I felt great relief when I read that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) stated its strong opposition to ObamaCare as it's currently being promoted.
I found it particularly troubling back in July when Catholic organizations like Catholic Charities USA, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and the Catholic Health Association were actively campaigning for the speedy passage of a version of ObamaCare that ran counter to the Culture of Life embraced by Catholics.
It was stunning to me that these Catholic groups supported legislation that was an assault on life -- the weak, the disabled, the elderly, and the unborn.
There was agreement on all sides of the health care debate that the legislation would cover abortion; but this was overlooked as so-called Catholic organizations pushed for Obama's form of government-run health care.
It's definitely welcome news that the USCCB has informed members of Congress that it cannot support health care legislation that strikes at the heart of Catholic values.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Senior Catholic bishops are threatening to oppose the health care bill under consideration in Congress if lawmakers don't make significant reforms regarding federally funded abortions and other issues.
"No one should be required to pay for or participate in abortion," the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a letter Thursday to members of Congress.
The letter follows a recent Senate Finance Committee vote that defeated Republican amendments that Democrats said would broaden current restrictions of federal funding for abortion.
The amendments were introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. They sought to explicitly state that the current ban on federal funding for abortions would apply to all aspects of health insurance in the bill and prohibit the government at any level from forcing hospitals, doctors and other health care providers to perform abortions.
Federal law allows government funding for abortions only in the cases of rape, incest or danger to a mother's health.
"We sincerely hope that the legislation will not fall short of our criteria," the letter says. "However, we remain apprehensive when amendments protecting freedom of conscience and ensuring no taxpayer money for abortion are defeated in committee votes."
The letter is signed by Bishop William F. Murphy, diocese of Rockville Centre, New York; Cardinal Justin Rigali, archdiocese of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Bishop John Wester, diocese of Salt Lake City, Utah.
The three also urge that health care reforms "make quality health care affordable and accessible to everyone," especially those who live around poverty level, and measures to safeguard the health of "legal immigrants and their family members."
"If acceptable language in these (three) areas cannot be found, we will have to oppose the health care bill vigorously," the letter says.
There is no way that Democrats or Obama would agree to the bishops' stipulation regarding abortion.
It would be political suicide for Obama to sign a health care bill that didn't cover the cost for women to kill their unborn babies. There is no way that would ever happen.
The Dems defeated amendments to guarantee that taxpayer dollars wouldn't be used to slaughter the unborn.
Why not agree to such an amendment if Obama is telling the truth about abortion NOT being part of health care reform? Why not?
Obama has lied about reform.
I'm glad that the bishops are drawing attention to the fact that health care reform is being sold as other than what Obama and the Dems say it is.
I'm glad the bishops are making clear that they cannot support the legislation as it stands now and that they will "vigorously" oppose the bill if it lacks acceptable language on abortion, care for the poor and vulnerable, and care for legal immigrants.
I think the bishops should personally call Catholics like Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, and Joe Biden, and explain the position of the USCCB to them. These Democrats never seem to understand. They need a little extra help.
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Read the bishops' letter.
From CNSNews: "Catholic Bishops: All Current Health Care Bills in Congress Would Permit Federal Funding of Abortion"
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