Sunday, October 17, 2010

The Bedrock Catholic Values of Caritas - Hosting Fundraiser with Obama

After a Patrick rally at the Hynes Convention Center, the president was traveling to West Newton for a fundraiser at the home of Caritas Cristi CEO Ralph de la Torre.



Meanwhile, de la Torre has been counting on local Democrats from Attorney General Martha Coakley on down to back the $895 million proposed sale of six Caritas Catholic hospitals to Cerberus, a for-profit, private equity firm.

Coakley recently approved the sale -- with conditions -- despite admonitions from her campaign opponent, Republican James McKenna, to recuse herself from the case.

De la Torre contributed $4,800 to her own Senate campaign in January, when Coakley lost a race to retain the seat held by the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Republican Scott Brown ended up winning, giving the GOP a 40th Senate and allowing it to filibuster Democratic initiatives.

Story HERE.

This is just another reminder about de la Torre's Dear Obama letter about  healthcare reform.


How should we define access? Should every U.S. citizen have a primary care physician? Should anyone on U.S. soil at any given moment be entitled to medical care? Should the elderly and the very poor continue to have access that others do not? Does "access" define all medical care without reservation?

Where should we set the parameters for quality? Do we want to shoulder the tremendous costs of medicine that meet the very highest standards? What should be the goals for infant mortality, cancer survival rates, and other such metrics?


Don't you worry your pretty little heads though, the Cardinal says 'tis all as Catholic as the pope.

***UPDATE


CJ's Press release:



NEWS RELEASE
 
 
 
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE
(781) 251-9739
 
 
CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CRITICIZES
CARITAS CHRISTI CHIEF FOR HOSTING OBAMA FUNDRAISER

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today criticized Doctor Ralph de la Torre, chief executive of Caritas Christi Health Care--the network of six Catholic hospitals affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston--for hosting President Barack Obama at a political fundraiser in his Newton home. The event, held yesterday, reportedly raised $900,000 for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
 
The Catholic Action League called de la Torre's decision to host the affair "a stunning example of audacious hypocrisy."
 
Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: "On October 13th, Dr. de la Torre testified before the Massachusetts Public Health Council about the 'bedrock' Catholic values of Caritas Christi being preserved under his leadership following its impending sale to new owners. Three days later, he hosted a campaign event showcasing a political figure whose support for legal and unrestricted abortion is a bedrock component of his political ideology. Ralph de la Torre is of course, a repeat offender in these matters. In 2009, he was a prominent contributor to Attorney-General Martha Coakley, who famously advised pro-life Catholics not to work in hospital emergency rooms."
 
"No rational person can reasonably be expected to take seriously alleged guarantees of the future Catholic identity of Caritas Christi when Ralph de la Torre's own political choices speak to indifference and infidelity to fundamental Catholic moral teaching."

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Today's Gospel says it all..
Come Lord Jesus Come!
Luke 18: 1 - 8
And he told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor regarded man;
and there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, `Vindicate me against my adversary.'
For a while he refused; but afterward he said to himself, `Though I neither fear God nor regard man,
yet because this widow bothers me, I will vindicate her, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.'"
And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?
I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

Jerry said...

Did you see that Batman and Robin were at de la Torre's, too? That was my favorite TV show in 2nd grade. I could just puke.

Ralph, did you forget to invite the Cardinal? I didn't see his name in the article.

Ralph, how in the h did a baby killer like you become head of Caritas, anyhow?

Jerry said...

Joe Doyle just called de la Torre's decision to host the affair "a stunning example of audacious hypocrisy."

Bingo. I love Joe.

Anonymous said...

How long will it take for Catholics to actually grasp that this PRO-ABORTION man is the REPRESENTATIVE and DELEGATE of Sean O'Malley?

The infamous PRO-ABORTION Jack Connors, head of the largest surgical abortion provider in New England, is the HEAD of O'Malley's archdiocesan finance council, school reconfiguration fundraising, and now overall archdiocesan development.

Father Bryan Hehir, another REPRESENTATIVE and DELEGATE of O'Malley, told the last round of candidates for the position of head of Mass Catholic Conference that his goal was to TONE DOWN the church's attention to the issue of ABORTION.

John Kaneb, who plays O'Malley like a puppet . . . well, we won't even go there vis-a-vis his notorious position on abortion.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR THE CATHOLICS OF THE ARCHDICOESE OF BOSTON TO RECOGNIZE THAT THEIR BISHOP IS SURROUNDED BY SUPPORTERS OF ABORTION???

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE PEOPLE TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE MAN WHO IS EFFECTIVELY RUNNING THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON - JACK CONNORS - ALSO RUNS AND PROFITS FROM RUNNING THE LARGEST SURGICAL ABORTION MILL IN NEW ENGLAND???

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR THE HOLY SEE TO INTERVENE IN ANY OF THIS?

Anonymous said...

Do you think Cardinal Burke should know? Anyone have his email address?

TTC said...

The Cardinal claims the Vatican has already approved the deal. Though, interestingly enough, such approval is not part of the public exhibits - only a letter from the Cardinal saying the Vatican approved it.

Might be somebody with absolutely no authority at all to approve the deal or a janitor with access to letterhead for all we know.

The Cardinal handed the authority over to J. Bryan Hehir and DNC operatives. Kiss the hospitals goodbye and let us concentrate on our schools and the structure of the Roman Catholic Church in Boston that are now in the process of being (but have not yet been) seized.

Forget about what is behind us.

Anonymous said...

Obama went directly to the home of de la Torre as part of his reward package and it was much more than the pen Carol Keehan got.

I wonder how long the Archbishop will wait to grab his pay off?

Anonymous said...

Archbishop Burke is not (yet) a Cardinal. One hopes he never will be.

TTC said...

Oh dear, somebody did make a little boo boo calling him a Cardinal!

Maybe 'one' does hope he never will be but as for the rest of Catholics numbering in the billions, we sure hope the whisperings across the internet are true.

:O)

Jerry said...

The whisperings about Abp. Burke are true. Great news.