CHA probably feared government more than bishops, says Miami archbishop

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Rome, Italy, Jul 2, 2010 / 07:37 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Asked for comment on the position of U.S. bishops with regard to the Catholic Health Association's (CHA) support for President Obama's health care bill, Archbishop Thomas Wenski explained to CNA that although the bishops opposed the bill for its flaws, CHA most likely “had more to fear from the government than they had to fear from the bishops."

CNA caught up to the recently appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Miami in Rome where he had just received the pallium from Pope Benedict XVI.

Speaking of the U.S. bishops position in regard to the CHA on Obama's health bill, he said, "We were pretty forthright with our concerns of the legislation that was passed by Congress to our opposition."

He explained that the bishops opposed it because it did not provide adequate conscience protection.

"It did not, in spite of what its proponents alleged, it did not keep our money from going to fund abortions and it also left out undocumented aliens from any protection or any possibility of health insurance even if they were going to pay for it themselves.

"So," he went on, "the bill was flawed and we thought that the administration could have addressed our concerns and still have had a bill that they would have been happy with.

"As it is now, we are very concerned for the future, and unfortunately I think the CHA probably had more to fear from the government than they had to fear from the bishops, so it was not an encouraged moment for them."

Emphasizing the importance of the bishops' voices in the public square on similar matters, Archbishop Wenski said that "often times people will criticize us as if we are trying to impose our views ... but we do have a proposal to make and a word to share.

"We would be remiss in our duties as teachers of the faith not to witness to that word and to make our proposal as to what constitutes the necessary conditions for human flourishing in American society."

Looking to the future, Archbishop Wenski said that the U.S. bishops would "certainly be very much in favor of the administration going back and fixing what we still think are very flawed parts of the health care legislation."

Recognizing their role in health care reform advocacy for the last 40 years, he underscored "we weren't willing to go for health care reform under (just) any conditions. Basically we have said that health care reform means that it should be accessible to everybody and nobody should be killed. And this Obamacare does not make it accessible to everybody and it allows for people to be killed, mainly unborn children at the taxpayer's expense."

Comments: 11

Subscriber comments:

Published by: Dan
Santa Fe 07/14/2010 05:55 PM EST

Not sure where 'my' brain was on 7/3 but I must say I understand the archbishop completely. He clearly states there is NO Conscience Clause in the bill. He clearly states abortions will be funded through this bill. That taxpayers, Catholic and otherwise, will be paying for insurance programs which cover abortions. Not sure what I was thinking, if anything before.

Published by: stilbelieve
Fountain Valley, CA ,USA 07/05/2010 11:21 PM EST

Archbishop Wenski said that "often times people will criticize us as if we are trying to impose our views ... but we do have a proposal to make and a word to share. "We would be remiss in our duties as teachers of the faith not to witness to that word and to make our proposal as to what constitutes the necessary conditions for human flourishing in American society." It seems to me that the bishops should probably spend a lot more time and effort getting their church-going faithful to back up their professed beliefs and prayers with action. With over 50% of Catholics giving their name identification and votes to the pro-abortion party, and 51,000,000+ unborn babies murdered under their watch, you would think they have enough to do then to spend their time and money on lobbying for legislation like health care and immigration in which their positions are contrary to what is in the best interest for America.

Published by: Graham Combs
Royal Oak, Michigan 07/03/2010 06:15 PM EST

I'm not sure his excellency completely understands the depths of his insight about fear as motivation. Fear implies that power rather than Church teachings are what motivate CHA. And as anyone who has had encountered the contact sport that is progessivism knows, fear is also what they use to motivate others -- mostly to get out of its way when they're on a mission. I'm seem to recall that fear of God -- an entirely different kind of fear -- is what should motivate Catholics. Ms Keehan and CHA will not be intimidated, neither we they allow others not to be intimidated by them. It's an old story and it always has a bad ending.

