On the eve of what is considered to be a symbolic vote to repeal the health care reform legislation passed last year by Congress, the bishop chairs whose committees’ work has been impacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act issued the following letter to members of the United States House of Representatives:

Source: USCCB | The above document is the official release from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and was used with permission.

The Top Ten Catholic Stories of 2010 makes its debut with #10, the passage of Health Care Reform and its impact on the Church in the United States.

President Obama speaks about Health Care Reform | Credit: AP/Alex Brandon

In the early part of 2010, the focus of American politics was on the debate surrounding President Barack Obama’s health care reform bill, a plan that called for a complete overhaul of the American health care system. At the onset of the debate in the latter months of 2009, many Catholics, led by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and other religious groups began questioning the proposed changes to health care. The two main concerns were: 1) the lack of appropriate language banning the use of federal moneys for the performance of abortions, and 2) the lack of conscience protections for those working in the health care industry.

On November 7, 2009, after considerable debate, the House of Representatives voted to approve the “Affordable Health Care for America Act” with a vote of 220 to 215. On December 24, 2009, the Senate voted on its version, the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” with a vote of 60 to 39.

In the House’s version of the bill, the use of federal moneys in the performance of abortions was blocked by the addition of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, proposed by Representatives Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Joseph Pitts (R-PA). However, the Senate version lacked this crucial amendment.

President Obama signs Health Care Reform into Law | Source: White House

We learned sad news today out of Pennsylvania: $160 million worth of taxpayer money is going to fund high risk insurance plans that include coverage of legal abortions. Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), stated: “This is just the first proof of the phoniness of President Obama’s assurances that federal funds would not subsidize abortion — but it will not be the last.”

Johnson also stated: “President Obama successfully opposed including language in the bill to prevent federal subsidies for abortions, and now the Administration is quietly advancing its abortion-expanding agenda through administrative decisions such as this, which they hope will escape broad public attention.”

This past weekend, members of the House of Representatives narrowly passed the Health Care Reform (HCR) Bill. Even before the bill was passed, the stance of the people was being heard around the country, many of whom were in opposition to the landmark legislation. However, some of those who opposed the bill took to name calling and slander; members of Congress who were in support of the bill were being called dehumanizing names. After the bill was passed, the jeering and name calling erupted into instances of violence. Many people who were opposed to the legislation and upset with its passage began making death threats to our elected representatives, throwing bricks through windows of district offices of the representatives and protesting outside the homes of the family members of the representatives.

Shortly after President Obama signed the legislation into law on Wednesday, I made the following statement on my Twitter page because I was completely dumbfounded that Americans had stooped to this level of immaturity: “People have been sending death threats to those in Congress who voted for the HCR bill?!?!? Needs to stop!!!” When did we begin viewing our fellow Americans, our brothers and sisters in Christ, as enemies. Well, I was not the only one experiencing that disappointment in my fellow Americans.

Although the health care reform bill has been the main news maker in the United States over the past several weeks, we need not to forget about what the Church is doing in Haiti in response to the devastating earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010. Today, the USCCB Media Blog updated us on what the church in the United States is doing in the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from Catholics across the U.S. in response to the needs of earthquake survivors in Haiti. So far, the special collection from U.S. dioceses raised over $55 million for emergency help, and other contributions have brought in an additional $50 million. The USCCB Subcommittee for the Church in Latin America is partnering with CRS in the response. CRS is focusing now on rebuilding efforts—such as moving people from makeshift camps to temporary housing as the rainy station draws near—while the Bishops’ Advisory Group for Haiti of the Church in Latin America Committee will help rebuild the Church’s fabric and infrastructure in the Caribbean nation. This video shows how CRS put those donations to action in the days immediately following the quake.