Briefly noted
Catholic leaders criticized the decision March 1 by the California Supreme Court requiring Catholic Charities to pay for birth control as part of its prescription plan for employees. In a case watched nationally, the state’s high court ruled 6-1 that Catholic Charities of Sacramento does not qualify for an exemption as a “religious employer” because it does not primarily employ or serve people who are of the Catholic faith. Without that exemption, the court said, Catholic Charities must abide by the state’s Women’s Contraception Equity Act.