---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Carol McKinley
Date: Thu, May 21, 2009 at 11:18 PM
Subject: Caritas Contract - re-send - URGENT
To: joefeitelberg@maltaboston.org
Cc: archbishopsean@rcab.org, DrJohnHaas@aol.com, tad.grd.nsc@aya.yale.edu, Beirne_Lovely@rcab.org, glendon@law.harvard.edu, NuntiusUSA@nuntiususa.org, jimk@firstbristol.com, tdonilon@vzw.blackberry.net, terrence_donilon@rcab.org, Carol Mckinley FINALLY—none of us should let innuendo or inadequate information stampede us into assumed incompetency
+
IHS
Dear Joe,
I haven't heard back from you, so I wanted to re-send my email of last week asking you to clarify the details of the new facts that are available regarding the Caritas contract, in case you didn't receive it.
We do consider this an emergency situation whereby hundreds of thousands of children's lives, the conscience protects & careers of Boston Catholics wishing to practice medicine here in Massachusetts, is in grave danger. In fact, at the present time, this is a greater danger than any potential FOCA legislation by the Obama Administration. The obliteration of conscience protections is coming piecemeal and this contract is very much a part of the agenda of attack against the Roman Catholic Church Who stands in the way.
The contract will force Catholics to provide abortion services and other moral evils upon unsuspecting lambs. It will lead thousands of Catholic workers into the temptations of earning a paycheck to feed their family by counseling patients to proceed with moral evils, jeopardizing the salvation of their own immortal souls and enticing others to jeopardize theirs. Hiring a relay team to assist pregnant women between Caritas Hospitals and the abortion clinics and providing transportation if necessary just doesn't pass the muster of Catholic doctrine.
We really don't know what to think. To be perfectly honest, the obfuscation and deceptive conduct surrounding this controversy has us deeply concerned about the ability and sincerity of Cardinal O'Malley to keep children safe in the Archdiocese of Boston.
Since you graciously offered to clarify the situation to our mutual friend Bill, that are not gelling, would you be willing to answer our questions?
Carol McKinley
781-987-4293
On Wed, May 13, 2009 at 2:52 PM, <cmmckinley@aol.com> wrote:
Dear Mr, Fietelberg,
For several months, I have been updating my friend Bill Cousins about the contract awarded to Caritas Christi that requires abortions and other moral evils.
Our mutual friend Bill Cousins mentioned that he brought our concerns to your attention in a discussion as head of the Boston Chapter of the Knights of Malta. It is my understanding you informed Bill at that time that you are member of the Board of Governor of Caritas and responded to those concerns by providing him with the informative email below to assist his assessment of the situation. Bill graciously tried to help me understand, but I'm afraid it wasn't completely gelling, so I am writing to seek clarity on the missing pieces and questions he was unable to answer.
If I understand your email correctly, you are not disputing that the contract awarded to Caritas mandates abortion services and other services contrary to Catholic moral teachings be provided to patients. You do not dispute that Caritas has promised to provide family planning services (including abortion) in and out of network. You are also not disputing that Caritas has given written assurances that Catholic healthcare workers will be forced to advise an emotionally distraught woman seeking an abortion at Caritas where to obtain o ne, and to arrange transportation if necessary. You do not dispute that Catholic healthcare workers who for moral reasons would never advise and assist any person (including a pregnant and distraught woman) that abortion is an option will now have to quit their jobs, as it is a gravely sinful act and offense against God. Am I correct in my understanding of these issues? If there are new facts available now which were not published in the Globe, and which you believe Bill, I, and thousands of other concerned Catholics are unaware of, could you share them?
You mentioned that Caritas now has "an outstanding Management team in place" great to hear that; however, I do not immediately understand how strong management will somehow allow Caritas to not violate Church moral teachings as part of the arrangement where those same managers have agreed to refer women to abortions. Could you explain further why you believe strong management will result in Caritas not violating Church morals, as the published comments in the Globe indicated those 9 "strong managers” indeed plan to do?
You mentioned that the Centene-Caritas proposed plan would have Caritas be the majority, not the "minority" shareholder. Can you explain the significance of that? Does that somehow mean they will not be referring or transporting patients to get abortions-- thereby materially collaborating with evil--as committed in writing to the state? Is there some assessment or study underway to advise the Cardinal and Caritas on how many layers of legal entities or how many shares of stock might be held in the combined entity in order for a collaboration in the killing of unborn children to somehow be permissible? (If not, I would imagine that you have advised the Cardinal and the Board of Directors to take out a substantial directors and officers liability policy, as even one physician's livelyhood that will be taken away would be a sizeable award sought for damages?)
Forgive me, but we don't seem to be on the same page. The faithful who are objecting to the corporate involvement of an entity advising poor women to get abortions thought they were waiting for the National20Catholic Bioethics Center’s opinion on the moral issues associated with forming such a corporation as well as the effects upon the immortal souls of the Catholic physicians and healthcare workers who will no longer be able to advise the distraught woman that abortion is murdering her child--and who will instead be forced to give her resources on abortion written by abortion advocates. Is the National Catholic Bioethics Center rendering an opinion about how the Church might enter into the lucrative contract they'd like to sign by shifting Caritas’ ownership share in a combined entity whose services violate Church moral teachings and deprive babies of their fundamental right to life?
