Archbishop Wuerl: Don’t forget immigrants in health care reform
Today, in an op-ed titled “Health Care Reform a Moral Imperative, But Must Cover Immigrants, Too”, Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., writes,
Universal coverage should be universal, including everyone. Health care reform cannot leave people out because of pre-existing conditions, chronic illnesses, their place of work or because they cannot afford insurance. Reform should not leave people out because of where they come from or when they arrived here.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, following the Gospel mandate to care for the “least of these,” urges us to look at health care from the bottom up. A particular gauge against which to measure true universal coverage would be how reform treats the immigrants in our midst who contribute their labor and taxes to our nation, but are at risk of being left out of health care reform.
It’s nice to hear the Gospel from an American bishop for once. (Although props should go to to Italian Cardinal Renato Martino for his comments, as well.)
Comments are closed.
This seems to go beyond other statements from the bishops, as they have specified legal immigrants.
Bravo!
Illegals should not be covered by any health care bill, all legal immigrants should be cover.
I am very proud of my archbishop. This is by far the best episcopal statement yet.
Harry – Does anything from Christian teaching ground your nationalistic view? The traditional emphasis on welcoming the stranger, not to mention the parable of the good Samaritan, suggest the opposite.
“It’s nice to hear the Gospel from an American bishop for once.”
For once? You mean on this issue or generally?
There may be a Gospel obligation to help immigrants and the poor with health care, but there is no Gospel obligation to do it with the power of the modern nation-state.
Mark: I mean, in contrast to the recent statements of people like Bishop Nickless of Sioux City, who wrote about health care: “… the proper role of government is to regulate the private sector in order to foster healthy competition and curtail abuses. Therefore any legislation that undermines the viability of the private sector is suspect.” (NY Times, 9/5)
Folks like Nickless, Finn and Chaput have been the most visible. Thus, it’s nice to see someone like Archbishop Wuerl actually preaching the Gospel rather than painted over free market capitalism.
O dear, Wuerl got heckled at Mass last weekend. Now he is really in for it!
Was he heckled for this or for his recent statements on gay marriage? He’s likely to get heckled from “both” sides!
Which, I might add, is generally a good sign.
Kari,
I really think that reading the “Gospel” into any specific set of policy prescriptions is way beyond the pale. You are engaging in precisely the same junk theologizing that the Right does when they associate Jesus with any number of policy positions.
There is a Gospel principle involved. But how it is applied and achieved is the subject of debate, negotiation and prudential judgment. The statements of both Weurl and Nickless seem to fall within the legitimate boundaries of that debate. I’ll remind you that neither free market capitalism nor socialism (I do not use the term as a pejorative) are entirely opposed to the Gospel or perfectly synchronous with it.
Ah, but Mark, I’m referring to “preaching the Gospel” in the sense of laying out the values that need to be taken into consideration in making policy proposals, which is what I read Wuerl as doing. Healing the sick and caring for the outsider are much more directly in the Gospel than the sanctity of the private sector and the role of the market are. Of course I agree that calling policy proposals “Gospel” would be absurd.
“Wuerl got heckled at Mass last weekend”
Are you talking about the Mass for human labor? I was there – it wasn’t a heckler, just some crazy guy. Or are you talking about something else?
Anyone who heckles at Mass is crazy.
Were you at the reception?
A couple years ago, an editorial in The Columbian, the Knights of Columbus, spoke out about having compassion for the immigrants in our nation.
I emailed the editor and congratulated him and the Knights, at the national level, for speaking out about this.
The editor replied with a thank you and noted that a number of emailers were not so supportive.
So good for the bishops and other church leaders for reminding us and teaching us that we are talking about the well being of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Questions and concerns about taxes and costs are real enough and valid, but the Gospel cannot be excluded from discussion and from conscience on this topic.
Kari,
And if a market-based healthcare system healed the sick and cared for the outsider better than a government-run system, would you still condemn it simply because it was based on profit? I’m not making that claim; my point is that both a free-market capitalist and a socialist may agree on the Gospel principle, but differ on how to achieve it.
Moreover, not having examined all of Bishop Nickless’ speech, are you sure he didn’t enunciate the common principle elsewhere. Similarly, are you certain Archbishop Wuerl didn’t have something positive to say about the private sector?
Nah, I just serve the Mass, I don’t get invited to the fancy receptions! :)
I coulda got you in. Nice spread but just soft drinks and lemonade for beverages. I’m seeing that is fixed in 2010. What part of “trade unionist” didn’t the hostess’ understand?
Mark: Of course. I reject ideology in all its forms, left or right.