Moving beyond the impasse. Catholics should support use of federal funding for needle exchange programs.

t h, I was invited to meet with health staffers from various congressional representatives in Washington, D.C., to discuss the moral imperatives of supporting needle exchange programs, which increase the availability of sterile syringes with the goal of preventing Hepatitis B and C, HIV and other blood-borne infections. My invitation came from the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative, which is working in collaboration with the Drug Policy Alliance. As a way of introducing health staffers to the voices of faith communities in regard to these initiatives, I spoke about the needle exchange program endorsement from the Society of Christian Ethics and explained the position of the U.S. Catholic Church. Joining me in this meeting were William Martin, M.Div., Ph.D., senior fellow for religion and public policy at the James Baker Institute, Houston, Texas; Michael Bell, D.Min., senior pastor at Peace Baptist Church; John B. Johnson, domestic policy analyst for the Episcopal Church Office of Governmental Relations; and Charles Thomas, executive director, Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative, all based in Washington, D.C.