Catholic leaders urge full funding of health services after Katrina

Published: 2005-09-29

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Leaders of three national Catholic organizations called for "full federal funding of health care services for all Katrina victims, wherever they may be" in a joint letter to members of the Senate Finance Committee. "We believe it is necessary to create seamless eligibility for the victims of Hurricane Katrina across state lines," said the Sept. 27 letter to Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the committee, and Montana Sen. Max Baucus, its ranking Democratic member. The letter was signed by Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio of Brooklyn, N.Y., chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Policy; Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA; and Michael Rodgers, interim president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association. "As organizations united by faith and committed to the principles of Catholic social teaching, we believe a just society is one that protects and promotes the fundamental rights of its members -- with special attention to meeting the basic needs, including the need for safe and affordable health care, of the poor, vulnerable and underserved," the leaders said.

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