MI Catholic Church to expand health care for same-sex couples

The Catholic Church in Michigan is making changes to its health care plane that would extend coverage for the LGBT community.

The church is modifying its health care plans to allow LGBT individuals to acquire health care for their partners or spouses in order to comply with the law. The extension is for people who are older than 18, have lived with employees of Catholic entities for at least six months, and are financially dependent on the employee.

This generated a lot of controversy after the passage of the Affordable Care Act, when church leaders said they wouldn't violate teachings in order to comply with the law. The Catholic Church openly opposes to gay marriage, which is now legal across America and many countries around the world.

The Archdiocese of Detroit released a statement on the subject, saying, "The Michigan Catholic Conference is not making this move to modify or change its teachings. It is modifying language in our health benefit policy so we can comply with federal law in a way that is consistent with Catholic teaching."

The statement went on to read, "The church lives in the world as it is, not as it wants it to be."