WASHINGTON (CNS) --- Though Bishop William F. Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., concedes there's no political will in Washington to include illegal immigrants in health care reform, he believes it's the country's moral obligation to ensure that everyone in the nation receives proper medical care. That includes those who enter the country illegally, he told Catholic News Service.

"I agree that there is a special problem with those who have entered here without the permission of the United States, and that has to be looked at," said Bishop Murphy, who chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. "But that's a problem unto itself."

Most U.S. Catholic bishops who have spoken publicly about health care reform have expressed the opinion that one of the richest countries in the world should find a way to guarantee that everyone within its borders has access to medical care, from conception to natural death.

Several Hispanic bishops met with members of the House and Senate Sept. 17 to convey their concern that immigrants --- legal and illegal --- might be left out of health reform.

Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento said that in addition to President Barack Obama's pledge not to provide government-funded care to people in the country illegally, concerns have been expressed that even legal immigrants might be left out of the system.

Bishop Soto said the exclusion of government-supported insurance for undocumented immigrants is an issue with which the bishops might disagree, but could concede as a political necessity. But the legislation "has to include at a minimum some kind of safety net for the undocumented," particularly if the goal of a nationwide health care reform plan is to improve the overall health of society, he said.

"We realize it's a very contentious issue," Bishop Soto said. "But there has to be some kind of a safety net." If undocumented immigrants cannot participate in health insurance, he added, "they will end up in emergency rooms."

Bishop Murphy said Catholic hospitals will not turn illegal immigrants away if they don't have medical insurance, but he believes it will be more cost-effective if the undocumented are given an opportunity to buy into an affordable health insurance plan.

On "the issue of health care, if it leaves out immigrants, it is doing what some people want it to do in terms of the unborn," he said.

"How can we say that we're a country of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all who come to our shores if we say, 'except the unborn.' Or, if we say, 'except the handicapped.' Or, if we say, 'except the new person,'" Bishop Murphy said. "Then we have not lived up to the high ideal of our country. And we have introduced a sense of injustice into a plan that should be just for all."

Survey: Americans want health care reform, oppose abortion coverage
WASHINGTON - A nationwide survey commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has found widespread public opposition to including abortion in health care reform and majority support for conscience rights protection --- views shared by those who favor efforts to pass health care reform.

Conducted by International Communications Research from Sept. 16-20, the phone survey of 1,043 U.S. adults found that 60 percent favor --- and 30 percent oppose --- "efforts to pass health care reform to provide affordable health insurance for all." Focusing on that 60 percent, the survey found that:

---Sixty percent of those favoring reform oppose --- and only 25 percent support --- "measures that would require people to pay for abortion coverage with their federal taxes."

---By a 49-39 percent plurality, those who favor reform oppose "measures that would require people to pay for abortion coverage with their health insurance premiums"; and

---Among those favoring reform, those who favor maintaining "current federal laws that protect doctors and nurses from being forced to perform or refer for abortions against their will" outnumber those who oppose keeping such laws in place by a margin of two to one (60-30).

Opposition to abortion coverage was somewhat stronger in the total sample of U.S. adults. For example, 67 percent of the total sample opposed requiring people to pay for abortion coverage through their taxes and 56 percent opposed making them do so through their insurance premiums.

The survey also asked: "If the choice were up to you, would you want your own insurance policy to include abortion?" Sixty-eight percent of U.S. adults said 'No' and only 24 percent said 'Yes.'

"The USCCB survey confirms other recent polls conducted by Public Opinion Strategies (Aug. 30-Sept. 1) and Rasmussen Reports (Sept. 14-15) on health care policy and abortion," said Deirdre McQuade, assistant director for Policy & Communications at the USCCB's Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities. "With each passing week it gets clearer: The American public generally does not want to pay for abortion coverage and does not want health care reform used to promote abortion."

Notre Dame leader forms pro-life panel, vows to lead Mass for life
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- With President Barack Obama's controversial May commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame several months past, the president of the Indiana school has forged ahead with plans for a national discussion on abortion.

Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins has announced the formation of a task force "on supporting the choice for life," and he has pledged to lead a Mass for life in Washington this coming Jan. 22, the anniversary of the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion nationwide. This Mass for life would also coincide with the annual March for Life in Washington.

