Most importantly, the Cardinal's actions have a catastrophic impact to faithfully practicing Catholics at Catholic Hospitals.
When patients come in, doctors, physicains, nurses and other health care workers will be forced into:
1. Sins of omission when their patients are other practicing Catholics
2. Material cooperation in abortions that will be asked for in crises pregnancies.
This violates Catholic teaching any way you slice it. Rounding up Catholic Medical Associations is paramount to protect the rights of Catholics to practice medicine without violating their conscience.
Further, forget about Sebelius and Obama, Cardinal O'Malley has already eliminated the conscience clause for Catholics in Massachusetts. Rounding up Catholic Medical Associations is paramount to protect the rights of Catholics to practice medicine without violating their conscience.
Other dioceses will fall if we do not put the kibosh on this abomination.
Today's Globe, Terrance Donilon is trying to give the impression that the Archbishop is not the authority of record and therefore not a respondent to questions about the Caritas abortion venture.
Asked about the issue, Terrence Donilon, spokesman for the Boston Archdiocese, said in an e-mailed statement that "Caritas is the appropriate agency to respond," and declined further comment.
This is disingenuous and let me tell you the reasons why.
Caritas Christi is a non-profit corporation. Non-profits are not controlled by CEOs, COOs or any officer of the corporation. They are controlled by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors can't act willy nilly - they approve all business partnerships and ventures by "votes". They're bound to corporation by-laws that describe business of obtaining votes to move forward with projects.
Michael Paulson put up an article on his blog that points out that last year, there was a change in the structure of Caritas Christi that has to be carved out in By-Laws. These By-Laws retain the authority of the religious and ethical mission of the hospital to the authority of Cardinal O'Malley.
The Chancery is in pretty tough shape when the Boston Globe is ahead of them on who has what authority and how killing people is supposed to be over the line to an Archbishop.Although the archdiocese has in recent years sought to grant Caritas more independence, it has said that the church remains responsible for the hospital's compliance with Catholic teaching. Here's what the archdiocese said in a statement last year:
"Under the new model, the Archdiocese’s reserve powers are limited to matters pertaining to Catholic identity, mission, and the implementation of the religious and ethical directives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and any transaction that would involve the sale or transfer of the system."
Then the directives get into a complicated area of moral theology regarding the definition of "cooperation,'' but suggest that it's up to the bishop (in this case Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley) to "assess and address" what's happening
Essentially and legally, Cardinal O'Malley is therefore the party of the first part on the ethical sign off and approval.
In fact, legally the Board of Directors could not have possibly take a legal action to enter into the abortion venture until they get Cardinal O'Malley's signature of approval in writing.
The Cardinal wasn't hoodwinked and he is not in a bunker trying to come up with a strategy to thwart the abortion business he signed off on.
According to the Boston Globe Caritas-Centene is entering a "joint venture". A joint venture is not a phrase you throw about casually. I'm willing to bet there is a legal instrument called "joint venture".
(I hope the ink isn't dry on the venture. The last annual report Caritas Christi filed with the Massachusetts Secretary of State was 2007. They're legally out of compliance to do business in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.)
Two more things below - one is an email that I sent to the Cardinal and am circulating through my networks and asking others to do so as well and the other is a press release from the Catholic Action League.
-----Original Message-----
From: cmmckinley@aol.com
To: cmmckinley@aol.com
Sent: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 8:42 pm
Subject: Caritas Christi in the Abortion Business - Stand up and Fight
IHS
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
No doubt you all know by now that Caritas Christi is slated for the abortion industry courtesy of the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston. While the fingerprints left at the scene are no doubt J. Bryan Hehir's, this could not be achieved without the full consent of Cardinal O'Malley.
Below, please find the email I sent out to Cardinal O'Malley, Fr. Erickson with a courtesy copy to the Rev. Hehir.
If Barack Obama and Kathleen Sebelius forced Caritas Christi to go into the abortion business, we would all be in full throttle public rebellion.
How clever they were to use a weak Bishop to get this through. The proaborts are relying upon that old worn out excuse to be craven that it is ill-mannered to raise public opposition to our Bishops/Cardinals.
Please don't hand this territory to them without a fight.
