Much can be said about the defects in the health-care legislation and the reprehensible tactics that were used to push it down the throats of an unwilling American public.

In an article appearing in tomorrow's edition of the Denver Catholic Register, Archbishop Chaput succinctly sets forth some important lessons we should draw from this turn of events. The article is entitled, "A bad bill and how we got it." It may be viewed in its entirety here.

In the course of his article Archbishop Chaput mentions the conflicting witness of some "Catholic" organizations. There are some organizations that really aren't Catholic, whose support for the legislation is hardly surprising. But he singled out the Catholic Health Association for undercutting the leadership and witness of the U.S. Bishops. He wrote, in part:

"[T]he actions of the Catholic Health Association (CHA) in providing a deliberate public counter-message to the bishops were both surprising and profoundly disappointing; and also genuinely damaging.  In the crucial final days of debate on health-care legislation, CHA lobbyists worked directly against the efforts of the American bishops in their approach to members of Congress.  The bad law we now likely face, we owe in part to the efforts of the Catholic Health Association and similar 'Catholic' organizations." 

Here in Kansas City, we're very proud of the consistently strong witness of the bishops on both sides of the state line. Archbishop Naumann of KCK has called out Sister Carol Keehan, Chief Executive of the CHA, for providing "cover for any member of the House who chooses to buckle under the pressure of the President and the Democratic leadership to accept government funding of abortion," calling Sister Carol's actions "either incredibly naive or disingenuous."

But this leads to the question of the CHA's accountability. This issue is expertly addressed in a recent blog post by canon lawyer Ed Peters. He touches upon the alarming truth that the CHA is really only accountable to its board. He also mentions the use of the word "Catholic" in its name, which raises some complex canonical issues. In short, like the National "Catholic" Reporter in the area of journalism, the CHA uses the "Catholic" in its name to its political advantage, despite its opposition to the Catholic bishops and its lack of accountability to legitimate Church authority.

Of course, if Catholics were better formed, we'd smell a rat every time some group like the NCR, "Catholics United," or the CHA seeks to provide an "alternative" to the Catholic position. At My Catholic Faith Delivered, we are helping this effort to form Catholics on a broad scale through our new, interactive programs featuring the finest Catholic teachers, organizations, and publishers.