Father Jenkins' decision to invite Obama to deliver the commencement speech and present him with an honorary law degree set off a firestorm of criticism by at least 70 U.S. bishops, and ignited a national debate on the university's status as a Catholic institution. Critics of Obama said his support of legal abortion and embryonic stem-cell research made him an inappropriate choice to be commencement speaker at a Catholic university. Father Jenkins' supporters countered that Notre Dame was not condoning Obama's support for legal abortion or embryonic stem-cell research, and that students at the university should be honored to have the first black U.S. president speak during their graduation.

Catholics play key roles in efforts to end death penalty in Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) --- The drive to repeal the death penalty in Oregon has gained vigor, with Catholics in key roles. "We need to share our Catholic teaching with courage and clarity," said a memorandum sent to parishes recently by Mary Jo Tully, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Portland. "We need to reach out to our teachers and to our parishioners. We need to form and to persuade. We need to be advocates for change." Tully has joined other lay Catholics on the board of Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. With statements from the catechism, Pope John Paul II, the U.S. bishops and most recently Portland Archbishop John G. Vlazny, Oregon Catholics are being urged to oppose execution as an affront to the sanctity of life as well as an ineffective and expensive public policy. Catholic leaders say capital punishment encourages the idea that violence is an appropriate solution to social problems. In addition, new technology has exonerated scores of death row inmates nationwide, meaning that innocent people have probably been executed. The death penalty has never been an effective deterrent to murder, Archbishop Vlazny wrote in a column in the Catholic Sentinel, officials newspaper of the Archdiocese of Portland. He added that the punishment has been applied arbitrarily and disproportionately against the poor and minorities.

Recession boosts Catholic Charities client rolls by 10 percent
WOODBRIDGE, Va. (CNS) --- In a time of recession, Sondra knows she and her 4-year-old daughter Hope could be on the street. With no where else to turn they found a home at St. Margaret of Cortona Transitional Residences in Woodbridge. The need for this type of housing service as well as emergency shelter and permanent housing jumped 12.4 percent in 2008 as the economic recession gained momentum, reported Catholic Charities USA in its 2008 annual survey of services. Released Sept. 15 during a nationwide teleconference from the agency's Alexandria headquarters, the report shows that Catholic Charities agencies served nearly 600,000 people in need of some type of housing assistance in 2008. Overall, the 142 Catholic Charities agencies responding to the survey --- about 85 percent of the nationwide Catholic Charities network --- reported serving more than 8.5 million people in 2008, a 10 percent increase from 2007. Without being able to offer specifics, Father Larry Snyder, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, said the demand for housing and other social services continued to climb as the recession deepened during 2009.

Pope announces synod on Middle East for 2010
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Pope Benedict XVI announced that he was convening a Synod of Bishops for the Middle East to be held in October of 2010, to address the trials and tribulations of the Christian population in the region. The pope said the synod would look at the various problems faced by the minority Christian communities in Middle Eastern countries, from migration to interreligious dialogue. He announced the initiative at a meeting Sept. 19 with patriarchs and other church leaders from the region. After the encounter at the papal residence outside Rome, the pope hosted the prelates at a working lunch. The synod will be held Oct. 10-24, 2010, on the theme "The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness: `The community of believers was of one heart and mind.'" The quotation is a description of the unity of the early church from the Acts of the Apostles. "During this brotherly meeting, from your speeches will surely emerge the issues that beset you and the orientations toward their proper resolution," the pope said. He told the church leaders that he was praying for them and their communities daily. A Vatican statement said the informal discussion between the pontiff and the Eastern church representatives focused in particular on problems related to migration, ecumenical relations and interreligious dialogue, and highlighted the church's efforts to promote peace in the region. As he often does during synods, the pope gave an impromptu talk at the end of the encounter to summarize the various points that were made.

Canadian bills could die if Conservative government gets voted out
OTTAWA (CNS) --- Several pieces of legislation of interest to Canadian Catholic voters could die if the Conservative minority government should fall. Legislation on human trafficking and mining accountability and a motion against counseling suicide over the Internet are at crucial stages in the House of Commons. Should the government fall, these private member's bills or motions will die, even though some are potentially only weeks away from passing the House. The Conservative Party's minority government survived a confidence vote Sept. 18, but Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff promised another such vote in early October. The Conservative Party needs the support of only one opposition party to remain in power, and there is speculation an election could be put off until the spring. One piece of legislation close to a final House vote is Bill C-268, a human trafficking bill that would impose mandatory sentences of five years on those who traffic children under 18 years of age and six years on those who also use aggravated assault.

