Now, under this mandate, unless a Catholic hospital only employs Catholic staff or cares for only sick Catholics it will no longer be regarded as a religious institution and will be forced to fund products and services contrary to the institution's religious and moral beliefs.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Dan Bartlett, a White House deputy counselor, said Rove talked with the Salvation Army in April about the administration's plan to allow religious groups to obtain federal tax dollars to provide social services to the needy.

CNN: White House backtracks on Salvation Army report

Bush's radio address is part of what the White House calls its summer strategy, having the president focus on what aides call "compassionate" issues, such as education, a plan to allow religious groups to obtain federal tax dollars to provide social services and the president's ideas for a patients' bill of rights.

CNN: Bush urges action on education; Democrats defend health care bill