Somewhere in Evangelium Vitae and Humanae Vitae are the principles of handing out business cards to abortion clinics.The Cardinal said this is what Caritas Christi told him, and Caritas Christi has been consistently faithful to these principles in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
Let's cut to the chase.
How does the Cardinal see this playing out? Let's hear his description.
A woman makes an appointment with her primary care physician when she finds out she's pregnant. She tells the doctor or nurse that she wants an abortion.
What happens right there and then at Caritas Christi?
What will that Catholic healthcare worker have to do next?
Give them a business card or number to call to the abortion clinic.
The Cardinal says this does not violate Catholic ethics and principles or violate doctrine.
Why then doesn't he hand out Planned Parenthood cards to pregnant women who contemplate abortion and feel guilt right from the Confessional?
If doctors and nurses can do it and it is right and just, why deprive the Cardinal?
Why not be principled enough to have abortion referral pamphlets in our Churches?
Why not run "If your mother is sick, call Jack Kevorkian" ads in the Pilot?
CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CRITICIZES CARDINAL’S SUPPORT FOR CARITAS CHRISTI
The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today criticized the statement issued this afternoon by Sean Cardinal O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, endorsing the decision of Caritas Christi to participate in a state contract which would require it to make referrals for abortions and contraceptive services. On March 27, it was revealed that Caritas Christi, the network of six Catholic hospitals affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston, had formed a partnership with the St. Louis-based Centene Corporation to secure a contract for state subsidized health insurance for 163,000 low income adults in Massachusetts, as part of the Commonwealth Care program. That same day the Caritas/Centene partnership issued a statement saying 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.”
In his statement, Cardinal O'Malley said: “…I want to confirm for the Catholic community and the wider interested public that Caritas Christi Health Care has assured me that it will not be engaged in any procedures nor draw any benefits from any relationship which violate the Church's moral teaching as found in the Ethical and Religious Directives [of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops].”
The Catholic Action League characterized the Cardinal’s statement as “a shameful betrayal of the pro-life cause and a shocking failure of episcopal leadership.”
Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: “It is impossible to reconcile fidelity to Catholic teaching with even remote cooperation in abortion. The Cardinal’s carefully parsed statement evidently reflects the growing and problematic influence of Father Bryan Hehir, Archdiocesan Secretary for Health and Social Services, rather than the traditional pro-life principles espoused in the past by Sean O'Malley. The Cardinal refuses to acknowledge in his statement what Caritas has already admitted - that it will contract with other providers in making referrals for abortions.”
“Catholics need to apprise the Holy See and the Apostolic Nuncio in Washington of this breach of trust by the Archdiocese of Boston, and of the continuing determination of pro-life Catholics to oppose this disgraceful capitulation to the culture of death.”
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