Bryan Hehir on the Caritas Abortion Referrals: "You Freeken People"

Bryan Hehir has some Peace and Justice thoughts on the Caritas Christi Abortion Referral Contract with Commonwealth Care.

Go to about 9 minutes into this first youtube when Hehir starts..spreading the love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMkyfz0bFkM


"You people care about Abortion????"
"Why don't you people mind your own business"
"You're supposed to take care of the people"
"Stay out of politics"


In the second youtube posted, listen carefully at the beginning, he says
"You freeken people......." something.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6osfjM67K8Q

You freeken people what?


Is it me, or has this sent Bryan over the edge?

These the conversations going on at the Braintree Pastoral Center?


The articles on Cardinal Sean's Blog and the Pilot must be editing out pastoral potty mouths?

Father J. Bryan Hehir who is the Secretary for Health and Social Services has co-written a letter with Vicar General Father Richard Erikson to all the Pastors and Principals of the Archdiocese of Boston regarding pastoral responses to the economic crisis.

Pastoral Thoughts from the Pastoral Center and Pastoral Letters and Pastoral Abortions.

They're so Pastoral. There's no abortion referrals. And, your children are safe from predators. You can count on their honesty.

***UPDATE

A threat and a mysterious thug at St. John's Rectory in Wellesley has materialized.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Carol McKinley
Date: Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 11:14 PM
Subject: Re: Bryan Hehir on Caritas Abortion Referrals: 'You Freeken People"
To: "Donilon, Terrence" , Beirne_Lovely@rcab.org, archbishopsean@rcab.org, Vicar_General@rcab.org


+
IHS

Mr. Lovely,

Below please find my response to Terry Donilon's email this afternoon. I will of course correct the record if you can provide me with the clarification of who answered the call and whose voice it is. The disturbing conduct demonstrated in the youtube conversation against prolifers is further complicated by an allegation that it wasn't Fr. Hehir who answered the call but somebody impersonating him. Very confidential things are conveyed to a priest. Who would pick up a call for Fr. Hehir and impersonate him? A priest at St. John's Rectory? A friend of Fr. Hehir's?

There's nobody to blame but the Cardinal himself for this heightened atmosphere of confrontation about the Caritas situation.
The Cardinal has insisted that no abortions will be fostered or promoted, no women will be referred for an abortion, he has avoided answering questions, circulated misinformation - and when the Boston Globe published material facts that contradicted his assertions, he has stonewalled opposition for a month by claiming he needed an ethicist to tell him what is plainly obvious to anyone who knows their faith. Even at the lowest common denominator, a Catholic Hospital cannot subcontract the services of people who kill other people because they cannot do it themselves. The Cardinal is responsible for the spiritual welfare of the Caritas Board of Directors who thinks they can subcontract killing people, the employees of Centene and other facilities who will collaborate in the debauchery we have subcontracted them for. The Caritas Board has refused to identify itself, even though they are required to by Massachusetts law. Everyone involved has refused to answer our questions. The deception is breathtaking.

Boston is sede vacante. Bryan Hehir has been given the full authority to run the diocese. I'll spare you the list of grievances as a result of this arrangement. Suffice it to say, Bryan Hehir ushering in FOCA has ended our inertia. He had a good run though. His victories are numerous.

Finally, speaking of ceasing to distribute hurtful and untrue information and making whatever clarifications to those who have received such a message,

"Caritas Christi will never do anything to promote abortions, to direct any patients to providers of abortion, or in any way to participate in actions that are contrary to Catholic moral teaching, and anyone who suggests otherwise is doing a great disservice to the Catholic Church." Cardinal O'Malley


The Cardinal, Mr. Doninlon and other diocesecan employees circulated misinformation and character assassinations via email, through the Boston Globe, the Cardinal's blog. Please cease from distributing misinformation and please make the following clarifications to those who received the Cardinal's message:

Abortion referrals are a requirement of the contract. Caritas has promised, in writing, that women will get family planning services IN and out of Caritas facilities, including abortions. Caritas has pleged, in writing, that the medical staff at Caritas will provide the women with planned parenthood pamphlets, including information and instructions and phone numbers to obtain an abortions. The people who originally circulated these facts are not "people who do a great disservice to the Church".

Personally, I don' mind the slander to my reputation and my character. I am deeply concerned that stalling opposition and stonewalling until it's too late to extricate Caritas from this contract will result in decades of lost medical vocations and hundreds of thousands of lives and souls.

In Christ, through Christ,

Carol McKinley

p.s. A word to the wise from somebody tapped into the prolife grassroots - demonizing Fr. DiLorenzo in this scenario is not going to be helpful.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Carol McKinley
Date: Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 6:11 PM
Subject: Re: Bryan Hehir on Caritas Abortion Referrals: 'You Freeken People"
To: "Donilon, Terrence"


Mr. Donilon,

I and others have been writing for weeks requesting that the diocese answer our questions regarding the misinformation the Cardinal and others are giving out, and nobody at the diocese has responded. Now, you send this communication with a threatening gesture of cc'ing a diocescan attorney?