I'm spending the next few days contacting some Bishops and a few lay people to encourage them to make personal contact with the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston. If I may impose on each of you to circulate an effort to your networks to encourage the same.
I'm hoping if he gets several phone calls from high-placed people, he will rescind.
If this effort fails, I will be in touch regarding a more public opposition.
Oh, and please get the prayer warriors going?
In Christ,
Carol McKinley
From: cmmckinley@aol.com
To: Vicar General
Sent: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 3:05 pm
Subject: Fwd: Caritas Christ in the abortion business
Father, I am forwarding the below to this email.
By way of this email, I will entrust that you ensure the Cardinal reads my email.
If I don't open the Boston Globe by Friday, March 6th to read this deal has been rescinded, I shall proceed.
In Christ, Carol McKinley
-----Original Message-----
From: cmmckinley@aol.com
To: Cardinal O'Malley
Cc: Vicar General, J Bryan Hehir
Sent: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 2:46 pm
Subject: Caritas Christ in the abortion business
+
IHS
Cardinal Sean,
While I was keenly aware that former Attorney General was placed at Caritas Christi to marshall in abortion at Catholic Hospitals when all the Democrats had their people in place, my conviction was that you were hoodwinked and when the paperwork crossed your desk, surely, you would reject being a formal cooperator with abortions.
This cannot stand unopposed. Every physician, nurse, pharmacist and worker at our Catholic Hospitals will be faced with quitting their job or join you in your formal cooperation with abortion. You do not have the authority to give this freedom away.
This must be and will be vehemently opposed. How clever they were. If it were Obama and Sebelius eliminating Catholic religious freedom to practice medicine, there would be an uproar. They are banking on the armchair warriors who consider it ill-mannered to raise a spiritual army against one's own Cathedra.
I have no desire, nor time to do this and I would ask that you get down on your knees and ask for the courage to rescind this deal, as soon as humanly possible.
Today is Tuesday, March 3rd. If I do not open the Boston Globe and find a correction of this abomination, I shall proceed to publicly raise the spiritual army.
Emminence, with all due respect and in the charity of my Baptismal duty, permit me to remind you what I doubt anyone there has the courage to say to you: Your soul is in grave danger should you proceed on this path.
Sincerely in Christ,
Carol McKinley
NEWS RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE
(781) 251-9739
CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CONDEMNS CARITAS CHRISTI ON ABORTION REFERRALS
The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today condemned Caritas Christi Health Care, a network of six Catholic hospitals affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston, for bidding on a state contract that would require it to provide referrals for abortions, sterilizations, and contraceptive services. Caritas has formed a partnership with the St. Louis based Centene Corporation, called the Commonwealth Family Health Plan, which is the low bidder on a contract to provide state-subsidized health insurance to 163,000 low-income adults in the Bay State’s Commonwealth Care program. On Friday, the Caritas-Centene partnership issued a statement indicating that it “will contract with providers, both in and out of the Caritas network, to ensure access to all services required by the Authority, including confidential family planning services.”
The Catholic Action League called the proposal “an appalling betrayal of Catholic principles and a grave scandal.”
Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: “By accepting this contract, which entails material cooperation with evil, Caritas will fatally compromise its Catholic identity, undermine Church teaching on the sanctity and dignity of innocent human life, and deprive the Catholic community in Massachusetts of access to an authentic Catholic healthcare system, untainted by collaboration with what Pope John Paul II rightly called ‘the culture of death’.”
“Unlike the law requiring Massachusetts hospitals to dispense so-called emergency contraception, (which at least four out of the six Caritas hospitals now comply with), this proposed contract represents not a government mandate, but a voluntary surrender, for financial benefit, of the Catholic moral standards enshrined in the mission statement of Caritas Christi. Moreover, the timing of this improvident decision is horrendous. Just as the Obama Administration is revisiting the issue of conscience clauses for pro-life Catholic doctors and nurses, Caritas Christi is sending the wrong message that cooperation with abortion is permissible for Catholic institutions.”
“It is up to the Archbishop of Boston, Sean Cardinal O’Malley, whose delegate Fr. Brian Hehir, serves on the board of Caritas Christi, to exercise episcopal leadership and recall Caritas to its Catholic mission, identity, and integrity. This contract must be abandoned.”
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