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Recently, several newspapers have misstated the position of Catholic Charities and other Catholic institutions regarding proposed federal health care legislation. The newspapers include the New York Times and the Journal Sentinel.
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) are guided by Catholic Social Teaching. Both Milwaukee’s Catholic Charities and CCUSA support health care for all persons but do not support any one proposed legislative bill and, therefore, do not advocate for President Obama's pending health care bill.
Health care and healthcare system reform are not new topics for the Catholic leadership. For centuries Catholic institutions have provided health care, and have been especially dedicated to providing care for the poor and most vulnerable. Years of being in the trenches affords Catholic healthcare institutions credibility in shaping and informing the legislative debate while not endorsing debated legislation.
Milwaukee's Catholic Charities, CCUSA and the Catholic Hospital Association (CHA) follow the ethical and moral precepts of the Church and of the United States bishops who believe in “accessible, affordable and quality health care that protects and respects the life and dignity of all people from conception until natural death." For articulate healthcare reform statements by the U.S. bishops, CCUSA and CHA, can be found on the following websites:
The essential teaching of the Church is consistent and insistent: health care and health care reform must protect and advance the human dignity of all persons, with particular concern for the most vulnerable persons.
Hannah C. Dugan
Executive Director
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Inc.
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