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Contributions to Reader's Forum should be limited to 250 words.
Letters must be signed and must include the writer's address and
phone number for verification purposes. All letters are subject
to editing.
Mail your letter to:
The Catholic Voice
2121 Harrison St., Suite 100
Oakland, CA 94612
FAX: (510) 893-4734
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Health maintenance tax
Catholics must decide: Is affordable, universal healthcare
a right or just a privilege for the wealthy? Must we pretend that the
ER is equivalent with preventative care?
Being pro-life, why do we let the uninsured die prematurely because they
postpone care due to costs?
We ration healthcare in America now — by a patient’s means.
We’ll triage non-breathers and bleeders over those with lesser symptoms,
who’ll wait.
Those stifling reform bloviate about governmental “takeovers,”
but the wealthy will always be able to get out-of-system care. “Healthcare
vacations” are commonplace now — especially among desperate
patients seeking affordable overseas cures.
Arguing against reform is simply heartless, selfish, and it’s all
about money — not people. True, there’s finite funding, but,
looking at our bloated war budgets, it’s a matter of priorities.
So what to do? Let’s start by taking the profit motive out of healthcare
and pharmaceuticals by transcending the insurance model. Insurance companies
don’t provide care — they ration it. They just take their
pound of flesh out of every healthcare dollar.
Let’s instead pay hospitals, doctors and nurses for their time,
service and expertise — not for how many patients and procedures
they can churn out.
Charge everyone an equitable and affordable national health maintenance
tax, much as we do now for defense, fire and police protection. Nationally
fund research and provide people with treatments.
And when people get sick and can’t work, they can be temporarily
exempt from the tax. Now, we just let them and their families go bankrupt
— then die.
Ed Chainey
Richmond
Access for all
There is a lot of news these days about the Catholic bishops lobbying
hard, and successfully, that an anti-abortion amendment be added to HR
3962, the health reform bill passed by the House of Representatives. I
am concerned that in their zeal to protect the unborn the bishops have
become blind to a larger moral issue affecting all who live in this country
— the right to health care.
Does a wealthy country have an ethical obligation to provide health care
for everybody? Do we want to live in a society that lets tens of thousands
of our neighbors die each year, and hundreds of thousands face financial
ruin, because they can’t afford medical care when they are sick?
To put it another way: does a low-income pregnant woman have the same
right to quality medical care before she gives birth, during delivery
and afterwards for herself and her newborn as the pregnant owner of a
major corporation?
This is the first question that we must ask ourselves when it comes to
health care. On this question every developed nation except the United
States has reached the same conclusion: Everybody should have access to
quality, affordable health care.
We have yet to begin, among our bishops, in our churches, in our communities
and as a nation, a real, honest and vigorous discussion of this basic
moral imperative
Fred Zierten
Oakland
Ban assault weapons
James A. Smith, Esq. (Forum, Nov. 9)attacked my earlier submission dealing
with our need to have the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment repealed
and replaced with another which forbids possession of automatic or semi-automatic
firearms.
I have difficulty accepting the idea that families of four murdered Oakland
policemen and more recently, three police families in Pittsburgh, PA.
or parents of Columbine children are comforted by Smith’s attitude
when none have heard that perpetrators were tried for their offense.
Possession of assault weapons is illegal in California; however, they
are purchased openly in other states, then illegally brought here. A nationwide
ban is superior to varying effectiveness of control laws within our 50
states. Some make no attempt at enforcement.
The Second Amendment was reasonable when our “back door” opened
upon an unexplored continent. Did the experience of the French and Indian
wars weigh on the minds of the amendment’s authors?
I again state that the time has come to confine fully automatic assault
rifles and semi-automatic weaponry to possession only by military or police
personnel.
John W. Kyle
Hayward
Promote authentic teaching
Recent letters in The Voice have raised the question of the purpose of
a Catholic diocesan newspaper. This question shouldn’t even have
to be asked; it obviously should promote authentic Catholic teaching and
remain loyal to the Magisterium. When letters containing dissenting views
are published without correction, this function is not only unfulfilled
but also frustrated.
And the opportunity is missed to educate Catholics about the truth. We
believe that Catholicism contains a greater share of truth than other
religions. These truths should be taught from the pulpit and in The Voice.
Gallup polls show that 10 percent of Americans are former Catholics —
probably because they didn’t learn to appreciate their religion.
Only 50 percent of Catholics follow the Magisterium in matters of faith,
morality, dogma and discipline. Twenty-four percent don’t believe
in the Real Presence in the Eucharist, which only the Catholic Church
has.
Sixteen percent don’t even believe in the Resurrection, a central
tenet of Christianity. Only 29 percent support the traditional celibate,
male clergy in the Roman Church. Reg-ular prayer life, adoration and the
Rosary are not part of the lives of half of the Catholics who were polled.
Half don’t follow Church teaching on abortion and same-sex marriage.
Most are contracepting. Many Catholics haven’t studied their religion
since childhood and live with an immature appreciation of it.
Relativism is rampant today. At the recent East Bay Catholic Men’s
Conference, Father Tom Euteneuer, president of Human Life International,
said that the lines between good and evil have been blurred. Our culture
militates against our faith, so faith needs to be reinforced. An informed,
committed Catholic will have the vision to know the truth and follow it.
It is the Voice’s place to help achieve this, not hinder it.
Jack Hockel
Walnut Creek
Church too silent
I love God and the Catholic Church, but I just have to question why the
Church is so silent regarding our duties and rights as members.
I know that this is the age of political correctness, but I believe that
silence can be a sin and/or crime under certain circumstances. It has
been a long time since I have been reminded that all Catholics are required
to obey God and the Church on all items that deal with faith and morals.
Yet I understand that about 50 percent of all registered members do not
attend Mass on Sunday on a regular basis. And when these inactive members
do show up on Christmas and/or Easter, only praise is given, thus condoning
this behavior.
Additionally there are numerous other topics such as birth control, abortion,
divorce etc. for which I believe many members do not agree. These are
not options from which “cafeteria” Catholics can select.
On a final note, I understand that about 98 percent of all married Catholics
use artificial birth control. How can the Church continue on without either
speaking out on this issue or changing its law.
David Brusiee
Pleasanton
No handshaking, please
Kudos to Barbara McLaughlin (Forum, Nov. 9) for recommending elimination
of the hand shake greeting at Mass during the flu epidemic. If only our
good bishop or local pastors would take heed.
Bob Crespi
Via email
The opinions expressed in letters to Reader's Forum
are the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of The
Catholic Voice or the Oakland Diocese.
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