POPE BENEDICT XVI'S LATEST STATEMENT ON UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE..........

Pope Benedict XVI's pronouncement on the use of condoms this week, was not the only statement he made on a social issue with moral imperatives.  His Holiness also articulated the Catholic-Christian Teaching on the provision of  universal health care, calling health care an, "inalienable right", that every nation and society must guarantee its citizens.  The Pope's remarks were delivered by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, at the November 18 - 19, 25th International Conference of the Pontifical Council For Health Care Ministry.  Calling accessibility to health care a moral responsibility of nations to guarantee for all their citizens, regardless of social and economic status, or their ability to pay, Benedict XVI's message declared access to medical care is one of the, "inalienable rights", of humankind.  "The care of man, his transcendent dignity and his inalienable rights", are issues that should concern Catholic-Christians, the Pope wrote.  The Holy Father goes on to say that an individual's health is a, "precious asset" to society, and to persons,
governments, and other agencies, and they should seek to protect a person's health by, "dedicating the equipment, resources, and energy, so that the greatest number of people can have access".  'Justice in health care should be a priority of governments and international institutions", according to Benedict XVI, but he cautions that protecting the right tro human health care does not include artificial reproductive procedures that destroy embryos, or euthanasia.  "Care for human life from conception must be a guiding light in determining health care policy", said the Pope.  Benedict XVI has proclaimed  universal health care a moral right of all persons, even as Catholic politicians soon to assume leadership in  the United States Congress, are steadfastly opposing the newly enacted health care reform law and are vowing to abolish it.  They and the same American Catholics who define orthodoxy in being Catholic as adhering strictly to the the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the practices and policies enunciated by the Holy Father and the Vatican, will now have their fidelity tested.  Will they be true to the Catholic-Christian belief in health care accessibility for all, clearly espoused this week by His Holiness, or, "Cafeteria Catholics", who pick and choose what to believe,
and which moral values to support or reject, placing personal and partisan politics first and their faith a distant second, in response to universal health care ?   How Benedict XVI's declaration providing support for health care accessibility for all our citizens will affect the political debate over universal health care in the United States in trhe months ahead, will be interesting.  Will it change the minds, hearts, and political positions, of Speaker-Elect Boehner and other Catholic Representatives and Senators, who up until now have opposed health care reform as enunciated by the Pope, or will they merely ignore it and set it aside in favor of their political interest ?  I pray, and hope you will too, that they will take Pope Benedict's words seriously and work proactively for the common good and moral right of all citizens to be guaranteed access to health care..........Commending The Holy Father For His Prophetic Proclamation Of Gospel Values,   Fr.  Troy