(Vatican Radio) The U.S. bishops have welcomed the decision of federal government
leaders to agree to end the partial government shutdown 16 days after closing many
offices and suspending important programs and services. In a statement issued Thursday,
the bishops said they “were heartened that so many who had been out of work could
return to their jobs.” Below, we publish the media statement from the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) :
“The shutdown has had a widespread
impact on many people, especially the poor, who suffered for lack of basic services
during the period,” said Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, California, chairman of
the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. “With the government now
open, beneficiaries of government services, particularly the elderly and children,
can hope to resume a normal life with a safety net securely in place.”
The
bishops will continue to advocate for a “circle of protection” around programs that
serve the poor and vulnerable people at home and abroad. The bishops are still urging
Congress to replace the mandatory across-the-board spending cuts (the “sequester”)
with a responsible budget that provides adequate funding for anti-poverty programs.
The bishops also remain deeply concerned regarding the Health and Human Services
mandate that will force employers to provide health coverage that entails payment
for abortifacients, contraceptives, and sterilizations, even if doing so violates
the employers’ deeply-held religious or moral beliefs. Catholic ministries that provide
health care, educational, and social services generally are not exempt from the mandate,
and enforcement against them will begin January 1, 2014, putting at risk the poor
and vulnerable served by those ministries.
“The bishops have pressed for legislative
relief from the HHS mandate since its inception more than two years ago,” said Archbishop
William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty.
“Church efforts to protect rights of conscience will continue despite this temporary
setback.”
The bishops urged the House and Senate to avoid a government shutdown.
In September 30 letters to the House and Senate, Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles,
Bishop Blaire and Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, urged “wise bipartisan
leadership and moral clarity in crafting a plan to ensure the government continues
to operate and meet its responsibility to protect human life and dignity, care for
poor and vulnerable people at home and abroad, and advance the universal common good.”
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/federal-budget/upload/letters-to-congress-shutdown-2013-09-30.pdf
Archbishop Gomez chairs the USCCB Committee on Migration. Bishop Blaire chairs
the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. Bishop Pates chairs the Committee
on International Justice and Peace.
In a September 26 letter, Archbishop Lori
and Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston, chair of the bishops’ Pro-Life Activities committee,
called for legislation that preserves “religious freedom and the right of conscience
for all who take part in our health care system."
They urged that the policy
of the Health Care Conscience Rights Act (H.R. 940/S. 1204) be incorporated into must-pass
legislation such as the Continuing Resolution and debt ceiling bill.
"Protection
for conscience rights in health care is of especially great importance to the Catholic
Church, which daily contributes to the welfare of U.S. society through schools, social
services, hospitals and assisted living facilities," they wrote. "These institutions,
which have been part of the Church's ministry since the earliest days of our country,
arose from religious convictions. They should not be told by government to abandon
or compromise those convictions in order to continue serving their own employees or
the neediest Americans. Nor should individual Catholics or others be told they cannot
legally purchase or provide health coverage unless they violate their conscience." www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/conscience-protection/omalley-lori-letter-to-house-2013-09-26.cfm