Nuns: Vote for health bill would be 'life-affirming'

As I understand the bill as written there is no federal funding for abortion included and as Sister Carol Keehan says above if changes are needed they can be done later.

Although they called the Senate bill "an imperfect measure," the women religious said it would "expand coverage to over 30 million uninsured Americans" and "is a crucial next step in realizing health care for all."

This is too important to let die at this point.

Network's position can be found here:

http://www.networklobby.org/issues/2009%20Issue%20Agenda/healthcare_page...

which is also the position of the Catholic Health Association. See 03/13/10 NY Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/03/13/us/politics/AP-US-Health-Over...

LOCAL NUNS' VIEWS ON HEALTH CARE DIFFER

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20103180337

By HIRAN RATNAYAKE • The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware
March 18, 2010

On Wednesday, a letter was released from the leaders of 60 women's religious orders urging lawmakers to vote for the health care legislation.

For nuns at Holy Spirit Parish near New Castle, the issue of health care reform has been a topic of discussion, Sister Mary Grace Thul said.

"We certainly don't think abortion is all right, and to make the taxpayers pay for abortions is not at all fair and it is encouraging something that we're very much against," said Thul, who questioned the support shown by the national groups. "I don't know why they would be so supportive of something that the Catholic Church is definitely against in principle."

Some other local nuns believe that Network, a national Catholic social justice lobby, took the right stand.

Sister Maureen Paul Turlish, a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, is in favor of a major overhaul of the health care system.
"The people on the lowest rung of the ladder are getting squat, they're getting nothing," said Turlish, a child-protection advocate who lives in New Castle.

"There are some people seeing the position as black or white, but those are not realistic positions in today's society. ... There are some ultraconservatives in a lot of churches who want to throw out the baby with the bathwater, but it simply can't be done."

"I think we have to begin giving health to [millions of] people, and that's my only suggestion," added Sister Alice Gillen, also a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. "I think we have to serve people that we're responsible for who are evidently not getting health care."

Amen, Sisters! Good for you!

God bless all nuns..They truly are an example to every christian as to how to love and live our lives as Christ would have us to do. The bottom line is after all these years they still reflect the light of Christ ! You will always have my support, prayers and admiration.

Love, Peace and prayers !

The "nuns" are wrong, plain and simple.

The Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, who represent 103 communities and 10,000 members; had issued a statement indicating they stand with the authentic voice ot the Church - the Bishops.

This is why the visitation and doctrinal investigation are necessary.

Now, about the same number of Nuns that are supporting the Health Care Bill are denouncing it.

They give yet another completely anti-Catholic statement is a deliberate attempt to confuse Catholic legislators into funding abortion and yet they still cry out "victim" that they are being investigated?? What arrogance and hypocrisy!

Once again, leadership and vision comes from the women religious. As a former student of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I am especially proud of their continued leadership, courage, and vision. Kudos!

Dean Leh

Hooray for our Sisters who had the courage to stand up in favor of health care reform!

I don't want to be any part of killing any Souls regardless of how many millions may get additional benefits (anyone can go to the Emergency room at any time right now). I shouldn't have to pay for any other people's evil abortions and my doctors shouldn't have to do them against their will. If they agree with that then put it in otherwise it is a Catholic's moral obligation to vote against this bill.

The 59,000 number includes how many active womenreligious,do the majority who are elderly and retire truly agree with these so called"nuns". I say sisters and I use that term liberally,why don't you be truthful with all of us including yourselves,you are no more pro-life than NOW,than most of you active women are probably members of it. I pray that you keep on oving right out of the Univesal Church ,you are the cause of scandal not life giving or affirming.

Thank you, Sisters.

You show more spine, heart, gut, & intelligence than the bishops.

Everyone knows the bill is incomplete and we all like to kid ourselves that more will come later. The bishops, and let's stop kidding, are political Republicans and they want this President to fail. As ALL things the bishops do, it will fail

The CHA and the leaders of women religious obviously intended to be taken as representing the Catholic Church on this issue, when they must know they are at odds with the bishops who have given the Church's official position rather clearly already. This nefarious attempt to delude unwary readers into thinking the Catholic Church approves of this bill is dishonest. It would have been proper to state their position and present it as their own, and not the Church's. At least that would have earned them my respect. It is also cowardly to publicly take a position that contradicts and embarrasses Church leaders without first consulting with them and letting them know what one is about to do. As far as I can see, they did not do that. If it transpires that they did, then I will apologize.

There is also the consideration that they are manifestly wrong in claiming the bill does not cover elective abortions. Not only does it do so, it is carefully crafted to do so, and the authors have done everything possible to make sure it was not changed to exclude such coverage. The fact that they adamantly reject the Stupak language is itself adequate proof of that.