Indonesian Catholic hospital sets up tent to help Muslims travelers
KARAWANG, Indonesia (CNS) --- A Catholic hospital set up a medical tent along a major toll road to treat Muslims traveling home to celebrate the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. St. Borromeus Hospital in Bandung set up the tent at a rest area along the road east out of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News. The hospital assigned three doctors, four paramedics and five other staff, who worked in shifts to provide around-the-clock service from 9 a.m. Sept. 18 until 3 p.m. Sept. 19. The roadside medical tent was stocked with six beds, infusion sets, an electrocardiogram unit and various other kinds of medicine and medical equipment. An ambulance also was on hand for emergencies. Benediktus Abdianto, hospital secretary and coordinator of the service, said staffers treated more than 200 sick travelers. "Most were suffering from hypertension, diabetes, heart problems and exhaustion. One public bus had to stop in the rest area for 45 minutes as we treated one of its unconscious passengers," he told UCA News. He added that the service was one way the hospital marked its 88th anniversary. The hospital was built by five Dutch Sisters of Charity of St. Charles Borromeo in 1921 with basic facilities and 17 beds. It now has 419 beds, 30 percent of them for poor patients.

Vietnamese officials use force on Catholics trying to save building
HUE, Vietnam (CNS) --- Government authorities in central Vietnam are building a wall around a former parish-run catechetical building, and police have used force to prevent hundreds of Catholic protesters from reaching the site. The Asian church news agency UCA News reported that local church sources said the workers, under orders from government authorities, started to build a brick wall around Lang Co elementary school, near Loan Ly church in Thua Thien-Hue province's Phu Loc district. The sources said around 400 parishioners tried to stop the construction Sept. 14, but police and security officers hit them and dragged them out of the school compound. Police also blocked the road outside the church and other paths leading to the school building. In an interview published on the Web site of Hue Archdiocese, Father Paul Ngo Thanh Son, pastor of Loan Ly parish, said local Catholics built the three-room school building in 1956. The parish used it for basic education and catechesis of local children. In 1975, when the country was reunified under communist rule, the government confiscated the building. The government has used the building as an elementary school on weekdays but allowed the parish to continue teaching catechism there to children on Sundays, said Father Son, 57. He said that on Sept. 9 and again Sept. 12, local officials asked the parish to stop catechism classes. They prevented children from attending the classes Sept. 13, when the parish started a new catechism course. Rooms were locked and plainclothes police officers videotaped and took photos of students, he said.

Pope recognizes foreign troops' role in building peace in Afghanistan
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Pope Benedict XVI gave assurance of his prayers for civilians caught in the world's conflicts and foreign troops working to promote peace and development. After praying the Angelus Sept. 20 from the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, the pope said he was deeply saddened to hear news of the deadly roadside bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed 10 Afghan civilians and six Italian soldiers Sept. 17. The deaths and injuries resulting from violence around the world "are facts we can never grow accustomed to and that incur strong reprimand and dismay in communities that hold peace and civil coexistence close to heart," he said. While he had special prayers for the families and friends of the Italian causalities, the pope said he was just as pained over the deaths of other international contingents "who work to promote peace and the development of institutions necessary for human coexistence." He said he also prayed to God "with a special thought for the dear civilian population." The pope appealed to everyone to help promote solidarity between nations and oppose "the logic of violence and death by fostering justice, reconciliation and peace and supporting the development of people, starting with love and mutual understanding."

Pope hopes visit will encourage Czech nation to pursue charity, truth
CASTEL GANDOLFO (CNS) --- Pope Benedict XVI said he hoped his upcoming visit to the Czech Republic would encourage people to pursue charity and truth and rediscover faith in God and hope for the future. The Sept. 26-28 trip will pay homage to the country's "ancient and modern heroic witnesses to the Gospel," he said Sept. 20 after praying the Angelus with pilgrims in the courtyard of the papal summer residence. The pope asked the faithful to pray for him and for a fruitful trip. The three-day visit was to take him to Prague, Brno, and Stara Boleslav, where he was to celebrate the Sept. 28 feast day of St. Wenceslas, patron saint of the Czech nation. The pope said the Czech Republic, which lies at the heart of Europe, has endured many "dramas of the past century and, like all of Europe, needs to rediscover the reasons for faith and hope." He said he hoped the visit would "encourage everyone to move forward in charity and truth."