(continuation)

The question is "Do we want the government to force people to pay for other people's health insurance?" This is a legitimate question of public policy. Attempting to shut down debate by quoting papal cliches like "Health care is a right, not a commodity" is dishonest and pointless. Pointless because most Americans don't care what the Pope thinks, and dishonest because it denies the crucial point that health care is expensive and has to be paid for somehow.

Religious people like the Pope are not able to comment usefully on questions like this. Usually, they enter religious life while they're still on their parents' health insurance and their religious order guarantees them health care for the rest of their lives. Of course they think health care is free; for them, it is.