Christine M. Flowers: OBAMA'S MACABRE DANCE AROUND CATHOLIC BELIEF

I'M NOT a perfect Catholic. When Mrs. Paul had a monopoly on meatless Fridays, I sometimes managed to get my hands on a burger. Once, at confession, I lied about a sin, which must amount to purgatorial perjury. I've missed Mass, sassed the sisters behind their backs (I'm irreverent, not stupid) and think that papal annulments are just another way to spell D-I-V-O-R-C-E. And you might be surprised to learn that I have no problem with artificial birth control, at least the kind that isn't "abortion in a pill."

But for all of that, I am a Catholic, and I respect my church's right to demand certain things of its members, including opposition to abortion and - even though it may result in unwanted pregnancies - a recognition that all sexual acts must be open to the creation of new life. That means no condoms, no pills, no coils or sterilization (although Pope Benedict recently softened his stance somewhat and noted that condoms are useful to stop the spread of AIDS).

The fact that the vast majority of Catholics disagree with that ban doesn't mean that the church doesn't have the right to maintain it as fundamental doctrine.

And for anyone who has fleeting knowledge of the Constitution, it also means that President Obama is dead-wrong in forcing Catholic institutions to provide insurance coverage for birth control to their employees.

Sure, there's a narrow exception for houses of worship. You can't make the Church of St. Abstinence provide free condoms to its parishioners along with the weekly newsletter.

But groups like St. Joseph's University, Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital and all the Catholic charities groups in the nation will find themselves with a Hobson's choice under the new guidelines issued by Obama's secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius: either provide insurance plans that cover an employee's birth control (with no co-pay) or face monumental fines that could essentially put them out of business.

Sibelius is a Catholic cheerleader for the Obama administration, and provides cover for those most liberal members of my church who seem to have no problem with a president who has never made a secret of his strong support for abortion rights. They came out in large numbers to vote for "Hope and Change" the last time around, allowing other left-wing Catholic cheerleaders like Maureen Dowd and E.J. Dionne to crow about how Catholics were no monolithic, antiwoman bloc.