Benedict XVI has told a meeting of Catholic pharmacists that they should consider not filling prescriptions for the Plan B abortifacient "morning after" pill. This can only be considered a direct rebuke to the decision of the Connecticut Catholic Conference and the Connecticut bishops to allow Plan B to be offered by Catholic hospitals in the state.

"It is not possible to anesthetize the conscience, for example, when it comes to molecules whose aim is to stop an embryo implanting or to cut short someone's life," the Pope said.

The Holy Father's statement comes on the heels of the statement by the Catholic Leaders Conference reaffirming the teaching of Humanae Vitae.

Obviously, the Vatican and grassroots leaders in the Catholic Church are not interested in the kind of compromise the Connecticut bishops felt necessary to keep their hospitals solvent.