| Abstract: | The author considers the capacity of Catholic Social Teaching(CST) to contribute to the public debate about health care andthen remarks on the capacity of CST to assist in the formationof "intentionally Christian institutions." The author arguesfor two main points. First, there are some serious obscuritiesin CST's account of the derivation and interrelation of variousrights. Hence, it is not altogether clear what ideal CST isseeking to promote in the public order. Second, the author arguesthat there is a serious political conflict in CST's commitmentto both subsidiarity and the preferential option for the poor.He also claims that it does not follow from these criticismsthat CST is useless as a guide for the formation of "intentionallyChristian institutions." Reflection on financing in the lightof subsidiarity and the preferential option suggests that thereis a need for Christian wealth-producing institutions and schemesof investment that will provide subsidium for healthcare enterprises.In the final portion of the paper, the author sketches out afew dimensions of that sort of vision. |
