Editorial

Religious leaders:
Draw attention to plight of uninsured

Leaders of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian faiths in the United States took a united stand recently to draw attention to the plight of more than 41 million uninsured Americans.

Three national Catholic organizations joined in an appeal to Congress to expand health coverage for one in seven Americans with no health insurance. They called the current situation "morally unacceptable."

"Cover the Uninsured Week" (March 10-16) was an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with sponsorship by dozens of national organizations. The week included at least 60 interfaith events and more than 200 health fairs around the country.

Expand coverage for uninsured. "The uninsured are our neighbors, our patients, and our parishioners," said leaders of the three Catholic organizations: the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Catholic Charities USA, and the Catholic Health Association (CHA).

They urged Congress to dedicate at least $89 billion over the next 10 years to expand coverage for the uninsured. This amount was set aside by President George W. Bush in his fiscal 2004 budget proposal.

"We consider access to adequate health care to be a basic human right, necessary for the development and maintenance of life and for the ability of human beings to realize the fullness of their dignity," said Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C., chair of the USCCB's Domestic Policy Committee; Fr. J. Bryan Hehir, president of Catholic Charities USA; and Fr. Michael D. Place, president and CEO of CHA.

The three Catholic leaders sent a letter to the Senate and House Budget Committees, calling on Congress to provide immediate fiscal relief to states for their Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program. These programs provide health coverage to millions of low-income adults and children.

Slashing budgets. As we know, state and local governments are in dire financial straits. Many are slashing budgets for Medicaid and other health care programs.

I encourage concerned citizens to join these religious leaders. Urge Congress to provide immediate relief for these programs and prevent the erosion of coverage for the most vulnerable people.

What's sad is that eight out of 10 of the Americans with no health insurance are from working families. In most cases, the main wage earners either had jobs with no health insurance or their premiums were unaffordable.

Without health insurance, many people delay medical care until it's too late. Some illnesses could be prevented with medication and treatment, but instead the patients end up paying higher costs and getting sicker.

Do our part. Those of us fortunate to have health insurance must do our part to help those without this necessity. Contact your congressional representatives to support health coverage for the uninsured.

Mary C. Uhler, editor

Mailbag

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To the editor:

Thanks for carrying Tony Magliano's column. He is a refreshing voice, unafraid to remind/ask us "what would Jesus do?" in situations faced by our country.

However, Fr. John Catoir's article of 2/27 "Dealing with Saddam Hussein: Is war the answer?" [print edition only] was filled with inconsistencies. It seems he is parroting the administration's position for war on Iraq, complete with the faulty one-liners we are bombarded with daily from our own media. While he may be expressing the view of some U.S. Catholics, I don't think it does your readers a favor by repeating these simple statements. We can get this stuff by the truckload anytime.

He asks whether those opposed to war "want peace at any price?" Has he considered the costs of this war, the dollars and the cost to our own security? For purely selfish reasons, this is going to cost us plenty.

In 1991 we bombed Iraq's infrastructure, their water, sanitation, electricity, schools, hospitals, and factories and killed hundreds of thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands of others. There is something about the spectacle of the greatest power on earth assembling an immense army to smash a smallish state which has already been driven to its knees by a quarter century of wars and cruel sanctions.

The pope is calling for more time for inspectors, for continued inspections: "it still remains an effective path that could lead to the building of a consensus which, if widely shared by Nations, would make it almost impossible for any Government to act otherwise, without risking international isolation . . . . War is never just another means that one can choose to employ for settling differences between nations."

The pope's envoys to Iraq, the U.N., and to our president have all brought the same message: War kills innocents and peace is still possible.

Here are my one-liners: Who would Jesus bomb? War is easy. Peace is hard. If we are a smart people, we can figure this out.

Marilyn Kinsman-Kharbush, LaValle

Pope has taken stand on war

To the editor:

Although the current administration has demonstrated it has no reservations about slaughtering up to 500,000 innocents in Iraq, there is one person who has taken a stand against this plan. That person is Pope John Paul II.

The pope has already formally denounced the proposed war, calling it a defeat for humanity, and also has sent his top spokesperson to Baghdad.

I would like to know what steps the Catholic Church is taking to educate the congregations on the pope's message of peace.

Gene Schubert, Green Bay

Where are voices opposing war?

To the editor:

Where are the pro-life voices questioning/opposing a war with Iraq? Methinks pro-life as a title is as misleading as pro-choice.

In your March 6th issue you give prominent space to a militant advocacy for war from Douglas Kmiec [print edition only] opposite the editorial page. You buried the pope's words opposing the war back on page 22. Figure!

Fr. Tony Schumacher, Madison

Thanks for counter opinion

To the editor:

Glory, glory!

It was so great to read Doug Kmiec's article on Iraq [print edition only] in answer to Tony Magliano's usual ultra-liberal dribble. Thanks for the counter opinion. Keep up the good work.

Bill Bartz, Westfield