CCHD Stations of the Cross

You can't hole up with your own distractions for a nanosecond before you are missing a major story.

Yesterday, Reform CCHD published their concerns about an outrageously offensive Stations of the Cross reflection they posted to their website.

American Life League Press Release here.

Spectacular work.

The second station, which is “Jesus Takes up His Cross,” focuses on the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. OVEC’s news archive is littered with articles on various progressive agendas, including abortion and same-sex marriage. While linking to articles is not itself an endorsement, the OVEC-inserted commentary on one of the headlines is. Next to the article headline “Democratic Leaders Want party to Move Right on Abortion Choice” is the parenthetical comment from OVEC itself, which says, “Can Democratic Leaders Say ‘Coat hanger’? Oh, who cares, it’s only women.” ...

The CCHD’s prayer for the second Station reads, “Jesus, may the work of OVEC inspire us to support the efforts of all whose crosses become heavy due to environmental threats that affect their health and well‐being.” Given OVEC’s overt support for abortion, we fail to see how OVEC can inspire ANY good Catholic with a conscience.

You get the gist.

The good news is, a few hours ago, ALL sent out the follow-up press release:

Less than 24 hours after the Reform CCHD Now (RCN) coalition released a report March 11 condemning the Catholic Campaign for Human Development’s version of the Stations of the Cross, the “prayer” was completely scrubbed from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ web site.

The CCHD’s Stations of the Cross transformed a beloved ancient Lenten devotional of the Catholic Church into a “prayer” highlighting the work of CCHD grantees – five of whom are involved in the promotion of abortion and same-sex marriage.

The RCN coalition charged that the CCHD’s Stations were “little more than fundraising pitches for pro-abortion and same-sex marriage groups.”

“We’re happy to see the USCCB respond quickly to clean the offensive material from its web site,” said Michael Hichborn, lead researcher on the CCHD for American Life League, an RCN member. “We hope and pray this is the first step in cleaning up the larger problem of the CCHD funding organizations that support abortion and same-sex marriage.”

The CCHD’s revision of the Stations of the Cross was the latest incident exposed by the 21-member RCN coalition’s campaign to end CCHD funding for organizations promoting philosophies and/or activities contrary to Catholic teaching.

Judie Brown on Archbishop Fisichella

As a member of the Academy, I commented at length about those statements and joined with my fellow Academy members in protesting the statements and requesting a clarification of them from the Holy Father.

Following what I personally felt was an imprudent statement coming from Archbishop Fisichella, I wrote a letter to him requesting a clarification. Previous to that, I publicly praised the Brazilian archbishop for defending the truth of Catholic teaching and acting in accord with that teaching. In the days and weeks that followed, many Pontifical Academy members voiced similar concerns regarding the archbishop’s unfortunate remarks. To my knowledge, none of the members received an adequate response from Archbishop Fisichella. Sadly, the matter was not resolved prior to or during the February 11-13 Academy meeting and, as a result, the following statementwas issued by five Academy members.

Apparently, Archbishop Fisichella insisted the first paragraph of the letter be edited out of the published version and has further manipulated the situation to...vindicate himself!

Recently a number of letters have been sent to the Holy See, some of them from prominent figures in political and ecclesial life, explaining the confusion that has been created in various countries, especially in Latin America, following the manipulation and exploitation of an article by His Excellency Archbishop Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, on the sad affair of the ‘Brazilian girl’.” [Emphasis added]

What is not generally known is that this is not the original wording of the opening paragraph which it was intended to publish in L’Osservatore Romano. Fisichella obtained sight of the text prior to publication and demanded that the original paragraph be changed to read as in the published version. In this way he has been permitted to disclaim, with the apparent authority of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, all responsibility for the damaging impact of his article on the defense of innocent pre-born human lives. Responsibility for this damage belongs entirely to the way others have ‘manipulated and exploited’ his article! But not content with disclaiming responsibility for the damage his article has done, Fisichella in his address to the Academy on the 11th of February claimed that the vindication extended to the content of his article. This claim is indeed grave because the clear implication of the wording of that article is that there are difficult situations in which doctors enjoy scope for the autonomous exercise of conscience in deciding whether to carry out a direct abortion. It would appear, then, that the CDF ‘Clarification’ has failed to clarify the mind of Archbishop Rino Fisichella, and, if that is the case, it raises a troubling question about just how generally effective the ‘Clarification’ has been in dispelling the false understanding of the Church’s teaching about direct abortion conveyed by the 15 March 2009 article.

Far from creating unity and genuine harmony in the Academy, Archbishop Fisichella’s address on the 11th of February had the effect of confirming in the minds of many Academicians the impression that we are being led by an ecclesiastic who does not understand what absolute respect for innocent human lives entails. This is an absurd state of affairs in a Pontifical Academy for Life but one which can be rectified only by those who are responsible for his appointment as President.

