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PAGE 2-March 11, 1976
OPEN FOR BUSINESS -- One of the nation’s largest Catholic charity
dining rooms is now open in Phoenix, Ariz. The St. Vincent de Paul
charity Dining Room can seat 400 and expects to serve more than 1,000
meals a day. In bottom photo an art student from Arizona State
University, Jim Covarrubias, works on a mural on an inside wall. (NC
Photos by Henry F. Unger)
CHURCH-RELATED HOSPITALS
Court Backs Right To Refuse Sterilizations
WASHINGTON (NC) - The U.S.
Supreme Court has defended the right
of church-related hospitals to refuse to
perform sterilizations on the basis of
religious belief.
The Court’s action represents “a
major victory for Catholic hospitals,”
according to Eugene Schulte, director of
legal services for the Catholic Hospital
Association (CHA).
The decision “definitely strengthens”
the right of Catholic hospitals to refuse
to perform abortions, Schulte said.
Ironically, the court’s action came on
the only case in the United States so far
in which a private, denominational
hospital was ordered by a court to
perform a procedure it considered
morally unacceptable.
The case involved a 1972 challenge to
policies at St. Vincent’s Hospital in
Billings, Mont., by Mr. and Mrs. James
Michael Taylor.
Mrs. Taylor was refused a tubal
ligation at the hospital following her
second childbirth by Caesarian section.
Mrs. Taylor and her physicians sought
the sterilization on the grounds that
Mrs. Taylor’s health problems, including
diabetes, made pregnancy a severe
health risk.
U.S. District Court Judge James
Battin ordered the operation in a
temporary ruling before trial, and the
operation was performed several days
later. St. Vincent’s was the only hospital
in the Billings area with
obstetrical-gyncological facilities.
As a result of issues raised by the St.
Vincent’s case, Sen. Frank Church
(D-Ida.) introduced an amendment to
allow hospitals and individuals to refuse
to perform sterilizations and abortions
“on the basis of religious belief or moral
convictions.” Congress passed the
amendment by an overwhelming
margin.
Following passage of the Church
amendment, Judge Battin reversed
himself and decided in favor of St.
Vincent’s. His ruling was later upheld by
the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court in San
Francisco. It was the Taylors’ challenge
to that ruling that the Supreme Court
refused to hear.
The effect of the Supreme Court’s
action, Schulte said, is to leave the
lower court ruling standing. “Naturally
we would prefer to have a clear
Supreme Court defense of the right of
religious hospitals to refuse such
procedures, but this is the second best
thing,” he said.
Schulte added that the court’s action
would lend support to administrators of
Catholic hospitals under pressure to
allow sterilizations.
Such pressures are being brought by
medical staffs and particularly
non-Catholic medical staff, he said.
There have been press reports in
recent months that a number of
Catholic hospitals in some areas are
allowing sterilizations which are not
purely contraceptive in purpose.
Schulte said, for example, that
virtually all the bishops would approve
removal of the uterus if it were
cancerous because the purpose of the
procedure would be to cut out the
cancer, not contraception.
Another irony in the Billings case is
that Mrs. Taylor might well be granted a
tubal ligation in some other Catholic
hospitals today. There have been reports
that some Catholic hospitals, based on
local interpretation of the bishops’
ethical directives, have performed
sterilizations on women suffering from
diabetes and hypertension or other
conditions making pregnancy a health
risk.
An April, 1975 letter to the bishops
from Archbishop Joseph Bernardin of
Cincinnati, president of the National
Conference of Catholic Bishops,
LENTEN MESSAGES
VATICAN CITY (NC) - Pope Paul
VI, in his annual Lenten messages, one
of them to American Catholic children,
called upon all Christians to “share what
you have” with the poor and hungry of
the world.
In a brief message to American
children broadcast by CBS affiliate
radio stations Ash Wednesday, the Pope
asked for support of Operation Rice
Bowl, the Lenten phase of the annual
U.S. bishops’ overseas aid appeal.
And in a message to the entire
Church, the Pontiff advised Christians
to establish justice and witness to the
Gospel by sharing “what you have with
those around you.”
Both messages stressed the
importance of generosity as Pope Paul
reported on a response from Rome to a
query about sterilizations by the
American bishops.
The letter upheld the traditional
teaching but noted that the theological
principle of “material cooperation”
applied.
This means, for example, that, on a
case-by-case basis, a hospital might
cooperate in what it considered the sin
of sterilization without approving of the
sinful intent of the operation if it
believed a greater evil were avoided or a
greater good obtained, such as saving a
woman’s life.
urged Catholics in every country to give
heartily “for the purpose of helping the
people -- even though they may be far
away from you -- who are suffering
from hunger and want.”
