One example of such clarity:
"The right of every individual to access health care does not necessarily suppose an obligation on the part of the government to provide it. Yet in our American culture, Catholic teaching about the “right” to healthcare is sometimes confused with the structures of “entitlement.” The teaching of the Universal Church has never been to suggest a government socialization of medical services. Rather, the Church has asserted the rights of every individual to have access to those things most necessary for sustaining and caring for human life, while at the same time insisting on the personal responsibility of each individual to care properly for his or her own health."How can they say such a thing? Simply it is based on one of the principles of Catholic social teaching: subsidiarity. Which is simply an extension of the fundamental principle: dignity of the human person.
These are basic principles that are universal. One need not be even Catholic to accept them and uphold them. So let us not be passive about such fundamental issues. For what is at stake is nothing less than life itself and the ability to protect and preserve the life of each human person, from the moment of conception to natural death.
Link: http://www.archkck.org/images/pdf/pastoral%20statement%20on%20healthcare%20reform.pdf
