I don’t know about you, but I have found the recent debate about health care to be confusing and, at times, discouraging. There seems to be a lot of heat but not much light about a critical issue for our nation. Let me try to share the Church’s perspective on this issue.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has taken a position in support of health care reform. We see the human cost when millions of Americans are uninsured and the heavy burden that health care costs present for the poor. For those with low incomes the absence of health care insurance in some cases and the presence of high insurance premiums and cost-sharing charges for those with insurance prevent many from seeking needed health care.

This, in turn, causes more serious health problems down the road. Though we recognize that people of good will can debate and disagree about the best way to achieve reform, we know that change is needed.

The Church views health care within the context of its teaching about the common good and the dignity of all persons. As the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church states, the principle of the common good “stems from the dignity, unity, and equality of all persons” (§164). When we talk about the common good, we are not referring to the least common denominator or to the sum of the goods that are claimed by particular groups.

Instead, the common good represents those things that contribute to human development and dignity of all persons as well as those things that must be pursued by our society in a unified way in order to be effective. The motto for our commonwealth expresses this well: “united we stand; divided we fall.”

Some implications logically flow from these principles. The first is that health care is a basic human right that should not be limited by where someone works or lives or by how much money someone makes. We believe that all persons, who are created in God’s image, have a right to life and to those things that sustain life, such as food, water, shelter and affordable health care.

Another key principle is that any health care reform must respect the dignity of persons by respecting their right to life. Therefore, health care reform must keep in place the longstanding and widely supported measures that prohibit federal funds from being used for abortions and must not include any measures that would mandate abortion coverage as part of a health insurance package. Any health care reform legislation also must include the protection of conscience rights on the part of providers who do not wish to participate in abortion.

Some legislation now before Congress is causing grave concern because of measures that would mandate abortion coverage. In his recent encyclical “Caritas in Veritate,” our Holy Father reminds us that “openness to life is at the center of true development.” He argues that it is precisely this respect for all human life from conception to natural death that propels us to pursue the common good: “The acceptance of life strengthens moral fiber and makes people capable of mutual help” (§28). It would be tragic if in our pursuit of much needed reform, we negate the respect for human dignity which ought to be the basis for our decision-making.

In a recent letter to the House of Representatives, Cardinal Rigali, head of the bishops’ Pro-Life Secretariat, summarized the bishops’ consistent and long-standing belief in health care reform that respects human life and dignity from conception to natural death; provides access to quality health care for all, with a special concern for immigrants and the poor; preserves pluralism, with respect for rights of conscience; and restrains costs while sharing them equitably. These four conditions seem to be a very helpful prism through which we can judge the legislation that is eventually proposed.

Many of you are probably wondering what you can do. One step that every Catholic in our archdiocese can take is to become part of the faithful citizen advocacy network that is sponsored by our Catholic Conference of Kentucky (CCK). This e-mail network is the mechanism that CCK utilizes to keep members informed and urge them to action about both state and federal legislative initiatives. This network provides an easy way for members to write to their Congressional leaders about health care reform and many other issues.

CCK has already sent out alerts about health care and will continue to do so as the debate continues. Please go www.ccky.org, and go to the “Click here to become a Catholic Conference Faithful Citizen Advocate” that is at the top of the page.

As we continue to debate and consider the various approaches to health care reform, we must remain engaged and communicate with charity and civility. Recent reports about intense town hall meetings undoubtedly reflect the insecurity that many Americans are feeling in these tough economic times. It is during tough times, however, that we are called to even greater generosity and compassion.