Citing Operation Rice Bowl in his
message to children, the Pope noted
that even the smallest donation is
important. “If you and the other
millions of American children give what
you can during Lent,” he said, “you will
be helping to do a great deal of good.”
In his message to the entire Church,
the Pope stressed the spiritual
dimension of giving, saying that
“through your generosity, you will be
purified and then you will be ready to
enter into the life of Easter, a life lived
in the spirit of the risen Lord.”
Pope Paul Stresses Generosity
Candidates State Views On Issues Concerning Catholics
BY PAUL BLICE
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (NC) - The
Florida Catholic Conference conducted
a survey of candidates in the primary
election held in Florida March 9th.
Responses to the survey, questioning
candidates on issues concerning
Catholics, were published by all
Catholic publications in the state.
Most candidates submitted written
policy statements. Where necessary,
these have been supplemented by news
sources and comments from informed
organizations. They are given here in
edited version.
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES:
GERALD FORD:
ABORTION: I do not believe in
abortion on demand. On the other
hand, I do not agree that a
constitutional amendment (outlawing
all abortions) is the proper remedy. If
there was to be some action in this area,
it is my judgment that it ought to be on
a basis of what each individual state
wishes to do under the circumstances.
WORLD PEACE: Detente means
movement away from the constant crisis
and dangerous confrontations that have
characterized relations with the Soviet
Union. To me, detente means fervent
desire for peace - but not peace at any
price.
(President Ford maintains that
additional military spending is necessary
for a strong defense. His budget
appropriates $101 billion to the
military.)
THE ECONOMY: If we cut only
taxes but do not cut the growth of
government spending, budget deficits
will continue to climb, the federal
government will continue to borrow too
much money /from the private sector,
we will have more inflation, and
ultimately we will have more
unemployment.
The federal government can create
conditions and incentives for private
business and industry to make more and
more jobs.
FOOD: Let’s give food stamps to
those most in need. Let’s not give any
to those who don’t need them.
(According to Bread for the World,
Ford’s new budget reduces food
programs of the Agriculture Department
by $1.3 billion, and eliminates $193
million in foreign food aid.)
HEALTH CARE: (According to news
sources, Ford has proposed a plan under
which anyone eligible for Medicare
would pay no more than $500 for
nursing or hospital care and no more
than $250 for doctors’ services in a
year. The plan would be financed by
increasing fees paid for ordinary health
care.)
RONALD REAGAN:
ABORTION: I support a human life
amendment to the constitution, which
would guarantee the right to life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness to the'
unborn. I believe the mother has the
right to defend her own life and health
against even her unborn child, and to
protect herself against the result of
forcible rape. These are the only two
exceptions I would make.
WORLD PEACE: It’s only by a
change in the nature of communism - a
movement away from the policies of
aggression abroad and repression at
home -- that communism and the West
will be able to live together in harmony.
If we are serious about getting arms
agreements, the only way to do so on
the basis of equality is to be ready to
surpass the Soviets, should negotiations
fail.
THE ECONOMY: The absorption of
revenue by all levels of government, the
alarming rate of inflation, and the rising
toll of unemployment all stem from a
single source: the belief that
government, particularly federal
government, has the answer to our ills,
and that the proper method of dealing
with social problems is to transfer
power from the private to the public
sector.
FOOD: Federal food stamps
eligibility requirements are far more lax
than welfare eligibility requirements.
Until food stamp rules are brought into
line with welfare rules, the growth of
the food stamp program will continue
to multiply out of control.
HEALTH CARE: (No comment was
available. Campaign offices said that
Reagan was not likely to support
national health insurance.)
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES
JIMMY CARTER:
ABORTION: I do not support
constitutional amendments to overturn
the Supreme Court ruling on abortion.
However, I personally disapprove of
abortion. Abortion is the result of the
failure of measures to prevent unwanted
pregnancies. If we can work out
legislation to minimize abortion with
better family planning adoption
procedures and contraception, I would
favor such a law.
WORLD PEACE: We must end the
continuing proliferation of atomic
weapons throughout the world as a
waste of precious resources and a mortal
danger to humanity. We should refuse
to sell nuclear power plants and fuels to
nations who do not sign the nuclear
nonproliferation treaty or who will not
agree to adhere to strict provisions
regarding international control of
atomic wastes. Our ultimate goal should
be the reduction of nuclear weapons to
zero.
