Card. George, president of the U.S. bishops' conference, met with President Barack Obama on Tuesday for a private, half-hour dialogue.

Cardinal George expressed his hopes that it will foster fruitful dialogue for the sake of the common good.

Cardinal George had issued a public message urging Catholics to appeal to the Obama administration to retain regulations governing conscience protection for health care workers.

Cardinal George was responding to the government's threat to revoke the regulations that keep health care workers from being forced to provide services that violate their consciences.

He expressed "deep concern" that this action "on the government’s part would be the first step in moving our country from democracy to despotism."

He asserted that "respect for personal conscience and freedom of religion as such ensures our basic freedom from government oppression," and "no government should come between an individual person and God."

The cardinal pointed out that citizens are allowed to claim conscientious objection to war or having to administer the death penalty. Why then, he asked, "shouldn’t our government and our legal system permit conscientious objection to a morally bad action, the killing of babies in their mother’s womb?"