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Posted on 03/16/2010 1:54:58 PM PDT by NYer
CHICAGO, March 16, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), hit back hard Monday against the Catholic Health Association's (CHA) endorsement of the abortion-expanding health care bill.
George's statement came only days after CHA president Sr. Carol Keehan issued a letter to lawmakers urging them to "move quickly to enact health care reform," and the same day that Keehan characterized the legislation as "a major first step" - despite not being "perfect" on life issues.
The Chicago cardinal emphasized that, while bishops support health care reform as such, they "were left disappointed and puzzled" when the Senate bill, which lacked the hard-won abortion funding ban of the House bill, emerged as the only bill considered for final passage.
George pointed out the slew of flaws that the U.S. bishops find "deeply disturbing" in the Senate health bill, including its lack of conscience protections, Hyde-amendment protections against federal abortion funding, and the millions in new funds for Community Health Centers which will be available to fund abortions.
"It expands federal funding and the role of the federal government in the provision of abortion procedures," he explained. "In so doing, it forces all of us to become involved in an act that profoundly violates the conscience of many, the deliberate destruction of unwanted members of the human family still waiting to be born."
The cardinal directly disagreed with the Catholic Health Association's favorable assessment of the bill.
"This analysis of the flaws in the legislation is not completely shared by the leaders of the Catholic Health Association," stated George. "They believe, moreover, that the defects that they do recognize can be corrected after the passage of the final bill. The bishops, however, judge that the flaws are so fundamental that they vitiate the good that the bill intends to promote.
"Assurances that the moral objections to the legislation can be met only after the bill is passed seem a little like asking us, in Midwestern parlance, to buy a pig in a poke."
While White House and Democrat officials continue to dismiss pro-life concerns over the bill by claiming the current Hyde amendment would apply to the measure, George noted that it was no "accident" that the House bill contained Hyde amendment language, while lawmakers in the Senate stubbornly refused to include the same language.
"The House courageously included an amendment applying the Hyde policy to its Health Care bill passed in November. Its absence in the Senate bill and the resulting impasse are not an accident," said the cardinal. "Those in the Senate who wanted to purge the Hyde amendment from this national legislation are obstructing the reform of health care."
George emphasized that the bishops' insistence on pro-life language is "not quibbling over technicalities." "The deliberate omission in the Senate Bill of the necessary language that could have taken this moral question off the table and out of play leaves us still looking for a way to meet the President’s and our concern to provide health care for those millions whose primary care physician is now an emergency room doctor," he said.
"Because these principles have not been respected, despite the good that the bill under consideration intends or might achieve, the Catholic bishops regretfully hold that it must be opposed unless and until these serious moral problems are addressed," the cardinal concluded.
Catholic commentator Thomas Peters noted that "it’s very rare for the USCCB to name names when they take a position contrary to another visible Catholic organization, but Cardinal George did so today."
"In this battle, the stakes are simply too high to have the message confused," said Peters.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Catholic Health Assoc. Health Bill Support 'Utterly Un-Catholic': HLI President
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10031508.html
I get the feeling Catholics are NOT on the same page on lots of issues.
There are lots of Catholics and other professing Christians who are liberals first the Christians 2nd (some I doubt have their faith prioritized at that level)
Jesus said “that a man cannot serve two masters. He will either love one or hate the other.” That unfortunately is what we see today.
You are correct in the context of social teaching. Otherwise, not so much.
The CHA is to Catholics what the WBC is to Baptists.
Look within - this Alinsky cancer has invaded ALL churches. This is not a time to point fingers but a time to get together and get them OUT of ALL our churches. Then FUMIGATE!!!
We have people who call themselves catholic who are hired by Podesta aka Soros. Thereagain so do YOU!!!
Is Cardinal George one of those bishops who are obeying Canon 915?
No.
This means that, in his opinion, pro-abortion politicians are good Catholics—being pro-abortion is not seriously sinful.
Thus, he doesn’t have a leg to stand on when criticizing the CHA’s pro-abortion position on Obamacare.
A major patron of Alinsky was Bernardin. And Cardinal Dearden of Detroit. Dearden’s Catholic Call to Action is an Alinskyite organization. Buckets of Catholic money has gone to Alinsky’s Industrial Areas Foundation, as well as ACORN.
The rot goes back very far: many Catholic bishops in America have been Progressives as far back as non-Catholics have been Progressives.
The USCCB have gotten in bed with the devil and they are “surprised” at the outcome?
Repent.
Sorry but you have totally misunderstood their understanding of health care. They follow admonition of Jesus Christ who told us to care for the poor. That does not include abortion or end of life treatments. Their provocation is one of ensuring that, IF the government is going to create a national health care program, THEN the poor must be included WITHOUT monies allocated for abortion and/or euthanasia. If that does not make sense from a christian perspective, then you need to revisit the NT.
I’d believe that Cardinal George really cares about abortion if the USCCB stopped giving millions of dollars to community organizing groups which focus on electing Democrats. Catholic Campaign for Human Development (aka Catholic Campaign for Helping Democrats) gives one/third of its award money to these groups, and it gave a total of $7.3 million to ACORN in the years leading up to the 2008 election.
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