THE ECONOMY: Full employment
is the best means to reduce inflation and
control federal deficits. There are
millions of jobs that need to be filled in
transportation, pollution control, health
care, recreation and education.
We need an efficient and
compassionate welfare system in this
country. Recipients who are unable to
work should be treated with dignity and
respect. Public jobs should be created
for those who are able and willing to
work.
FOOD: Emergency food aid should
not be used as a diplomatic tool. In
trade discussion, however, as with the
Russians, we should strive to obtain
some diplomatic concessions in return.
HEALTH CARE: We must make
quality health care available to all our
citizens on a regular basis and at a cost
they can afford. National health
insurance must be part of this program,
but... we must shift our emphasis
from hospitalization and acute-care
services to preventive medicine and
early detection of disease.
FRED HARRIS:
ABORTION: I support the Supreme
Court decision on abortion. The
government should not involve itself in
what is a matter of conscience between
a woman and her doctor.
WORLD PEACE: I think we should
learn we can’t decide who should be
someone else’s government ... I
support the SALT talks, but the levei of
armaments we agreed to was too high.
THE ECONOMY: We need a fairer
distribution of the wealth, power and
income in this country, and every
American willing and able to work
should have a job. For those who can’t
work or can’t find work, there should
be a decent income. Health and welfare
are national, not local, problems . . .
FOOD: We should set up a world
emergency food bank, multilaterally
controlled, and put in it up to half of
food reserves.
HEALTH CARE: I am in favor of
national health insurance and I support
the Kennedy-Corman bill, but there
should be tighter controls on medical
charges, there must be greater patient
involvement, and the system should be
paid out of a progressive income tax,
rather than in part from the payroll tax.
HENRY JACKSON:
ABORTION: My personal conviction
is that life begins with conception, and I
am opposed to abortion terminating a
pregnancy which is not a threat to life
or health. I do not believe it would be
proper to amend the constitution to
prohibit abortion; I do believe that state
legislatures should have the power to
enact legislation regulating the practice
of abortion.
WORLD PEACE: I believe in a
genuine detente that will contribute to
world peace and remain faithful to our
beliefs in individual freedom. In my
view, mutual arms reductions are of
critical importance to the future of the
world.
THE ECONOMY: Progress in the
elimination of poverty was being made
until the Nixon-Ford recession
overcame us. They key element in the
elimination of poverty is not welfare; it
is work. The answer is a policy of full
employment and full production . ..
FOOD: The Food Stamp program has
become not simply a means of
eliminating hunger in America, but an
income supporting program as well. The
program needs considerable reform and
more careful controls. However, it. . .
deserves to be continued.
HEALTH CARE: Most Americans
simply cannot afford the medical care
they and their families need. The only
way to bring costs under control and
provide adequate care for all Americans
is to undertake reorganization of the
health care system, and to institute a
system of national health insurance.
ELLEN MCCORMACK:
ABORTION: I strongly oppose
abortion and endorse a human life
amendment to protect a baby from the
first moment of conception.
WORLD PEACE: I have to criticize
our claim to the name peacemaker,
which Mr. Kissinger asserts so often. We
arm both sides of a conflict, then urge
them not to shoot one another. We have
failed to use our resources for peace . . .
THE ECONOMY: When
congressmen wanted to raise their own
salaries, they acted within days. But the
problems of unemployment, welfare
reform, elimination of waste, efficiency
in government - these are left to drag
on and on, never to be solved. Present
programs, efficiently operated, would
eliminate a large portion of today’s
prob'ems in this area.
FOOD: The Food Stamp program
should be reformed to eliminate fraud,
to place a maximum income limit for
recipients, to use standard deductions
instead of present itemized ones, and to
eliminate money flow and loss by
ending the purchase requirement. The
starving must be fed, but I would not
send food to Russia just because that
government said some people were
starving.
HEALTH CARE: Kennedy’s national
health insurance program would pay for
one million abortions each year. This is
intolerable. Health care must be
provided for all, but there are serious
questions about the government’s role
in this whole area.
MILTON SHAPP:
ABORTION: Although personally
opposed to abortion, I do not believe I
should impose my view on others. I
support the Supreme Court decision of
1973 as a sound and enlightened policy
regarding this issue.
WORLD PEACE: The United States
must reevaluate its foreign aid and
military aid programs to insure that we
do not feed the international arms race
or support governments which do not
share our basic commitment to human
rights. Our policy should be one of
direct aid to the people of the world in
helping to solve problems of hunger,
illness, economic development, and
shelter.
