Catholic Church Gives Millions to Fight Gay Marriage. Why Won't They Give Money for Health Care?

The Catholic Church gave more than $500,000 to help enact a same-sex marriage ban in Michigan.  The Catholic Church gave $200,000 directly (and up to $1 million more through networks like the Knights of Columbus) to efforts to take away marriage equality in California, by supporting Proposition 8 like gangbusters.  This year, the Catholic Church is expected to give up to $2 million (they've already donated more than $100,000 to date) to take away marriage equality in Maine, spending yet more money to take away civil rights for gays and lesbians.

If the Catholic Church can spend all that money on an issue like same-sex marriage, why can't they spend any money or give any institutional pull to help pass national health care, one of the Church's priorities?

Politics certainly seems to be the short answer, given that the institutional bishops have become really close to a political party in this country whose members by and large oppose national health care.  Instead of wading into the debate about health care and how health care impacts poverty, education, immigration, and many other supposed priorities of the Church, Catholic bishops and many Catholic organizations have instead spent the past decade focusing on a series of 'non-negotiable' issues that have become increasingly less controversial for the American public: same-sex marriage, euthanasia, and stem cell research.  There's also abortion, too, and while that remains a touchy subject in some parts of the U.S., most of the country still believes that women should have the ability to determine their reproductive health.

Makes one wonder if the Catholic Church in this country, while still a source of money for very conservative causes, is watching its political influence dry up.  Last week Obama gathered numerous faith groups together to talk about universal health care.  There were Jewish organizations, Methodist organizations, Baptist organizations, Muslim organizations, and evangelical organizations in the fold.  But no Catholic Bishops.

Instead, the Catholic Church was sending video messages to Lutherans in Minnesota, urging them not to accept gay clergy.

On paper, the church supports universal health care.  On paper, the church supports a public option.  On paper, the church says that ending poverty is a fundamental issue of our time.

But in practice, the Church is spending millions of dollars to take away the civil rights of gay and lesbian people in places like Maine, instead of supporting national health care for all.  Our country is having the largest conversation about health care in nearly twenty years, but the Church is more concerned about whether Lutherans will accept gay clergy.

Misplaced priorities?  Well, if the sky is blue....