Catholic Church Moves Prominent Obama Critic Into Obama's Back Yard

Gotta like their style:

The leading voice of Roman Catholic bishops opposing a contraception mandate in the Obama administration's health care law was named Tuesday as the 16th archbishop of Baltimore, the nation's first diocese.

Bishop William E. Lori, 60, comes from the Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., and has testified before Congress several times in the past few months on a proposed measure to make religious employers cover contraception for their employees. The White House later backed off the rule, making insurers pay for the coverage, though many critics are still not satisfied.

In one instance in February, Lori drew an extended analogy between the mandate to cover contraception and a hypothetical mandate forcing all restaurants nationwide to serve pork, saying it is "absurd for someone to come into a kosher deli and demand a ham sandwich."

When asked whether the Vatican was trying to move him closer to Washington, Lori joked about his frequent appearances before Congress.

"Yes, the Vatican decided that I was spending entirely too much time on the US Airways shuttle," he said. "So, they moved me to Baltimore so I'm a train ride away."

Now he'll be readily accessible to the Washington Press Corps and things like the Sunday shows. This guy's got guts and he'll be an important voice in fighting against the contraceptive mandate.