THE ECONOMY: The welfare system
should be reformed to provide
incentives for people to leave welfare
programs and become self-supporting.
We should increase minimum wages
so that the working poor can take home
a wage significantly better than the
present welfare standard.
FOOD: (Shapp proposes food stamp
reform including limiting the income of
families eligible for the program, closing
loopholes by establishing standard
deductions, and eliminating purchase
requirements.)
HEALTH CARE: (Shapp proposes
comprehensive health insurance “to
guarantee Americans equal access to
proper medical care,” he said.)
R. SARGENT SHRIVER:
ABORTION: (According to a survey
by the Florida Right to Life Committee,
Shriver is personally opposed to
abortion but does not support any
amendment to the Constitution
outlawing it.) We should make a high
priority of gaining fundamental
knowledge in reproductive biology to
provide foolproof, morally acceptable
family planning alternatives to abortion.
We must provide life support systems
which give women all the services and
advice they need to go through
pregnancy.
WORLD PEACE: The poor-mouthing
of our defense capabilities by our
leadership in order to justify bloated
defense budgets is a disservice to the
high quality of our armed forces and
hurts our political strength abroad.
Arms control must be used to enhance
our security at reduced expense. We
must enter a third postwar period by
integrating struggling countries into the
international economic order.
THE ECONOMY: Deliberate
unemployment - the Republican way to
control inflation - not only doesn’t
work; it’s a betrayal of their
commitment to the work ethic. (Shriver
proposed tax reforms, targets for
monetary growth, stimulation of private
sector employment, public jobs
programs, and other measures.)
FOOD: (As a solution to world
hunger, Shriver proposed providing
hungry nations with technical
assistance, participation in the
International Food Reserve program,
“barring the obscene practice of using
American food for political ploys,” and
other measures.)
HEALTH CARE: I support the
concept of national health insurance
and believe that the Kennedy version
should be phased in as soon as we can
finance it soundly. Leadership must
guarantee medical justice to all
Americans, providing universal access
and coverage, putting a ceiling on
medical cost inflation, distributing these
costs equitable among all income
classes, and bringing preventive care,
community education, and
neighborhood health centers.
MORRIS UDALL:
ABORTION: I support the Supreme
Court decision on abortion. The
abortion controversy boils down to a
question of freedom of choice.
WORLD PEACE: The U.S. is no
longer a Gulliver among nations. It can
no longer impose its will on the
international community. (Udall said
that power and stature in international
affairs will be more and more
determined by economic influence, and
that the gap between the developing and
the industrialized nations will
increasingly affect world relations.)
THE ECONOMY: I believe that full
employment is the key to steady,
balanced economic growth. In addition
to providing jobs, we must also help
those who cannot work.
FOOD: We must provide humanely
for our fair share of food relief to
prevent starvation and suffering in
emergencies. We will move to
implement the goal set at the Rome
World Food Conference of a
cooperative, internationally managed
food reserve.
HEALTH CARE: (Udall is sponsor of
the Health Security Act, which would
establish a comprehensive health
insurance program covering the entire
population with no cost to patients,
incentive to minimize costs, and
reorganized delivery of services.)
GEORGE WALLACE:
ABORTION: I support a
constitutional amendment which would
protect the lives of unborn children and
which would nullify the Supreme Court
decision on abortion.
WORLD PEACE: World peace is
possible, but peace can only be achieved
through a position of strength. America
must maintain superior offensive and
defensive military force second to none.
I believe in negotiation without
confrontation, but we must never fall
prey to peace at any price.
THE ECONOMY: We must stop,
government competition with free
enterprise and reduce that tax burden
on the individual, business and industry.
The welfare program must be curtailed
in the area of welfare designed to pay
the able-bodied individual not to work.
FOOD: Food is our most important
commodity. We should help those who
are willing to help themselves and where
it is determined to be in our national
interest.
HEALTH CARE: (According to his
campaign headquarters, Wallace has
aused legislation to take sales tax from
prescription drugs for senior citizens,
secured passage of a free enterprise
insurance plan to offer low income
people a non-profit health insurance
policy, increased old age pensions, and
provided an increase in checks of the
senior citizens to pay the costs of
voluntary insurance.)
ASH WEDNESDAY - Pope
Paul VI extends his arms to the
crowd as he is carried on his
portable throne to the Ash
Wednesday general audience in
Vatican City. In his message, the
Pope said that slack morals and
law-breaking have resulted partly
from the failure of Christians to
practice and preach aceticism. (NC
Photo)