Good evening Mr. Lovely, I'm pleased to meet your aquaintence.

As you may or may not know, the Cardinal has scandalized reputations by posting to his blog that I and others were lying and doing a "great disservice to the Church" by correcting the Cardinal's assertions that distraught pregnant women would not be getting information about abortion and the phone numbers to proceed with those abortions by anyone working at a Caritas facility. As you can see from the citations from articles below, the Cardinal's assertions are in spite of the fact that Caritas has given written assurances the Catholics would indeed be compelled to describe abortion as a viable option to distraught pregnant women and will indeede refer them to the people who will help her arrange that abortion and that Caritas is working on how to monitor the conversations of Catholic heatlhcare employees at Caritas to ensure they are complying with this contractual obligation.


While we're waiting for the Cardinal to obtain an opinion on whether Catholics can hire people to kill other people and pass out the phone numbers, since I (and others) have the civil and canonical right to my reputation, I would appreciate advising your client to correct his errors publicly at his earliest convenience.


Terry, With respect to the youtube - I'm sorry but, I'm a little puzzled by some ambiguity in your communication.

Your use of the word "apparently", without identifying the name of the individual who answered Fr. Hehir's number, identified himself as Fr. Hehir, responded to Fr. Tom by saying "You people care about abortions" "Why don't you mind your own busineess" "Stay out of politics" "You freeken people....", etc., will, I'm afraid,, require some more details.

Unfortuantely, due to the history of errors, misinformation and history of unjustly undermining the credibility of people who are exposing corrutpion of Chancery employees, I'm afraid you'll have to do a little better than this.

If it isn't Fr. Hehir, who is it?

Please furnish the name of the person and the contact information of the individual who answered Fr. Hehir's phone number, so that I can verify what you are saying is true.

In Christ,

Carol McKinley















On Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 4:58 PM, Donilon, Terrence wrote:

Ms. McKinley -

Please be advised that Fr. Bryan Hehir is not the person identified in the YouTube clip you are circulating. The phone call Fr. Tom DeLorenzo apparently made was not answered by Fr. Hehir, nor is the response you hear that of Fr Hehir. Your suggestion otherwise is not true and is hurtful. Please cease distributing this misinformation (including your transcription of the phone call) and make whatever clarification you can to those who have already received your message.

Thank you,
Terry

cc: F. Beirne Lovely, General Counsel


**********************************************
Terrence C. Donilon
Secretary for Communications
Archdiocese of Boston
Email: tdonilon@rcab.org
Work: 617-746-5775
Cell: 401-480-0171

Pastoral Center
66 Brooks Dr
Braintree, MA 02184


From: Carol McKinley
Date: Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:16:51 -0400
To:
Subject: Bryan Hehir on Caritas Abortion Referrals: 'You Freeken People"

Below, please find Bryan Hehir's conversation with Fr. DiLorenzo relative to the Caritas situation. He claims we "freeken" people should "mind our own business" and "stay out of politics".

*
Bryan Hehir has some Peace and Justice thoughts on the Caritas Christi Abortion Referral Contract with Commonwealth Care.


Go to about 9 minutes into this first youtube when Hehir starts..spreading the love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMkyfz0bFkM


"You people care about Abortion????"
"Why don't you people mind your own business"
"You're supposed to take care of the people"
"Stay out of politics"


In the second youtube posted, listen carefully at the beginning, he says
"You freeken people......." something.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6osfjM67K8Q

You freeken people what?

Doing a disservice to the Church?

Story from the National Catholic Register about the situation.



Thanks in advance,
Carol McKinley


From the Globe:


The Connector Authority board, which oversees the Commonwealth Care program, voted unanimously in favor of the joint venture proposed by Centene Corp., a St. Louis-based health organization, and Caritas Christi Health Care Network.
The vote followed several closed-door sessions in which officials from Centene and Caritas, the minority partner in the joint venture, assured regulators that women will have "rea dy access" to family planning and reproductive services, an issue that sparked concerns from abortion foes and reproductive rights activists.
Among the written assurances are a pledge that medical staff operating under the Centene-Caritas insurance plan, known as Commonwealth Family Health Plan, will inform women of their healthcare options, including abortion.

From the National Catholic Register:
If Caritas-Centene proceeds with its plan, state regulators and abortion advocates will be watching. How compliance will be monitored is just being worked out now, Massachusetts health authority spokesman Powers said March 16.
Andrea Miller, executive director of NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) Pro-Choice Massachusetts, said her abortion advocacy group vows to monitor the Catholic hospitals to ensure that people have access to services to protect them from pregnancy and disease In the past, NARAL operatives have made covert calls to hospitals, including Catholic ones, to see if personnel complied with a law to offer the abortifacient morning after pill.




Bryan Hehir has some Peace and Justice thoughts on the Caritas Christi Abortion Referral Contract with Commonwealth Care.

