text: If government funds were not available for the poor, the sick and suffering---what kind of a society would we have?  No private individual or group could raise enough money to care for them, or for us either [no hospitals, clinics].
  
  Also,  why do we now have a rite called the Roman Catholic Church?  And guess what?  When Constantine became the Roman Emperor, he built churches with government tax dollars.  The Social Teachings of the Church have been around since the 19th Century.  In them, the Church advocated safety for workers, the right to form unions, the rights to just wages, and the need for the state to assist workers.  Are you giving up your Social Security benefits?  Yes, you worked for them---but the concept that you have a right to them---is supported by the Church.
  
  
  Jesus supported and defended the poor.  The Church followed suit in stating that the poor deserve the special option of concern by the Church.  Bishop McElroy was stating the Church's position clearly.