While my schedule did not give me the opportunity to listen to President Obama’s address to the joint session of Congress on health care Sept. 9, I did read the talk as published by the White House Office of the Press Secretary.
That They May All
Be One
Archbishop John C. Nienstedt
I was grateful to find his statement “under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions” (presumably, this also means no federally funded embryonic stem-cell destruction). Equally gratifying was his next statement, “and federal conscience laws will remain in place.” In addition to these, the president’s support for Medicare assistance to senior citizens brings much relief.
Archbishop Nienstedt's Calendar
» Tuesday-Thursday, July 27-29: Participating in an episcopal ongoing formation leadership session conducted by the Catholic Leadership Institute in Charlotte, N.C.
» Sunday, Aug. 1:10:30 a.m., St. Paul, Macalester College: Closing Mass for Steubenville North 2010.
» Tuesday, Aug. 3: 8:30 a.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence: Scheduling meeting with staff.
1:30 p.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Archbishop’s Council meeting.
» Wednesday, Aug. 4: 2 p.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Catholic Services Appeal study committee.
» Friday, Aug. 6: 10 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Archbishop Harry Flynn’s 50th anniversary fundraising committee meeting.
» Saturday, Aug. 7: 5 p.m., Lino Lakes, Church of St. Joseph: Sunday liturgy.
» Sunday, Aug. 8: 10:30 a.m., Maplewood, Church of St. Jerome: Sunday liturgy and luncheon celebrating the parish’s 70th anniversary.
» Monday, Aug. 9: 6 p.m., West St. Paul, Church of St. Joseph: Dinner with rectory residents.
» Tuesday, Aug. 10: 7:30 a.m., St. Paul, The St. Paul Seminary: Mass and breakfast meeting with the St. Paul’s Outreach board of directors for the School of the New Evangelization.
» Thursday, Aug. 12: 9 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Meeting of the Caleb Club.
It was also encouraging that President Obama made the words of Sen. Ted
Kennedy his own: “What we face is above all a moral issue. . . .”
This was the reason behind my column in The Catholic Spirit on Aug. 27.
It is the sole reason that I brought the topic before the Catholics of
this archdiocese.
As I have said before, health care reform is needed — that is not the
question. But the real question is: How will this health care reform
define us as a nation and as a people?
The answer must include:
1.) A statement disallowing taxpayer dollars to fund abortions and,
necessarily connected to this prohibition, embryonic stem-cell
destruction.
2.) A statement forbidding the practice of euthanasia.
3.) Allowing the federal conscience laws to stand.
Still time to weigh in
While the president’s words were encouraging, the process is not yet
over. There are, at least, three versions of House and Senate bills
being worked on, and none are in their final form. This means that
Catholics must continue to monitor the process as it goes forward and
contact their representatives in Washington, D.C., with their thoughts.
It is obvious that doing so is having an effect. (For the Senate, call
(202) 224-3121 and ask to speak with your senator; call (202) 225-3121
to speak with your representative. If you do not know the name of
either, give the operator your zip code and you will be connected to
the correct office.)
Reading the commentaries of my brother bishops, I realized that I did
not mention another essential Catholic principle that should have been
included in my last column: subsidiarity, which posits that health care
ought to be determined, administered and coordinated at the lowest
level of society whenever possible.
In other words, those intermediary communities and associations that
exist between the federal government and the individual must be
strengthened and given greater control over policies and practices
rather than being given less and less control.
Two quotes from Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI are instructive in this regard:
Pope John Paul II has written:
“By intervening directly and depriving society of its responsibility,
the Social Assistance State leads to a loss of human energies and an
inordinate increase of public agencies, which are dominated more by
bureaucratic ways of thinking than by concern for serving their
clients, and which are accompanied by an enormous increase in spending”
(Pope John Paul II, “Centesimus Annus,” No. 48).
Pope Benedict writes:
“The State which would provide everything, absorbing everything into
itself, would ultimately become a mere bureaucracy incapable of
guaranteeing the very thing which the suffering person — every person —
needs: namely, loving personal concern. We do not need a State which
regulates and controls everything, but a State which, in accordance
with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and
supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and
combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need . . . . In the
end, the claim that just social structures would make works of charity
superfluous masks a materialist conception of man: the mistaken notion
that man can live ‘by bread alone’ (Mt 4:4; cf. Dt 8:3) — a conviction
that demeans man and ultimately disregards all that is specifically
human” (Pope Benedict XVI, “Deus Caritas Est,” No. 28).
To neglect the principle of subsidiarity inevitably leads to the
excessive centralization of human services, which leads to higher
costs, less personal responsibility for the individual and a lower
quality of care.
Two reminders
Two other reminders:
1.) October is the Month of the Rosary, a devotion that has proven
itself to be a means, not only of reflection and meditation, but indeed
of contemplation. This is to say, a means of entering into the presence
of God himself.
The late beloved Pope John Paul II said that praying the rosary was “an
act of contemplating the face of Christ.” One may ask, “I thought it
was a prayer to Mary?” But the late Holy Father argued that “Mary was
the most accomplished person in history to contemplate the face of her
son. Therefore, to pray the rosary is to view the face of Jesus through
Mary’s eyes. This prayer, being focused on Mary, must be directed to
Jesus, her Son.”
I encourage all Catholics to make a special effort to pray the rosary
daily during this month of October. Invite others to join you in that
prayer.
2.) October is also Criminal Justice Month, a time to study the present
state of our criminal justice situation and to reach out to those who
are imprisoned as well as those who are making a transition from prison
back into society. I have sent materials on this topic to all the
parishes. I hope that they will be used effectively during these next
weeks.
As Deacon Timothy Zinda said in last week’s edition:
“[Prisoners] are not what you might think they’d be like, and I don’t
really see them any differently than I do anyone else. They are people
who have made serious mistakes or whose lives have taken difficult
turns.”
I believe that this is so true. I encourage you to join your parish’s
efforts to assist the imprisoned and those transitioning back into
society. It is, after all, a corporal work of mercy.
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