Health Care and the Common Good

Health Care and the Common Good | Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Denver | August 27, 2009

Last week a British Catholic journal, in an editorial titled "U.S. bishops must back Obama," claimed that America's bishops "have so far concentrated on a specifically Catholic issue—making sure state-funded health care does not include abortion—rather than the more general principle of the common good."

It went on to say that if U.S. Catholic leaders would get over their parochial preoccupations, "they could play a central role in salvaging Mr. Obama's health-care programme."

The editorial has value for several reasons. First, it proves once again that people don't need to actually live in the United States to have unhelpful and badly informed opinions about our domestic issues. Second, some of the same pious voices that once criticized U.S. Catholics for supporting a previous president now sound very much like acolytes of a new president. Third, abortion is not, and has never been, a "specifically Catholic issue," and the editors know it. And fourth, the growing misuse of Catholic "common ground" and "common good" language in the current health-care debate can only stem from one of two sources: ignorance or cynicism.

No system that allows or helps fund—no matter how subtly or indirectly—the killing of unborn children, or discrimination against the elderly and persons with special needs, can bill itself as "common ground." Doing so is a lie.

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Comments

[T. Shaw]

Additionally, President Obama and post-christian liberals want to convince you that Jesus would be supportive of their nigthmarish hell ("the devil is in the details") care deconstruction scheme. And if you oppose it: "You are EVIL!!!"

That adds nothing to the conversation. Except it is all the useful idiots, liberal numb-skulls, and MSM talking heads have to say.

[Fabio P.Barbieri]

The Tablet is not "a British Catholic journal". It is British all right, but it has ceased having any relationship with Catholicism for decades. Everyone in Britain knows that; which is probably why it now addresses Catholics outside Britain, who may not yet be aware of the extent and depth of its apostasy.