Health care victory give bishops confidence

I guess I'm missing something here. Is it really true that abortion is completely out of the House healthcare bill? If so, that is something to be happy about but I'm not sure it is true. From what I've read in the secular media, it seems as if federal funding for abortion in the public option is included at least in terms of the hard cases, rape, incest & the life of the mother.

There is no justification whatsoever for federal funding for any kind of abortion. The Supreme Court has made clear that this is a privacy issue, as such the government has no right to spend any tax dollars on it. That's at least one price the Liberals have to pay for their infamous "right to privacy" on this issue.

Who are we kidding here? Obama was elected President, with the majority of Catholics voting for him, despite the leadership of the Church telling us that we should not. The President successfully spoke at Notre Dame, despite criticisms. And the Catholic funeral of Ted Kennedy was well-watched, despite those who suggested he did not deserve the honor.
So, the Bishops get a "victory" because they have teamed with the conservative Christian right and the anti-abortion movement. So what? Can it be anything more than a short-lived "victory" to a hierarchy that has deep-seeded problems with contraception, fewer priests, more non-practicing Catholics all the time, homosexuality, gay marriage, the limited roles for women in the Church, preditor scandals (of which there will be more), celibacy, the advanced ages of the Bishops and their lack of real-world experiences, and more. This is a long, formable list, and, I think, the day that a majority of Catholics look to their Bishops for moral leadership is well passed.
This is a group that would still tell you that masterbation is a sin! The ship is sinking because it has severe structural flaws. Cardinal George is a problem, not a solution.

George must have bridled some of his bishops who don't want health care reform at all. good enough on that.

Although one would hope that episcopal fortitude is not dependent on legislative victories, the fact that the bishops may be learning that they CAN influence American public policy, that they SHOULD do so rather than leave the public square naked, that they OUGHT to address the scandal that the most reliable pro-abortion votes come from members of Congress "representing" those states where the most Catholics live (e.g., New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, etc.) and that it's high time we saw some EFFECTIVE leadership that has socio-political consequence from the USCCB is welcome. Kudos to Cardinal George!

Not too long ago, the press was touting how the USCCB had lost all credibility due to the sexual abuse crisis. Seven years after Boston, the USCCB has managed to defeat an attempt by the liberal left to enshrine taxpayer funded abortion on demand in federal law by using the health care reform proposal as a convenient vehicle. The bishops have demonstrated that they can be a force to be reckoned with in the public square, when they use their moral authority wisely and in defense of the most vulnerable among us: the unborn.

There is still much to be done, as Cardinal George notes, but the first battle in protecting human life is won in this health care reform war.

What victory? President Obama is against their amendment and their meddling. How insolent can those bishops be? When will they have their income tax exemption removed from them?

NAIVE Bishop:

"It was a good example of how we as a conference can work together to have a positive influence on legislation," said Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., in a Nov. 16 report to his fellow bishops.

As any student of American Government 101 knows, a "victory" in the House of Representatives does not automatically land a bill in the Oval Office for a presidential signature into law.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091120/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_overhaul_abortion

While it is great to see our bishops having such an effect in advocating against abortion funding in the Democrats’ reform bills, I wonder why we aren’t hearing anything about their efforts to rally the Republican law makers around the need to pass meaningful health reform. In every statement they issue, the USCCB is always so careful to express ALL their demands for reform: no abortion funding, access for all with special concern for the poor, inclusion of immigrants, protecting conscience rights, and creating a system that restrains costs and applies them equitably across the spectrum of payers.

So while the bishops are enjoying all this success around the abortion issue, having convinced enough House Democrats to side with the Church’s demands, why aren’t they trying equally as hard to convince the Republicans to support universal access, coverage for immigrants, and a cost-effective and fairly financed system? Is abortion really the only issue they care about? Are the other demands for a reformed system merely empty words that they feel compelled to say because of our Catholic moral and social justice tradition, but when it comes right down to it, they don’t really believe that “that stuff” is very important?

Surely they see that the abortion issue alone could, in the end, sink reform, leaving us with the same broken and unjust health system that we’ve suffered with for decades. If strong restrictions around abortion funding are present in the legislation going forward, there could be enough pro-choice Democrats voting against the final bill to stop reform in its tracks. But it could be argued that strong anti-abortion provisions would likely survive if enough Republicans were convinced that voting for meaningful reform is the right thing to do. But we aren’t hearing anything about the bishops working with Republican law makers to shore up votes. So in the absence of their efforts to court Republicans, it makes me wonder if the USCCB’s goal, as sneaky and underhanded as it might be, is ultimately to sink health reform in America.

The bishops have demonstrated tremendous influence with one group of legislators, who aren’t always in sync with Church teaching, in a very difficult and contentious area. Why not use that same power of persuasion to turn a few Republican friends our way to give reform that extra push it needs right now? Makes one question the true intent of their tactics.