Published by: Dan
Santa Fe NM 07/03/2010 02:18 PM EST

I do not understand the bishop's point. Because the administration could only manage to pass a bill that provides coverage to significantly more people but not all, then it should be opposed? Should we stop serving at soup kitchens because we know some will still go hungry? Plus, the loose use of language is unfortunate: unborn children will "mainly" be killed? Who are the others who are secondarily killed by the law? Is the bishop making a point based on wisdom or political partisanship? If Catholics are going to play a larger role in the public square, we need to make our points responsibly.

Published by: Michael O'Neill
Ottawa On. Canada 07/03/2010 09:23 AM EST

Thanks be to God a member of the Bishops Conference has said it the way it is.

Published by: Robert J. Shalhoub, M.D.
Vienna, Va. 07/02/2010 07:34 PM EST

The bishop is absolutely right. The bishops have done nothing to instill fear in the dissenters.So,they have nothing to fear. The dissenters are never sanctioned. They do whatever they please and get away scot free. Things will not change until all the bishops act in unison to sanction the disobedient. From what we have seen, there is plenty of talk but no action. Nothing will change unless the bishops have the intestinal fortitude to use the ecclesiastical weapons at hand.

Published by: Cyril
Ft. Washington/MD/USA 07/02/2010 06:45 PM EST

Social security was flawed when it was first passes in the 1930s. This Health Care Bill is a very complicate piece of legislation and will need fine tuning also. Unfortunately, the USCCB brings out the same arguments when they discuss the legislation. These arguments have been met with factual points from several experts in the medical field. The bill will eventually make health care available for all people who need it. The Hyde Amendments will continue to prevent federal monies from being used for abortion. The bishops seem to only listen to their conservative republican friends, like Deal Hudson who has been a rabid supporter of the republican point of view. If the bishop would have had their way we woould still have no health bill. Thanks God, that the CHA did the right thing by supporting the legislation. They read the bill too and they also work in the trenches helping people who do not have any medical insurance right now. The bishops obviously have the support of conservative catholics who are always calling to throw out anyone who does not agree with their point of view. The scandal that exploded after the abortion at St. Joseph's Hospital is another example of the lack of compassion. According to some bishops and radical catholics it would have been proper for the lady with four children at home to carry the baby to term and may have resulted in both mother and baby dying. Too bad that Bishop Olmsted was not at the hospital, he could have exercised his judgement

Published by: Jackie
Lincoln, NE, USA 07/02/2010 03:26 PM EST

The question I have is, why did CHA fear the government? To me, fearing the bishops is like the next closest thing to fearing the Lord. This is very troubling to me. I wonder if they were seeking worldly accolades rather than fearing the government.

Published by: Tina Martin
New Jersey 07/02/2010 03:16 PM EST

Archbishop Wenski's as well as the majority other Bishops in the United States was non-existent during the debates over Obama's health care bill. Could it have been that their muted voices were drowned out by the courageous outcry from the Susan B. Anthony Group, et al? You should be ashamed of yourselves. It is not wonder that Catholic baby boomers are angry with the hierarchy of our church and the younger generation, as a whole, disregard the pontification of our Bishops and Cardinals and look upon their buffoonery as hollow rhetoric. Why is it that you excommunicated the nun who approved the abortion and the Daughters of Charity get away with selling their souls to Obama? You have lost your luster, gentlemen! It time to get down in the trenches and work with those who have a greater fear of the Lord than Obama.

Published by: Jim w.
Blue Island, IL 07/02/2010 01:54 PM EST

Once again the bishops support providing healthcare to illegal immigrants. The bishop states criticing Obama Care, "... it also left out undocumented aliens from any protection or any possibility of health insurance even if they were going to pay for it themselves." We should be proud that Catholics see the person and not a persons legal status. Jesus would be proud of the bishops support for the dignity of the human person regardless of their country of origin or whether they followed American laws.

Published by: leObserving
Atlanta/GA/USA 07/02/2010 11:48 AM EST

Thank Heaven for a leader like Archbishop Wenski who tells it like it is with such kindness. As a simple and common soul I think it may perhaps be too kind to excuse CHA due to their fear of the Government. In the USA the government works for the people. CHA needs to fear and love God; not the government or rather it's current wealthy power brokers, and certainly not Holy Mother Church and her Bishops.

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