"…Every
person sincerely open to truth and goodness can, by the light of
reason and the hidden action of grace, come to recognize in the
natural law written in the heart (cf. Rom 2:14-15) the
sacred value of human life from its very beginning until its end,
and can affirm the right of every human being to have this primary
good respected to the highest degree."
[Pope John Paul II, The
Gospel of Life] When this powerful passage of Church
teaching is cited, it regularly is quoted in the context of
abortion or of euthanasia. It is obvious, however, that human
life is sacred not only in its beginning and at its
natural end, but also in every intermediate stage.
Accordingly those who strive to be wholly "pro-life"
must be concerned about every aspect of life: care for the
homeless, the unemployed, the physically and mentally handicapped,
the elderly, those with AIDS, etc. The command "to love my
neighbor" demands that I do my utmost to satisfy the basic needs
of all my brothers and sisters. One of these basic needs, which is
unfortunately sometimes overlooked even by those who are sincerely
"pro-life", is the need for adequate medical and hospital care. My
good Catholic guilt over this matter was inspired by a recent
hospital bill, which I received.
"Patient name: James
Nowak, Service dates: 08/06/04 -
08/07/04, Total charges: $114,442.60" Since I was only
a patient for about twenty hours, the hospital bill was
approximately $5,725 per hour of treatment.
Fortunately our diocesan insurance and Medicare covered my entire
bill. But I ask myself, who cares for the poor who need a
defibrillator for their hearts? What happens to the 45
million Americans who are uninsured? Do they just die?
I deeply wish that I had
answers for all these questions, but |
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I do
not. In the past two centuries men have agonized at the
cries of the poor. Communism, Marxism, selfish Capitalism, and
Socialism have not answered these cries. The National Health Service
of Great Britain with its socialized medicine does not seem to be a
true panacea for the uninsured. Our own medical system appears to be
one of the best in the world, if you can afford to use it.
At times, I myself examine my
conscience about the morality of my "buying cheap" and its
relationship to the questions I have just raised. I frequent a
supermarket at which the prices of various items are one-half to
one-third of those at another well-known large chain. At the large,
expensive chain, however, the workers have pensions and medical
benefits. At the "cheap" store, the workers do not receive pensions
or insurance benefits. These clerks are among the 45 million
uninsured in our nation. If the system is unjust, to what degree
am I personally cooperating in this injustice? If I am a major
shareholder of a corporation, which does not pay its employees a
living wage, what is my personal guilt? How serious is my sin?
Should I share the Holy Eucharist if I am profiting from the
suffering of my workers?
The answer to these problems
is beyond my competence. I am not an economist or a social
scientist. I am only a simple parish priest. I and every person,
however, must remember that all the neglected elderly, those
suffering from a lack of proper medical care, those dying of AIDS
and addictions, the homeless, and all the poor have only one face.
If we look closely, we will only see Jesus.
Father Jim Nowak |
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