The nation's Roman Catholic bishops have rejected a compromise on birth control coverage that President Obama offered on Friday and said they would continue to fight the president's plan to find a way for employees of Catholic hospitals, universities and service agencies to receive free contraceptive coverage in their health insurance plans, without direct involvement or financing from the institutions.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops -- which has led the opposition to the plan -- said in a statement late Friday that the solution offered by the White House to quell a political furor was ''unacceptable and must be corrected'' because it still infringed on the religious liberty and conscience of Catholics.

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