Bishops Dismiss Other Catholic Groups: We’re The Only Ones Able To Understand Health Care Policy

[Joanne98]

Yesterday, the Family Research Council, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and National Right to Life hosted a public press call explaining their opposition to the Senate health care legislation. Their press release said that they wanted to “showcase a united pro-life movement opposed to the abortion funding and mandate provisions as well as the lack of conscience protections within the health care bill.”

The pro-life movement certainly isn’t united on the side of these three organizations though. If anything, it’s united on the side of passing health care reform. In the past couple weeks, the Catholic Health Association, prominent Catholic theologians, and “60 leaders of religious orders representing 59,000 Catholic nuns” broke with the bishops and called for the passage of the Senate legislation, decrying the “false” information on the abortion provisions being spread by health care opponents.

On the press call yesterday, Richard Doerflinger, Associate Director of the USCCB Secretariat of Pro Life Activities, dismissed these other Catholic organizations and individuals. He said that the nuns don’t represent every single nun in the United States (as if the USCCB represents the position of every single bishop out there), and remarked that these other groups just aren’t able to grasp complicated policies like the bishops can:

DOERFLINGER: Like us, they have been very anxious to have health care reform for many years. Unlike us, they don’t have policy people that work specifically on the legal and policy aspects of these pro-life issues, in particular. I asked them, in fact, for their analysis of why our analysis is mistaken. … And I asked them for their work on that three days ago, and I haven’t gotten anything yet. I think they’re not focusing on it. … I just don’t think they’ve done the analysis we have. <...>

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/03/20/doerflinger-bishops/

[Raven]

1. Didn't you know? The bishops always know better.

[BR_Parkway]

4. Look at the bang up job they've done with sweeping the sex scandals

under the rugs for generations - of course they should be trusted with other important issues

[saigon68]

7. Their Thuggery Continues

The Catholic Diocese of Green Bay has lost its insurance coverage in a civil suit alleging fraud related to sexual assaults by a priest. Troy and Todd Merryfield sued the Catholic Diocese for fraud, alleging fraud and fraudulent non-disclosure regarding sexual misconduct by Fr. Patrick Feeney. Feeney, since defrocked, was convicted in 2004 of assaulting the brothers in 1978. He is serving a 15-year prison sentence.

After the suit was filed, the Diocese's insurance company, Indiana Insurance, asked to be dismissed from the case, claiming since the Diocese's actions were intentional, the policy didn't cover the case. In a ruling signed Wednesday, Outagamie County Judge Nancy Krueger agreed and dismissed the insurance company.

"The Plantiffs allege the Diocese acted with an intent to keep knowledge of Father Feeney's past actions from the parishes to which it sent him and by extension from the Plantiffs. As the policy specifically excludes coverage for intentional acts, Indiana has no obligation under this policy to defend and indemnify the Diocese in this matter," Krueger wrote.

Jeff Anderson, who represents the Merryfields, said he is not concerned with the lack of insurance coverage for the Diocese, saying it has adequate resources to pay whatever damages award a jury makes. The Diocese issued the following the statement:
"The Diocese of Green Bay is disappointed with the courts’ ruling that Indiana Insurance Company does not have to provide insurance coverage for two civil lawsuits filed against the Diocese – one in Outagamie County and one in Clark County, Nevada. The Diocese of Green Bay is adamant that it did not willfully commit fraud in the assignment of former priest, John Feeney. Because these matters are still in litigation, the Diocese will have no further comment at this time."

[old mark]

2. Bishops think they are the only real catholics, the only real christians -

other than a select few Anglicans in high places-and that everyone else should follow their orders and shut up.

They are pompous assholes in positions of great power, even over our government at various levels.


mark

[catnhatnh]

3. Yeah-those Silly Nuns....

They never bother to parse what Jesus said...

[rpannier]

6. What would Nuns know

about the health needs of women?

[rpannier]

5. the Family Research Council, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)

Nothing like hanging with a group that doesn't consider you real Christians

Good job Bishops

On edit: Bet anyone 25.00 the Bishops would never say that in the presence of the Nuns
It's awfully embarrassing having your head handed to you in front of a camera

[naaman fletcher]

8. Who cares what any of them say?

WTF do they know? Nothing. A bunch of weirdos, the bishops, the nuns, -all of them!

[mrs_p]

9. ex-nun here

nothing weird about me - then or now...