Go to about 9 minutes into this first youtube when Hehir starts..spreading the love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMkyfz0bFkM


"You people care about Abortion????"
"Why don't you people mind your own business"
"You're supposed to take care of the people"
"Stay out of politics"


In the second youtube posted, listen carefully at the beginning, he says
"You freeken people......." something.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6osfjM67K8Q

You freeken people what?





Did Catholic Hospital System Compromise Ethics?

By GAIL BESSE

REGISTER CORRESPONDENT

BOSTON If a joint venture between Catholic and non-religious health-care systems goes through, doctors in Bostons Catholic hospitals may have to point patients toward abortion after July 1.

Indeed, state officials and abortion advocates would check to make sure they do.

This development did not arise from President Obamas proposal to jettison conscience rights for medical personnel. Rather, the six-hospital Caritas Christi Health Care system, in conjunction with the St. Louis-based health network Centene Corp., recently sought and won a lucrative state insurance contract that requires the joint venture, the Commonwealth Family Health Plan, to make available all reproductive services.

After state regulators accepted the Caritas-Centene bid March 12, Boston Cardinal Sean OMalley issued a statement saying that the deal, set to begin July 1, cant be considered final until the National Catholic Bioethics Center can assure him its faithful to Catholic principles. He had requested an opinion from the bioethics center March 5. It had not been made public as of press time.

According to Dick Powers, spokesman for the Massachusetts Health Connector Authority Board, which awards the contracts for state-subsidized insurance for low-income residents, the board unanimously accepted the Caritas-Centene bid after regulators received written assurances that medical staff will inform people of all options, including abortion.

Powers said that if a Caritas hospital didnt provide a service, the patient would be referred back to Commonwealth Family Health Plan, which would then refer the person to another facility. Commonwealth Family Health Plan would also provide a 24-hour toll-free phone line to inform women about where they can get contraception, sterilization, and other family-planning services. A service representative will arrange transportation to the nearest appropriate facility in an emergency.

The cardinal in a March 5 statement said, As archbishop I have the responsibility to insure that Caritas Christi Health Care adheres to the Ethical and Religious Directives established by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

At issue is whether the initiative involves cooperation in actions that are intrinsically immoral.

Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense, says the Catechism of the Catholic Church (No. 2272). The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae, by the very commission of the offense, and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.

The hospital chain is run by an independent board of governors, but the archdiocese retains authority on issues of its Catholic identity, mission and ethics. Father J. Bryan Hehir, Cardinal OMalleys secretary of health and social services, is archdiocesan liaison on the board.

Caritas spokeswoman Teresa Prego declined comment to Register questions, as did the president, Ralph de la Torre, and James Karam, chairman of the board of governors. According to Federal Election Commission records, both officials have given generously to politicians who support abortion: Last year, de la Torre gave $2,300 to Barack Obama; from 2007-08, Karam gave $6,900 to Hillary Clinton for president and $2,000 to Sen. John Kerry.

Nobody More Attentive

At first, Cardinal OMalley defended the hospital chains proposal on his blog, CardinalSeansBlog.org March 6: To be perfectly clear, Caritas Christi will never do anything to promote abortions, to direct any patients to providers of abortion or in any way to participate in actions that are contrary to Catholic moral teaching.

The cardinal was in Rome over St. Patricks Day, and didnt comment further.

Spokesmen for the National Catholic Bioethics Center ethicist Father Alfred Cioffi and education director Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk said their consultations must be kept confidential.

If Caritas-Centene proceeds with its plan, state regulators and abortion advocates will be watching. How compliance will be monitored is just being worked out now, Massachusetts health authority spokesman Powers said March 16.

Andrea Miller, executive director of NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) Pro-Choice Massachusetts, said her abortion advocacy group vows to monitor the Catholic hospitals to ensure that people have access to services to protect them from pregnancy and disease In the past, NARAL operatives have made covert calls to hospitals, including Catholic ones, to see if personnel complied with a law to offer the abortifacient morning after pill.

Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, told The Boston Globe March 11: Nobody is more attentive to life issues than the cardinal-archbishop of Boston. Sister Carol said that she had reviewed key provisions of the Caritas-Centene deal and that Caritas has done more than one would usually see to avoid being involved with abortion and other services opposed by the Catholic Church.

As I look at the way Caritas Christi has structured this arrangement, she said, it allows them to be participants with the state in the care of the poor and the most vulnerable citizens of the state of Massachusetts in a way that brings the richness of their system and the caring nature of that system to the poor, without in any way violating any of the religious directives or the moral imperatives of our faith.

But pro-lifers were worried. We are now facing the end, in Massachusetts at least, of Catholic medical resistance to abortion and contraception, said C.J. Doyle, who as director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts has headed opposition to the plan. This will drive Catholics out of the medical profession.

William Cotter, head of Bostons Operation Rescue, believes the archdiocese was taken off guard by the Caritas move. But, he said, theres been a terrible loss of credibility for the archdiocese. It must forgo the potential financial gain and refuse this pact with the devil.