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On Saturday night, about 120 people filled seats at St. Giles Catholic Parish in Oak Park – not to pray, but to discuss health care.
“Is Health Care Really a Right?” was the topic of a forum organized by two committees of St. Giles’ Family Mass Community: the Action for Justice committee and the Adult Learning committee. To this forum, the organizers invited a familiar face, the Rev. Thomas Nairn, who had worked at the church for more than a decade before moving to St. Louis last year, and a speaker from Evanston, who presented one point of view in the national debate.
Nairn, who is senior director of ethics for the Catholic Health Association of the United States, clarified the Catholic church’s point of view. Steve Serikaku, a member of the Illinois Single Payer Coalition, gave financial perspective on what’s called the public option.
This isn’t the first time that a health care convention was organized by a church in Oak Park. On Sept. 20, Ascension Catholic Church rounded up about 200 people to discuss health care – while munching on PB-and-J. A member of Grace Episcopal drafted a national health care resolution passed by the congregation. First United Church of Oak Park is even starting a health care petition drive.
Forum organizer Dorothy Doherty said health care is a major issue that people need to properly educate themselves about.
“We are citizens and need to be involved in what’s going on in terms of issues in our country and a huge issue right now… is health care reform,” said Doherty, 71, and an Oak Parker for 18 years. “People need to be cared for: each and every one.”
Doherty said Catholicism technically encourages a public option.
“As part of this community and as being a citizen, being a Catholic, for us, the teachings of Jesus have to do with caring for everyone,” she said. “Health care is a moral issue before it’s an economic one and we want our community to be well aware of that.”
Nairn, who traveled from St. Louis to attend this forum and who has been at many such discussions in and out of the country, recalled the comment of a panelist at a conference in Canada last year. “We have a system for citizens,” Nairn said quoting the French panelist. “You have a system for consumers.”
Serikaku, who was a Chicago Public School teacher for more than 30 years, also talked about money. “I think the 5 percent of the wealthiest Canadians would like a system like ours,” Serikaku said.
While he spoke mostly about the economic benefits of a health care reform, Serikaku acknowledged that the issue goes beyond green sheets of paper.
“We need to educate people so they really understand what the costs [of a public option] are,” he said. “It’s not just the dollars and cents.”
Nairn and Serikaku weren’t the only ones speaking up.
During the three Q-and-A sessions, moderated by Gerri Brauneis, there was never a shortage of raised hands.
“I’m here tonight and I’m not Catholic – I’m Lutheran,” said Barbara Rinnan, 79. “And I’m a voter.” Rinnan urged everyone to step up to the plate and follow up with state representatives in D.C.
“We voters need forums like these,” she said. “This is why I love Oak Park.”
Another a bold statement came from a forum attendee who has worked in the health insurance world for more than a decade.
“I can say from inside the health-insurance industry that they are definitely afraid of even the public option, which is a watered-down version of a single-payer,” said the longtime Oak Parker. “From internal surveys, three-quarters of the American people would prefer a public option, and they’re [the health-insurance companies are] definitely afraid that this would put them out of business – and they’re lobbying hard against it.”
Nevertheless, this Oak Park resident of 30 years admitted to personally contributing money towards a cause he believes is important for everyone – a public option.
“I personally am convinced that [a public option is] the only fair, ethical, cost-efficient way to actually insure people,” he said.
Although the conversation of the night was intense, it was also civil.
“It’s not like what you seen on CNN,” Nairn said. “Oak Park both historically and in every other way is a group of people who try to understand what is happening, who are usually rather open and tolerant to respecting other points of view and I think that is very healthy for…health care reform and also democracy in general. I think that’s been one of the prides of Oak Park.”