue closely” because of its potential impact.

“But I think the bigger question, regardless of how it might affect our plan, is what should the exemption be and if the federal government should mandate something in violation of conscience,” Paff said.

Huntington University, he said, is a member of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities, a group that also includes Grace College, Taylor University, Indiana Wesleyan University, Bethel College, Goshen College and Anderson University. The group called the rule “unconstitutional” in a Dec. 23 letter to the White House.

The group Thursday issued a statement saying a one-year extension to comply did not address religious groups’ concerns.

Although St. Joseph Hospital in Fort Wayne was founded and perceived as a Catholic hospital, health insurance for its employees would not be affected by the rule, said Eric Looper, hospital chief executive officer.

“We are part of a non-Catholic network, the Lutheran Health Network, and our insurance benefits come through that network,” he said.

But St. Joseph does conform to Catholic directives on health care and does not offer contraception, abortion or sterilization, Looper said.

Rhoades, McBride said, was en route to Rome on Thursday for a papal visit that occurs every five years and could not be reached for comment. But the bishop, McBride said, “is choosing to not let the arguments get old and stale but is keeping this out in front of the people and keeping people engaged in the process.”

rsalter@jg.net