Nationwide, the Catholic Church has come out against the mandate for birth control coverage included in President Obama's health care overhaul.

The President did change part of the mandate today, but national Catholic leaders say they are reserving judgment until further details are released.

Father Frank Cosgrove, Pastor of Meridian's two Catholic churches, says it would go against the consciences of Catholic administrators to offer health care plans that pay for contraception, something that goes against Catholic teaching.

He says the Church is not making a national political stance, only defending it's rights.

"I think it's an encroachment on our religious freedom," says Cosgrove, "and I don't think it's just a Catholic issue."

"I think there are other groups that feel the same way, that it would affect their religious liberty which is so basic in our constitution."

Other religious institutions are concerned about this measure. The Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) is closely monitoring all of the effects of the health care bill, and this particular issue has sparked concerns for officials at many independent schools.

"[Our concerns] may be a bit different than the Catholic Church, but we are still concerned about contraceptives, especially for teenagers because we want to promote abstinence," says Russell Christian Academy Headmaster Kevin Mosley.

"The other is the morning after pill, we believe life begins at conception."

Russell Christian does not currently offer health care plans through the school, but Mosley says the health car overhaul could change that in the future, and that the school would then have to shoulder a financial burden along with the moral questions the Catholic Church is now dealing with.