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INTERFAITH PITCH FOR HEALTHCARE AND STATEN ISLAND PRESENTATION SISTERS

Submitted by Article written by Kiawana Rich

With the Statue of Liberty in the distance, more than 20 Island leaders and representatives turned out at Richmond Terrace near the St. George Ferry Terminal to demonstrate that the need for universal health care cuts across denominations on October 27th, 2009.

The interfaith effort produced a statement by notable Island clerical leaders, who added their own take on the position taken by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Rev. Dr. Victor Brown, pastor, Mount Sinai United Christian Church, Tompkinsville, invoked the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane."

"Health care is a basic human right that should be afforded to all people regardless of their social, economic or legal status," continued Rev. Brown, noting there are currently more than 50,000 Staten Islanders without health insurance.

"The right to health care is comparable to the right to education, the right to legal equality, the right to police protection, and many other rights that all citizens enjoy; health care coverage should be the same," said Dr. Mary Eberhardt with the Quakers of Staten Island.

Supporters asserted that simply based on "respect and dignity of all human life," health care reform should provide universal coverage and coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions. Additionally, they said, it should also preserve Medicare and provide a public option for the working poor and those currently uninsured.

The Rev. Terry Troia, executive director of Project Hospitality, a nonprofit group that provides aid to the poor, said Congress should look to plans such as New York state's Family Health Plus, which covers 26,000 Island families, noting, "We will not collapse the economy because of it (public health care), and we are serving Staten Islanders who are working and not qualifying for Medicaid or other forms of public insurance."

Supporting groups include: The Saint Vincent de Paul Society; Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church; Unitarian Church of Staten Island; The Staten Island Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame; Staten Island Council of Churches; Staten Island Clergy Leadership; Monsignor James Dorney, co-vicar, Catholic Vicariate of Staten Island; Religious Society of Friends; Presentation Sisters of Staten Island; Rabbi Gerald Sussman, president, Staten Island Rabbinical Association, and Trinity Lutheran Church.