I know I’ve been absent from VN for a while. Between midterms and a major upcoming STAND conference, I haven’t had too much time to blog. I’m working on a few original posts that will be coming in the next few days, but in the meantime I thought I’d share, in its entirety, a post from New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan’s new blog.
Over this past weekend, several people mentioned to me Representative Patrick Kennedy’s blast at bishops for allegedly dividing the nation on the issue of healthcare; you can view the video here. His remarks were sad, uncalled-for, and inaccurate.
The Catholic community in the United States hardly needs to be lectured to about just healthcare. We’ve been energetically into it for centuries. And we bishops have been advocating for universal healthcare for a long, long time. All we ask is that it be just that — universal — meaning that it includes the helpless baby in the womb, the immigrant, and grandma in a hospice, and that it protects a healthcare provider’s right to follow his/her own conscience. This is what the President says he wants; this is what we bishops say we want. Bishop Thomas Tobin, Representative Kennedy’s bishop, has a good point: Mr. Kennedy owes us an apology.
Amen. Fortunately, there may actually be hope on the abortion front. Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI), who seems to have become the new standard-bearer for pro-life Democrats, claims to have 40 Democrats who are willing to block the vote on a final bill unless the leadership allows an up-or-down vote on an amendment to ban abortion coverage in both a public plan and any federally-subsidized private plans. When combined with the votes of House Republicans, this is enough to kill the bill. Presumably, Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid can count, and presumably, they will not be willing to sacrifice health care reform on the altar of NARAL and Planned Parenthood. Then again, it ain’t over ’til it’s over. Pray hard.
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