Color me puzzled. Why is the American Life League demonizing Catholic Charities, the Catholic Health Association, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society?
A few weeks ago, ALL’s Katie Walker wrote a news release stating that Catholic Charities, the Catholic Health Association, and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul had “divorced themselves from Catholic teaching.” How did this “divorce” happen? Walker charged that these Catholic organizations were guilty of “supporting the Obama health care plan, which would foster a culture of mandatory abortion coverage, contraceptive services, and permissive sex education, euthanasia and eugenics.”
In actual fact, these organizations had called for urgent healthcare reform; they had not issued support for any particular healthcare reform bill. Yes, they had asked members to call Congress urging urgent reform and they had shown a video in which Obama argues for immediate healthcare reform, but these do not rationally translate into support for any reform whatsoever or even the reform bills currently under congressional consideration. It would have been reasonable for the American Life League to express concern that these organizations’ campaign might be interpreted as supporting bills under consideration, but ALL didn’t just express such concern or call on these organizations to clarify what exactly they were supporting. It assumed their support for the current plan and asserted as fact that these organizations had divorced themselves from Catholic teaching. “Divorce” is a significant and strong metaphor. It expresses much more than a potential conflict, a spousal fight, or a separation into different rooms or even different homes. It denotes a final and complete separation.
Today I received a press release stating that American Life League president Judie Brown and Catholic Health Association president Sr. Carol Keehan would appear on EWTN’s The World Over with Raymond Arroyo. The release mentions how ALL exposed the scandal of these organizations’ support for Obama’s healthcare plan, as if their campaign was a secret in need of an exposé. Even though Catholic Charities, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and the Catholic Health Association have clarified their position on healthcare reform, Brown refuses to back down. She wrote, “These Catholic organizations are contending that they are simply supporting health ‘reform,’ but that line is disingenuous at best when the only health reform on the table is Obama’s abortion and euthanasia mandate. These organizations are putting human lives at the mercy of misguided justice.”
On Arroyo’s show, Sr. Carol Keehan explained once again her organization’s dedication to the dignity of the human person, its opposition to abortion, even its opposition to particular segments in the current legislation. She talked about how her organization was working with the bishops, not at cross-purpose with them, and that it might compromise its preferences, but never its principles. Arroyo kept returning to the notion that it might seem from the video that Keehan’s organization supported the current bills. Hardly sufficient evidence for asserting that Keehan and her organization have divorced themselves from Catholic teaching!
Both Brown and Arroyo were very clear that they don’t trust the government involvement in healthcare. Trusting it is unthinkable, Brown remarked. Okay, fine, they disagree with healthcare reform that involves greater government intervention. Let’s talk about that. Why in the world over does ALL try to make enemies out of these well-respected Catholic organizations that do so much to promote? The pro-life movement has enough on its plate trying to convince the opposing side; what good does alienating its own people do? The members of Catholic Charities, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and the Catholic Health Association are living out justice and charity to the poor, the oppressed, and the forgotten. They are ministers who give life to the pro-life ideals. Why demonize them? Surely doing so doesn’t advance the agenda of the American Life League. (EC)
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