| Access to Healthcare |
Health care reform is a long held concern within the Diocese of Rochester and of the United State Catholic Conference of Bishops.
Bishop Clark Speaks Out, November, 2009
Misleading claims are being made by various groups both supporting and opposing different bills, which in any case keep changing. Media reporting is wrought with error and omission on the bills’ actual content and the words of Congressional representatives and the President. Few of our parishioners though, have the time or the resources to read the entirety of proposed law; follow votes on amendments in Congress; and ferret out distortion in reporting.
Fortunately the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops announced the creation of a special web page dedicated to providing clarity on the US Bishops’ position on health care reform. The address is
Select videos are available at
Visitors to the site are encouraged to explore all the posted items for a comprehensive understanding of the bishops’ criteria for positive and legitimate health care reform. These criteria grounded in the larger body of Catholic Social Teaching and include:
- Respect for human life and dignity from conception to natural death
- Access for all with a special concern for the poor and legal immigrants
- Preserving pluralism including freedom of conscience and variety of options
- Restraining costs and applying them equitably across the spectrum of payers.
Action alerts, news releases, letters from bishops and other information are linked. New information will be added as it becomes available.
Please encourage your parishioners and other members of the community to visit the website and take appropriate action. In the eloquent words of Bishop William F. Murphy,
“Genuine health care reform that protects the life and dignity of all is a moral imperative and a vital national obligation"
