The Diocese of Sacramento, Calif., will move slowly in deciding how it responds now that its judicial efforts to reverse a state requirement that it pay for contraceptives for employees of church agencies are over, according to the diocesan attorney.

The Supreme Court Oct. 5 turned down the request of Catholic Charities of Sacramento that it review lower court rulings which found the church-run agency must provide contraceptives to its employees as part of coverage for prescription drugs.

A 1999 law requiring such coverage provided exemptions for religious employers that are directly involved in inculcating religious beliefs. Because Catholic Charities does not have that as its primary mission and it does not primarily employ Catholics, state courts ruled that the agency did not qualify for the exemption.

James Sweeney told Catholic News Service in a phone interview Oct. 15 that it was too soon to say how Catholic Charities and other church-run entities will respond. The ruling is expected to affect hospitals, universities and other social service agencies run by all sorts of religious institutions in addition to the Catholic Church.

A pending legal challenge of a similar law in New York is the first unknown that could affect how diocesan agencies respond, he said.

A New York appeals court will hear a case in the next few months that challenges that state's law requiring coverage for contraceptives. Whichever side wins, the ruling will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court.

"We're five minutes into the first quarter of a four-quarter football game" is how Sweeney described where his clients are in figuring out what to do next.

"The first step is to exhaust judicial remedies," he said. That step has only been finished as far as the California law goes. Though it turned down this first case, the Supreme Court might well review whatever ruling results in New York, he noted.

"They like to let an issue mature and ripen," he said.

Congress also could potentially step in and change the picture nationwide, Sweeney said.

Sacramento Bishop William K. Weigand has made it clear that he will not willingly allow the church to cooperate in practices the church considers to be sinful, such as artificial contraception, he added.

Sweeney said from a practical perspective the diocese's fiscal year runs from July to June, so the only imminent goal is to determine a next step before the next fiscal year.

Catholic Charities and other religious-run organizations have been required to provide the contraceptive coverage while the legal challenges were pending. They have been permitted to phase in the coverage as insurance contracts come up for renewal, which sometimes takes several years.

---CNS