By Tony Mauro, Legal Times

The Little Sisters have been persistent challengers of the ACA’s contraceptive mandate.

Pope Francis made an unscheduled visit Wednesday night to the Little Sisters of the Poor with the aim of showing support for the group’s battle against the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“This is a sign, obviously, of support for them [in their court case],” Father Federico Lombardi, the head of the Holy See press office, said after the visit, according to a Vatican news site. The sisters have a residence near the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where the pope said mass on Wednesday.

“The Holy Father spoke to each of us individually, from the youngest postulant to our centenarian, and then he spoke to all of us about the importance of our ministry to the elderly,” said Sister Constance Veit, communications director of the Little Sisters of the Poor. “We were deeply moved by his encouraging words.”

The Little Sisters have been persistent challengers of the contraceptive mandate, arguing that it requires them to provide health insurance that offers contraceptive services to employees in violation of their Catholic faith. The sisters operate nursing homes nationwide.

The group’s latest lawsuit, now before the U.S. Supreme Court, challenges the Obama administration’s “compromise” solution, which allows religious organizations to opt out of providing the contraceptive services, turning that obligation over to a third-party insurance carrier.

The group’s July 23 petition to the high court by former solicitor general Paul Clement, now partner at the Bancroft law firm, asserts that the compromise does not diminish the violation of the nuns’ religious freedom. “Non-exempt religious employers such as petitioners hold equally sincere religious objections to the regulatory method of compliance as well,” the brief states.

Daniel Blomberg, counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which also represents the Little Sisters, said the Pope’s visit “goes to one of the government’s arguments—that their objection is a niggling concern. That is not true.”

The visit was a sign, Blomberg said, that “the sisters are very sincere in their belief that what the government is forcing them to do is something they just cannot do.”

Asked if the pope’s visit could sway the justices as they consider the Little Sisters’ case, Blomberg said, “I can’t speculate how the court will react, but it is clear that the justices have been paying close attention to this issue.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled against the Little Sisters in July, but put off imposition of fines pending the sisters’ appeal to the Supreme Court. The U.S. government was scheduled to reply to the Little Sister’s petition this week, but the court granted the solicitor general’s office an extension to Sept. 30, Blomberg said.

In a separate case challenging the mandate, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on Sept. 17 struck down the government policy. That created a split among the circuits, making it more likely that the high court will take up the issue, probably this term.

IMAGE: Pope Francis greets nuns of the Little Sisters of the Poor order during a private meeting at their convent, in Washington, on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.

Credit: L’Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP

For more on this story go to: http://www.nationallawjournal.com/legaltimes/id=1202738093845/Popes-Visit-Boosts-Little-Sisters-Supreme-Court-Challenge#ixzz3mlLdZzCL