What is the hold up on manning up over there?

John Carr Was Keynote Speaker at USCCB Catholic Social Ministry Gathering

I don't know how I missed this but John Carr was a keynote speaker at the scandalous USCCB-sponsored "Social Ministry" Conference??.

Join us at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, February 7 - 10. Keynote speakers include Fr. Allan Figueroa Deck, SJ, Ph.D., Mr. John Carr....

The USCCB deliberately left off the speakers with proabort and dissent history like Tom Reese and Diana Hayes which rules out they were ignorant of the dissent.

The American Life League was right on the John Carr's participation:

- Page six of the official “Catholic Social Gathering” program gives a schedule for the Catholic Labor Network Gathering. USCCB exec John Carr is scheduled to join Paul Booth (click for Labor Network schedule) on a panel discussion. Paul Booth and his wife Heather Booth (another prominent pro-abortion activist with ties to the National Organization for Women, who helped organize a group called “JANE” in 1965 which helped young women obtain illegal abortions) founded the Midwest Academy – a training institute for progressive activists.

-Paul Booth and his wife have served as host committee members for the National Organization for Women's Intrepid Awards Gala.

-Currently Paul Booth is executive assistant to the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The AFSCME endorsed the pro-abortion March for Freedom of Choice, held in Washington, D.C. in 2004.

ALL posted this excellent letter to Tom Grenchick, executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Pro-Life Secretariat.

With Catholic Cardinals and Bishops signing abortion contracts and siphoning money from them as they "march for life" in the public square, do they really think if hide until the controversy dies down it will be business as usual at the USCCB?

Yeah. Good luck with that.

Pro-life massacres at the USCCB

Reality TV has another disturbing (though not surprising) youtube on the USCCB.

They apparently have not only been paying annual dues (minimum of $1000) to be a member of the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights, they are actually involved in fundraising for them.

Active leadership in a Conference for Civil and Human Rights sounds all Martin Luther Kingy, doesn't it?

Makes you think about fighting discrimination, working to protect conscience protections, religious liberties, pounding the pavement for senior citizens, legal assistance for the poor.

But, the civil rights leadership conference the USCCB fund-raises for is something completely different.

This Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights includes strategizing to defeat the pro-life movement with legislative initiatives designed to support planned parenthood and lobbied hard in Congress to defeat pro-life judges.

Like many others in the pro-life movement, I'm extremely disappointed that those who created a distraction about whether "john carr" was "pro-life" have been silent on the mounting evidence that the USCCB has been generously and radically funding legislation and initiatives that are nefarious.

With all due respect to John Carr, his characterizations that people making noise about a Bishop's Conference that has destroyed Catholic education, catechesis and our Liturgy, are "attacking" the Bishops, CCHD and now him, are people who can't find anything good to say about the Church, is a cheap shot.

"I would distinguish between those who have concern for the poor and wonder whether we're doing it the right way and those who simply disagree with the priority and the methods of CCHD," Carr said. "And then there are some who frankly have been attacking the bishops, the Conference, CCHD, and now me, and they've never found anything good to say about the church and its work."

Neither do I believe it is fair to characterize the criticism as people who just don't want to be friends with everyone or give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

"The polarization in public life is now coming over to Catholic life," Carr said. But while he would rather we "give each other the benefit of the doubt," what might be most telling about this story is how one audience member this morning responded.

"Unfortunately these days, if you're friends with everyone, somebody will condemn you," Louise Johnson of Modesto, California told me this evening. "It's not all that unusual" to hear such attacks within parishes and dioceses, she continued. "Social justice ministers run into this frequently because there's a lot of one-issue people who don't see the whole picture."

How asinine.

Nobody believes we can't be friends with people who are prochoice or for that matter work even with them on initiatives to help the poor.

We all work with people who are prochoice. What we don't do is join groups and sit on boards of directors, fund-raise for groups that make defeating the pro-life movement part of their mission, even if they give away free groceries and cars to the poor.

Giving out free groceries and cars is commendable. We can be friends with people who give out free groceries and cars. We can fund-raise and sit on their boards.

In fact, there are plenty of initiatives who work for the poor who don't simultaneously work on abortion legislation and defeating pro-life judges.

Knock yourselves out.


If slavery is part of the mission statement of people who give away groceries and cars, nobody would have any problem understanding why we can't sit on their boards of directors or funnel money into it from the USCCB.

Nobody would be in the public square implying pro-lifers are unfriendly or one-issue people who don't see the bigger picture of the good works of people promoting slavery legislation in addition to giving out groceries and cars.

They'd never have the gall.

