Pope Supports Nuns Battling HHS Mandate

Pope Francis offered one indicator this week that he supports the battle over religious liberty in the U.S., when he made an unscheduled visit to the Little Sisters of the Poor.

The group of nuns are fighting a legal battle for their religious freedom against the Obama administration.

They're in court because Obamacare forces them to provide contraception coverage, even though it violates their beliefs.

A Vatican spokesman told reporters the pope's visit was a sign of support for their rights.

And Mark Rienzi, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, says the pope has sent several messages in defense of religious freedom during this trip.

"Earlier in the day, at the White House, the pope expressed his support for religious liberty when he stated: '(We) all are called to be vigilant, precisely as good citizens, to preserve and defend that freedom from everything that would threaten or compromise it,'" Rienzi said.