The health care debate: The Catholic nuns vs. the Catholic bishops

As you know, the health care debate is reaching climactic votes this weekend in the Congress. As you may also know, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is opposing health care reform unless the bill contains strong anti-abortion provision. The bishops are close to abandoning their long-sought goal of providing universal health care especially for the poorest among us.

However, the bishops are not the only voice of Roman Catholicism. Enter the nuns.

Many years ago, I got to know a courageous nun, Sister Simone Campbell (photo at right), introduced to me through mutual friends. I got to know her when she was the executive director for Jericho in Sacramento, a religiously-based public interest lobbying organization that works on health care issues.

When she got to Sacramento, Sister Simone looked me up and picked my brain about how to work in the Legislature and who-is-who. I happily gave her a crash course.

A few years ago, Sister Simone moved to Washington D.C. where she is now the executive director of Network (read about her and her organization by clicking HERE).

For months, Sister Simone and other nuns have been in the thick of the health care debate. My friend E.J. Dionne wrote about her and the force of the nuns on Thursday in The Washington Post. You can read his column by clicking HERE.

The conflict between the Catholic nuns and the Catholic bishops on this issue is part of a larger conflict that is just beneath the surface. The National Catholic Reporter wrote recently about how the male hierarchy is attempting to muzzle the nuns. The lead: "Bishops have stones in their hands aimed at women religious..." You can read the full story by clicking HERE.

And it should go without saying but I will say it anyway: thanks be to God we have ordained women in the Episcopal Church with full voice and vote in our governance. If you ever had any doubt about what a difference that makes, ask a nun.

Speaking of Faith: President Obama's theologian

Krista Tippett, who is gaining a reputation for insightful podcasts on theological topics, recently interviewed E.J. Dionne, columnist with The Washington Post and David Brooks, columnist with The New York Times, about President Obama's theological perspective and how it is shaped by the writings of Reinhold Niebuhr.

For those unacquainted with Niebuhr, he was hugely influential particularly before World War II in moral theology. In his work and writings, for example his book Moral Man and Immoral Society, he wrote about how Christians are called to create an economy that cares for the poorest among us. Among Niebuhr's students was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who returned to his native Germany to attempt leading a Christian opposition to the Nazis, but was arrested and executed.

This podcast is fascinating and goes a long way beyond the demonizing and sloganeering that has so far characterized Obama's religious underpinnings. You can listen to the podcast by clicking HERE. And then lend me your thoughts. And I am much appreciative of Mike Kinman in St. Louis for bringing this to my attention.