They wouldn't get away with it.

Pro-lifers should stand up and be counted. Reject the intellectual dishonesty and nudge people into the light.


There's deafening silence from the USCCB.

Personally, I'm a little confused why Fr. Pavone is on board with this. Being fresh out of the scandal of having him actively campaign for proabortion candidate Scott Brown, perhaps my perspective is jaded.


Our friends at the American Life League and others who are indexing the breathtaking farce of the USCCB in what could very well be one the most destructive organizations to the Catholic faith from within possibly in history, not only deserve honesty, they deserve our zealous support.

I join those who are calling for a radical restructure, if not dissolution, of the USCCB.

The USCCB Waterloo

The indisputable evidence the American Life League and Bellarmine Veritas Ministries dug up demonstrating the USCCB is funneling money through CCHD to initiatives that oppose Church teaching is creating quite a dust up.


The list is long and incriminating.

As the informative video on ALL points out, the CCHD has a history of working with and funding organizations inspired by Marxist Saul Alinsky. Alinsky wrote Rules for Radicals (inciting class warfare) which he dedicated to Lucifer.

Last week Bellarmine Veritas released more compelling evidence the USCCB heavily funded CCC was even working for the “lifting restrictions on women’s access to health services” in the healthcare legislation.

ALL, who has been working on unmasking the USCCB since August, also released more disturbing subterfuge this week, Sleeping with the Enemy.

Lively discussions are taking place all over the internet relative to this citation in ALL's report:

Carr, whose work with the CCC goes back at least as far as 1983, was hired by the USCCB in 1987 as the next secretary for social development and world peace. Annual reports from the CCC reveal that Carr was on the CCC’s board of directors in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, serving on the executive committee from 1999-2001. Given his cozy relationship with the CCC, it’s no wonder the CCHD never responded to our concern over grantee membership with this radical group.

But the findings don’t end there. In 2000, while Carr was serving both organizations, the CCHD funneled $150,000 to the CCC. In 2001, the CCHD hosted the Executive Director from the CCC for a presentation at a three day conference and, in 2006, when Carr left the CCC’s board of directors, he was replaced by Tom Chabolla, who worked for Carr as associate director of programs for the CCHD until 2008. In December of 2008, the CCC co-sponsored an event called the “Realizing the Promise Forum,” rallying around the election of Barack Obama. Ralph McCloud, the current Director of the CCHD joined the celebration, proclaiming that “very soon we will see a New Jerusalem.”

The most peculiar aspect of this investigation, however, is the mysterious omission of Carr’s membership and chairmanship of the CCC’s board on his USCCB bio. With great consistency, several brochures, event announcements, forums, and bios for other organizations he is involved with give nearly word-for-word copies of his USCCB bio, with the exception that they mention his involvement with CCC, and the USCCB bio does not.

Our Sunday Visitor and others, including Fr. Pavone spoke up on behalf of Carr's pro-life credentials.

It's great Carr is pro-life. But, people with pro-life credentials can make mistakes.

John Carr and the USCCB must have known the nefarious activities of the CCC because they omitted all references to the CCC on Carr's bio. More importantly, Carr didn't strike CCC references on his other reference materials.

Gasper told LSN on Thursday that he “find[s] it telling that instead of addressing the well documented evidence brought forward in both the ALL and BVM reports, McCloud and Carr seem fixated on characterizing our efforts as a personal attack on Carr's pro-life beliefs. Neither the ALL or BVM reports question Carr on his pro-life convictions.”

Gasper said that he was “disappointed” that the “salient points” in his report have not yet been addressed yet. “Perhaps,” he said, “both Carr and McCloud's time and energy would be better spent screening some of the organizations the USCCB cooperates with rather than responding to accusations that were never made in the first place.”

Responding to Bishop Murphy's charge of 'calumny', Hichborn reiterated that they have not accused Carr of being pro-abortion or pro-homosexual. “So unless the bishops can find fault in our report about the Center for Community Change or the funding practices of the CCHD, they would do well to avoid such hyperbole,” he stated.

The Deeply irresponsible "Our Sunday Visitor" was the first to circle the wagons and use distraction.

I keep refreshing the page to see if they put any effort into the scandalous evidence against the USCCB.

Not a word.

Michael Voris does an excellent job putting the focus back where it belongs.



The USCCB is a failed experiment that has done incalculable damage to the Catholic Church.

I've read a few criticisms over Voris' use of Pope Paul VI's "the smoke of satan has entered the Church" but he is absolutely right on.

We are dealing with principalities. The devil is as real as Christ.

Let us be spiritually mature.

Nobody following the destruction at the hands of the USCCB can deny it has been an atomic bomb to the Catholic Church in America. Holy Spirit, it isn't.