One has to question the fitness to hold leadership positions of people who indulge in this sort of deceptive practice, and who show such little regard for the faithful who are confused by their statements. Yes, they may feel strongly about providing adequate health care, but this is not the way to show it.

Just what llanguage do the bishops want in the bill. Could I see the words, Please?

Congressmen should listen to the morally-inspired sisters (not "nuns") and not to the morally-corrupt bishops who take their orders from morally-bankrupt and perverted Vatican.

These "nuns' will be held accountable by God for the killing of even more babies in the womb and for the obscene amount of taxpayers' money which will flow to abortion mills as a result of this "health care" bill. To say that there's no abortion coverage in this bill is, at best, disingenuous.
Why would pro-life Democrats like Rep. Bart Stupak risk their own party's furor by opposing it if there were no federally funded abortion in it? Why would Planned Parenthood wholeheartely endorse it?
These women have become pawns of this administration to cause rift among Catholics. Shame on them for throwing the unborn under the bus to promote their own agenda. May God have mercy on their souls.

Thank you sisters for giving us your collective voices for justice.

It's not about numbers, Anonymous - the Church is a functional dictatorship, not a democracy. Small wonder that the Major Superiors side with the authorities who they depend upon.

I find the CHA and the Leadership Conference to be courageous for fulfilling the Biblical call to care for the suffering. It's a sad state when the Bishops are so blinded by the hypothetical that they ignore the pragmatic.

I believe the voices of the Nuns and Sisters, both in support of bill and opposed to it, has much more significance for the state of the Church in the USA than it does on the Health Care Bill. I think this is the beginning of something very important on the future. Even though I am against the bill, I applaud the sisters in taking a stance. It should be interesting . . .

I'm really confused that these "nuns" would openly dissent from the clearly expressed teaching of the Sucessors to the Apostles, and still wonder why they are being investigated as possible dissidents.

Oh, now I get it; they've been questioning the investigation because the answer is so obvious an investigation is a waste of time.

Now it makes sense. For once I have to agree with the radical feminunzis.
Stop the investigation; we have our answer.

The Vatican investigation can't be completed soon enough.

While I respect the right of every person to express his/her views and to advocate with Congress - and though I hope this bill passes, the executive order that is being considered at this moment by the White House and Senate leaders emphasizes for me the power and value of the USCCB and CSMWR positions on the healthcare bill. USCCB issued its statement early in hte week and in plenty of time for just this kind of action as legislators used the power of their vote up to the very last minute to creat change.

The women religious who sent their letter opposing the Bishops - after the Bishops made their statement at a time when it had the power to instigate just what is happening in the White House at this moment - had the potential to undermine the power of the teachings of the Catholic Church, which they say they support on this issue.

They had the right to do it as citizens. They had the right to do it under the conscience provision.

And I think they wasted political and spiritual capital.

I remain glad that I did not see the name of the community with which I am discerning on that letter.

Jean Brookbank

As usual the sisters are right. The bishops favor the Stupak addition because it goes further than the Hyde ammendment, but most of the public are unaware that that is the case. Since the sisters have taught so many of us to READ I think they can be trusted to know what is in the bill. Leave it to bishops to try to pull the wool over the sheep's eyes as they always try to do, especially where women are concerned. As usual only the unborn count. Once you arrive here in this world they do not care what suffering you must endure.

God bless these sisters for their courage! They are the true workers of Christ, not the Church's male hierarchy only concerned with preserving their own power.

And shame on the Vatican for launching this ridiculous investigation of women religious. It is not about "values," it's about control. The true beacon of light in the Catholic faith is coming from these women, not from the old boys' club. If they can't even protect our children, why should we trust their judgment on anything?

I always have had high regard for the nuns. It was they who got their hands dirty, they were on the front line, teaching classrooms with over 40 children in them, it was they who helped teach our prayers, and the stories of Jesus. Now the Vatican seems to have dollar signs in their eyes for all the valuable property these hard working women have been blessed with. The divide is here we have people who want nuns to just shut up and teach or nurse and do as FoxTV's Glen Beck says run from any church that promotes Social Justice.

Well, well, well, The president signed the healthcare, or should I say lack of healthcare bill today and did NOT sign the executive order further restricting abortions, not that the first bill restricted funds in the first place.
Thanks a lot LCWR, now I know why the other sisters have scores of young women lined up to join and your communities do not.
The people are drawn to faithful religious orders, not ones that seem like the Holy version of N.O.W.
The visitation couldn't come at a better time!

LCWR & Network Letter. See the April 2010 LCWR Newsletter, pages 1 and 3, available online at www.lcwr.org.