The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Francis George of the Chicago Diocese, defended the bishops' decision to play an agressive role in shaping national health care legislation, claiming Monday that the Church must be the "leaven" in the nation's political debate.

According to the Washington Times, "speaking at the opening of the bishops' annual meeting, he said, 'to limit our teachings or governing to what the state is not interested in would be to betray both the Constitution of our country and, much more importantly, the Lord himself."

The cardinal made these comments after church negotiations with House members helped obtain more than 60 Democratic votes for a last-minute amendment by Rep. Bart Stupak (D.-Mi.) that said no federally ubsidized insurance plan would cover abortion.

Later on the evening of Nov. 7, the overall bill passed with the support of pro-life Democrats, causing angry tirades from liberal Democrats, one of whom demanding that the Church's tax-exempt status be stripped away.

Yet the bishops explained Monday that they will try to influence the bill's future.

The Washington Times quotes Cardinal George as saying that, "we will work to persuade the Senate to follow the example of the House and include these critical safeguards in their version of health care reform legislation. Issues that are moral questions before they become political remain moral questions when they become political."

For almost a century, the Catholic Church has taught that health care is a "basic human right" and has called for a system of universal health care in the U.S., however, the bishops announced earlier this fall that they would oppose any bill that expanded federal subsidies of abortion.

To read the entire article from the Washington Times, link here:

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