13abc.com: Breaking News, Weather and SportsBishop calls HHS attack on religious freedom

The federal healthcare mandate is causing a firestorm among Catholics. Bishops are calling the contraception controversy much more than an issue of church and state.

Bishop Blair of the Catholic Diocese of Toledo says the government is taking away religious freedoms.

He's not alone. Bishops across the country are calling President Obama's compromise to the federal healthcare mandate problematic.

On Friday, the president promised to exempt religious institutions from being required to provide birth control to employees, instead pushing the coverage to insurance companies.

Bishop Blair says the mandate isn't an issue of contraception. It's a debate over religious freedom.

"We are not saying who should receive these services," the bishop says. "We are talking about what we are obliged to pay for."

The Catholic Church does not support sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs or contraception.

Bishop Blair says, despite the accommodation, it's unclear what organizations would fall under the exemption.

"The government tries to decide who is religious enough to qualify," he says. "So, if we say a Catholic parish is clearly Catholic, what about a school or hospital?"

It's a decision Catholic leaders say is a violation of first amendment rights.

"In the past, the government has always found a way to respect conscience in these kinds of things," Bishop Blair says. "This is an attempt to take that away."

The bishop sent a letter to Toledo's Catholic churches urging everyone to take a stand against the mandate and push local lawmakers to support upholding the moral choices of the church.

Click here to watch the full unedited interview with Bishop Blair.