Again, forgive me, as I don't mean to stampede those working on this into assumed incompetency. However, in principle, I’d invite you and others involved to replace the services or practice of "abortions" with the practice of "pedophilia" when considering the moral implications of the agreement. Assuming we all agree that there is no number of layers or number of legal entities put between the Church and victims that would make it permissible to collaborate with the moral evil of “pedophilia,” then how could anyone envision this being permissible with the taking of an innocent life via abortion?
Carol McKinley
-----Original Message-----
From: <>
To: cmmckinley@aol.com
Sent: Tue, 28 Apr 2009 1:37 pm
Subject: FW: from boston globe
From: Joe Feitelberg [mailto:jhfeit@comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 11:32 AM
To:
Subject: RE: from boston globe
Here are a few missing pieces:
· The Globe wrote this early on before all today’s facts were available
· There has been no execution of the Connector agreement at this time. There is a clear intent to try and be part of this resource which principally serves the poor
· In the Centene-Caritas proposed plan Caritas would be the majority, not the “minority” shareholder
· Cardinal Sean has this under ethical review by the Church’s highest talent base
· Caritas now has had an outstanding Management team in place for one year which has a skill set that was missing
· & FINALLY—none of us should let innuendo or inadequate information stampede us into assumed incompetency
Be assured that with my 1950s HC background I will never support a development which would injure our Church. Having said this I will also tell you that while at HC I learned to use the full power of judgment to find new ways to improve things while living within the Church’s standards.
See you in June,
See you in June,
Joe
Joe Feitelberg
508-789-2219 Cell
From:
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2009 4:01 PM
To: joefeitelberg@maltaboston.org
0A Subject: FW: from boston globe
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2009 4:01 PM
To: joefeitelberg@maltaboston.org
0A Subject: FW: from boston globe
From: cmmckinley@aol.com 0A[mailto:cmmckinley@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2009 3:52 PM
To:
Subject: from boston globe
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2009 3:52 PM
To:
Subject: from boston globe
However, planned parenthood made Caritas put their promises and writing and then released the content of those promises to the Boston Globe:
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 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 w hich officials from Centene and Caritas, the minority partner in the joint venture, assured regulators that women will have "ready 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. The insurers will also provide a toll-free customer service line, available around the clock, to inform women abou t where they can get contraception, sterilization, and other family planning services not offered in the immediate setting. In an emergency, a service representative will arrange transportation to the nearest appropriate facility, officials said.
The regulators promised to watch closely. "We will certainly monitor their performance ," said Jon Kingsdale, the authority's executive director. "We will not allow them to start up or continue if they are not in compliance."
As a measure of the underlying tensions, four board members emphasized the need for oversight.
"I remain somewhat concerned about implementation," said Nonnie Burnes, state commissioner of insurance and a former Planned Parenthood board member. "I am willing to support this as long as we have some way to monitor this" in doctor's offices and other healthcare facilities.
News Agencies are reporting that the Caritas abortion contract was not on hold, and all systems are in go.
LifeNews has a story here. Caritas has once again, stated that abortions will be happening.
Since then, in response to an inquiry from the Catholic Action League, Brian Delaney, communications director for CeltiCare, owned by Centene, confirmed that the joint venture will be operational by July 1 and that it "will meet all the state’s requirements under the Commonwealth Care program, including providing family planning services as appropriate.”
Judie Brown of the American Life League is helping get this situation into the public squareit was picked up by PR newswire story.
At least one diocese may be willing to cut a deal with the devil, says American Life League.In March the archdiocese announced it would defer the decision to go forward with the plan to the National Catholic Bioethics Center. While no decision has been announced by the NCBC, the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts reported that as late as May 11 representatives of the Caritas/Centene partnership affirmed that the joint venture, effective July 1, will include abortion and contraception.
"Since when is the Catholic Church in the business of referring women to the nearest abortion mill?" asked Judie Brown, president of American Life League.
The venture, the first of its kind, makes Catholic health care patients eligible for government subsidized coverage.
The catch? Catholic health institutions will be forced to make "family planning" referrals -- meaning abortion and birth control.
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
Lifesite here.
"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," Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley wrote on his blog.
However, according to the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority Board awarded the contract last week after Caritas/Centene assured the panel that women will have "ready access" to family planning services.
Also last week, Boston Globe religion writer Michael Paulson said that Caritas declined to answer questions on how the new venture could work, given Catholic moral teaching that prohibits involvement in abortion, including referring for the procedure.
The archdiocese did not return repeated calls from LifeSiteNews.com as of press time.
The American Life League strongly criticized the Archdiocese of Boston for allowing the joint venture, which the group says is the first of its kind.
"Since when is the Catholic Church in the business of referring women to the nearest abortion mill?" asked American Life League president Judie Brown.
Catholic Action League executive director C. J. Doyle commented: "If Caritas actually intended to accept tax dollars while evading state demands for abortion coverage, every voice on the political left would be raised against it - in the media, in the Legislature, and among the advocacy groups. Instead, we have heard nothing but silence from the usual adversaries of the Church.
"The only solution is for Caritas to withdraw from the contract," said Doyle.
To contact the Archdiocese of Boston:
Cardinal Sean O'Malley
66 Brooks Drive
Braintree, MA 02184
Telephone: 617-254-0100
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