Washington D.C., Jan 21, 2011 / 10:40 am
Along with their Jan. 18 recommendations on fixing “serious moral problems” in last year's health care legislation, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a more comprehensive set of recommendations to members of the 112th Congress.
Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, president of the U.S. bishops' conference, wrote on its behalf to members of Congress on Jan. 14. He presented a series of proposals applying the Church's social teaching –which deals mainly with society's universally shared interests, among people of all faiths or none– to issues expected to face the new Congress.
Among his top priorities were “responsible transitions” to end the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a greater emphasis on religious freedom in foreign policy decisions, and a “clear priority for poor families and vulnerable workers” in all economic recovery measures.
Writing only a week before the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, the archbishop declared that the bishops' most fundamental aim was “to protect the lives of the most vulnerable and voiceless members of the human family,” particularly the unborn, disabled, and terminally ill.