N.Y. Cardinal Suing Obama Over Birth Control Coverage Invites Him to Dinner

New York’s Roman Catholic cardinal is suing the Obama administration, but he’s inviting President Barack Obama to dinner anyway.

The Archdiocese of New York said Tuesday that Cardinal Timothy Dolan has asked both Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to the annual Al Smith dinner on Oct. 18.

Romney has accepted. The Obama campaign hasn’t said publicly whether the president will attend, but the archdiocese says Obama has accepted the invitation.

It’s customary for presidential candidates to attend the white-tie charity banquet. But this year’s invitation was in question.

The New York archdiocese is among more than 40 Catholic groups suing Obama over his mandate that employers provide health insurance that covers birth control.

The archdiocese says the Al Smith dinner is an evening to put politics aside.