Dear CMF Friends,
In December 2005, we wrote to you about the wonderful work of the Christus
Medicus Foundation (CMF) in promoting the Catholic vision of health care. We
are placing this appeal on our web site because CMF and Mike O'Dea (CMF's
Founder and Executive Director) are still in immediate need of your financial
help.
After you read this appeal, please make an on line donation payable to Christus
Medicus Foundation:
We have known Mike O'Dea for many years and have been impressed with his zeal,
persistence, and leadership in returning Gospel values to health care. Mike has
the knowledge and the ability to bring a Catholic perspective to complex health
care policy issues. He has been able to explain the ways in which the current
situation in health care represents an assault on the core beliefs of
Catholics. Mike has been able to bring this to the attention of the Catholic
Medical Association, the USCCB, and other important organizations. With
continued leadership from Mike, we can look forward to the day when the right
of conscience in health care is respected and when faith-based health insurance
programs are available to all Americans.
It was a very good year and 2005 should be even better! Through God's grace,
prayer, hard work, persistence and financial assistance from Bishops any many
others, CMF has made significant progress in 2004 protecting the rights of
conscience in health care and in establishing faith based health plans:
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As Catholic leaders such as Richard Doerflinger have noted, Mike was
instrumental in forming a working group in Washington focusing on conscience
rights in health care. These efforts have begun to bear fruit. In 2004,
comprehensive conscience legislation was passed in Mississippi. At the federal
level, on December 8, President Bush signed a law that protects hospitals,
health insurance companies, and medical personnel from being forced to be
involved with abortions.
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CMF spearheaded the precedent-setting development of a Catholic health care
plan that was available to federal employees in 2005. Largely through Mike's
efforts, the faith-based OSF HealthPlan was offered to federal employees in the
dioceses of Rockford and Peoria. This development received enormous media
exposure, including coverage in the New York Times and elsewhere. In the
Chicago Tribune, Philip Karst (the executive director of the Illinois Catholic
Health Association) described the new health plan in this fashion "I see it as
allowing the individual government employee to exercise their moral judgment
and to follow their moral conscience in terms of how they want their benefit
dollars spent". This captures the essence of CMF's vision "to reform corporate
and public policy to allow God's people a conscientious choice in selecting
health insurance."
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CMF Executive Director, Mike O'Dea collaborated with the Catholic Medical
Association (CMA) Task Force in preparing a special report on "Health Care in
America: A Catholic Proposal for Renewal"
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Mike O'Dea co-authored a paper entitled "Why It's Time for Faith Based-Health
Plans" on June 24, 2004 with Phyllis Berry Myers, Executive Director of the
Centre for New Black Leadership, and Dr. Robert Moffit, Director of the
Heritage Foundation's Center for Health Policy Studies. In a July 2, 2004
letter to Mike, John E. Hilboldt of the Heritage Foundation stated "Our
national health care reform debate involves a multitude of issues. None,
however, is more vital to me than the overriding freedom of conscience in
selecting insurance in health care".
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CMF collaborated with the Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC) and testified in
support of Health Care Right of Conscience legislation that overwhelmingly
passed in the Michigan House on April 21, 2004.
In addition to Mike's leadership in formulating public and private health care
policy, he continues to co-host with Mary Dudley on Michigan Catholic Radio
"The Fight for Life, Creating a Health Care "Culture of Life". He is also
frequently invited to participate in talk shows on Ave Maria Radio.
After 17 years of dreaming about and fighting for a health care "Culture of
Life", significant parts of his dream have come true. Mike can only attribute
CMF's success to being faithful to Christ, Catholic teaching and the gifts of
the Holy Spirit. The following is a recent quote from Mike "If I have learned
anything spiritually from my work, I have learned that everything good is not
in my time but in God's time."
Click
here to review
CMF's accomplishments in 2004 and an ambitious set of goals for 2005.
Mike and CMF believe that significant progress can be made to reclaim control
of what Catholics and people of all faiths finance in health care and to
protect conscience and parental rights.
Christus Medicus did raise $50,000 to recover Mike's expenses for 2004, but
still needs an additional $150,000 to complete CMF'S goals in 2005. We
understand that everyone has a different capability of giving. Your
tax-deductible contribution to Christus Medicus Foundation, a not-for-profit
501(c) whether it is $100, $500, $1,000, $5,000 or $10,000, all we ask is that
everyone be as generous as possible.
Please pray for the success of this fundraising appeal and donate on line or
send your check immediately so that CMF can continue
providing the
necessary leadership and counsel to defeat the "Culture of Death".
God bless you for all you do to speak up for the sacredness and dignity of
every human life.
Your friends for life,
Catherine A. Dowling, M.D.
Richard
S. Myers
Catholic Medical Association *
Ave
Maria School of Law *
* Institutional Affiliations for Identification Purposes Only.
