July 21, 2006 11:36 AM
ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) -- The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged Catholic health leaders June 6 not to let immigration reform, abortion or any other political issue derail their efforts to bring affordable health care to every American.
"It will not be easy to make the case for decent health care for all in a political environment which is polarized and paralyzed by partisan and ideological battles," said Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., in the annual Flanagan Lecture at the Catholic Health Association's 91st assembly in Orlando.
"Today, some would deny the presence of Christ in the work we do, and in too many cases would seek to force us by improper law or other pressures to deny who we are or to compromise our values by requiring us to act contrary to Catholic teaching or to not serve those we are called to serve regardless of their economic or immigration status," he added.
But their participation in the healing ministry of Jesus requires Catholic leaders to "insist that access to quality health care should not depend on where your parents work; how much money you make; where you come from; or how you got here," Bishop Skylstad said.
He also rejected "any measure that would treat human beings as unworthy of treatment, that denies them life or refuses them appropriate health care because of judgments about their quality of life, or, worse, the cost or inconvenience they may cause."
The USCCB president emphasized that Catholic health care must maintain its Catholic identity, "its distinctive mission in a difficult marketplace."
"For those who see the world through purely secular eyes, being 'Catholic' can come down to a list of dos and don'ts -- mostly don'ts, and mostly about reproductive procedures," he said. "From this perspective, our service to the poor, our love for all, especially those in need regardless of whether they share our faith, may be nice but beside the point and certainly not central to what it means to be Catholic.
"This arrogant attitude tempts states and courts to claim authority to define who we are and insist we must provide services -- whether to employees or patients -- that our faith and traditions teach are not consistent with our moral teaching and understanding of genuine health care," he added.
Citing abortion in particular, Bishop Skylstad said, "The surest way to bring defeat to the effort to provide decent health care for all would be to turn it into a vehicle to expand abortion or force all of us to pay for other people's abortions."
He called the nation's pluralistic health care system "a strength which should be harnessed, not abandoned," and added, "We must resist those who would push us to the fringe or push us out of health care, by requiring us to do what we cannot in conscience do and undermine our institutional identity and integrity."
Addressing what he called "one of the most challenging and sometimes controversial issues" facing Catholic health care, Bishop Skylstad talked about his participation in an ongoing dialogue among leaders of the labor movement, the USCCB and Catholic health care.
Bishop Skylstad quoted liberally from Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical, "Deus Caritas Est" ("God Is Love"), saying it provides guidance on how Catholic health care leaders and employees can "respect and honor the humanity and dignity which can get lost in the pace and pressures of modern medicine and the bureaucratic and technological realities of contemporary health care."
The Flanagan Lecture is named for Father John J. Flanagan, the first full-time director of what was then called the Catholic Hospital Association.
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