Washington D.C., Mar 23, 2010 / 13:15 pm
Moments after President Obama signed the Senate version of the health care reform legislation into law this afternoon, Cardinal Francis George spoke on behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) as he expressed their continued concern over the lack of conscience protections in the law and the limited ability of the president’s executive order to prevent federal funding of abortion.
The statement was approved by the 32-member Administrative Committee of the USCCB, which was holding its March meeting.
The USCCB statement began by applauding the health care legislation for helping to “fulfill the duty that we have to each other for the common good” by addressing the shortcomings of the current health care system which left many of the poor and marginalized without basic and necessary care.
Nevertheless, the U.S. Catholic bishops, who emphasized that they “speak in the name of the Church and for the Catholic faith itself,” said that the law is “profoundly flawed.”