Leadership: Is the microphone on?

Fr. Basil, at the Orthodox Leader Blog is asking the same question that asked last week. Where is the Orthodox voice in the Health Care debate? As one of the commenter’s pointed out, the Orthodox Bishops have spoken out on abortion in the past, but what Fr. Basil is asking is where is the voice on the Health Care debate?

Check it out:

The recent turmoil surrounding the recent passage of healthcare legislation by the United States Congress is providing ample opportunity to look at the absence of Orthodox leadership. As a reminder, this blog’s purpose is not political. To the extent this legislation reflects Caesar’s affairs, it is generally best for the Church to remain silent.

Sadly, though, this legislation is not purely about political matters, for it has provisions for using taxes gathered from individuals, including Christians, to pay for elective abortions in all or part (c.f., here and here). Despite the scandalously equivocal language used by the Ecumenical Patriarch in discussing abortion (c.f., here, here, here, and here), the Church’s teaching cannot be misunderstood. As a best example, consider St. Basil the Great (AD 330-379), who says absolutely nothing new: “Women also who administer drugs to cause abortion, as well as those who take poisons to destroy unborn children, are murderesses” (Letter 188). Children in the womb are human beings, and their willful destruction is murder. So what about all those who will now find themselves accessories to the crime through the new legal requirement to fund abortion?

The Rest of the Story

My question is, will they speak out on immigration reform or remain quiet on that as well?