Voris also tells us that this weekend, the USCCB sponsored another kooky conference filled leaders who malign the teachings of the Church and misdirect the souls of Catholics.





The reasons why we cant get a return phone call when a major Cardinal has entered into abortion contracts are becoming increasingly clear.

More disturbing news to come.

Somebody let me know when John Carr and OSV or any of the Bishops has the spinal fortitude to stand up against and speak the truth about the scandal at the USCCB?

Judie Brown on Fr. Landry's Column

Last week, our editorial argued that one of the most important lessons pastors of the Church in the United States need to draw from the history of interactions with Senator Ted Kennedy on the sanctity of human life is that a strategy of conscience education alone with “personally opposed,” but publicly “pro-choice” Catholic politicians hasn’t worked. The attempt to engage, teach and help persuade such politicians to conversion didn’t succeed with Senator Kennedy, and it hasn’t succeeded yet with other “pro-choice” Catholic legislators.

To say that it hasn’t succeeded, however, is really not strong enough. It’s possible, after all, to fail a test with a grade of 59; in such a case, a student would be able to take some solace in the fact that, while there are some areas in need of improvement, he was close to minimal success. If a student fails a test with close to a zero, on the other hand, he obviously needs to make some radical changes if he ever hopes to succeed. And that is closer to the candid assessment that leaders of the Church need to make relative to the education-alone strategy during the past few decades.

Let us take an honest look at the numbers. When we survey the long list of “pro-choice” Catholic politicians from both parties—Kennedy, Kerry, Giuliani, Schwarzenegger, Daschle, Dodd, Durban, Leahy, Mikulski, Pelosi, Delahunt, Capuano, Markey, McGovern, Meehan, Granholm, Sebelius, Pataki, Richardson, Cellucci, Cuomo and Biden, to name just a handful—is it possible to say that the strategy has worked with any of them? Over the last three and a half decades, can we point to even one success story?

Read the rest of this fabulous elaboration by Fr. Landry here.

"Lead, Follow or Get out of the Way" was a Guest Column on Judie Brown's/American Life League Blog This Week

As far as I'm concerned, the only place better to defend life in all of Christendom than having your column featured at Judie Brown's ALL is a spot on the Pope's piazza!

A daily visit to her blog is a must for any activist or Catholic who wants to keep up with the latest news,advice and wisdom for advancing the culture of life.

Serving the Lord with all your heart and soul,come what may to bring truth into the light is a rare gift of fire for our faith. Most apostolates and people cease to fight when the attacks against life are coming from within the Catholic Church.

Thank God for her leadership and courage.

May God continue to inspire, bless and protect her and her wonderful staff.

Ad lucem!

Caritas Abortions - It's Over

I've been busy tonight gathering up resources, doing some phone calls gathering momentum to pull some allnighters, all weekend to file an emergency injunction.

Just happened to checked my emails at 9:30 with "congratulations" messages in the headlines and did the quick google to find Michael Paulson's story.

I was going to, for humor sake - put up the Caritas fist symbol that says "power to the people" --but in reality, we all know that it appears we owe John Paul II some gratitude and devotions.

A post-mortem at some point over the weekend. Right now, I did just pour myself a nice glass of Chardonnay (even though my drinking habits mean this bottle has probably been in the refrigerator for a year!).

Caritas Christi Health Care, the financially challenged Catholic hospital system founded by the Archdiocese of Boston, is abruptly ending its joint venture with a Missouri-based health insurer at the insistence of Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, who has decided that the relationship represented too much of an entanglement between Catholic hospitals and abortion providers.

The dramatic development, just days before the joint venture was scheduled to start providing care to low-income residents as part of the state's efforts to establish near universal health coverage here, is a vindication of sorts for a variety of very conservative Catholic critics of the cardinal, who have been arguing angrily and loudly that it would be "evil" for Caritas to partner with a health provider that covers abortion services.

The development is also a setback for Caritas, because it represents the undoing of one of the most significant steps its new chief executive, Dr. Ralph de la Torre, had announced as part of his efforts to turn around the hospital system's finances.

Thank GOD for all involved in this unraveling who are "a disservice to the Church"

This is an enormous shift from last week when J Bryan Hehir claimed the NCBC had moved forward in resolving the problems:

Speaking to the Register June 17, Father J. Bryan Hehir, secretary for Health Care and Social Services with the Archdiocese of Boston, recognized that there was a problem that needed to be solved by July 1.

“We tried to solve the first part of it last week,” he said. “Caritas Christi will not do procedures that violate the ‘Ethical and Religious Directives’ and will not refer anyone for such procedures.”

“The second part is the larger framework Caritas Christi has entered into,” Father Hehir said. “That needs to change so that it will accord with Catholic identity.”

***UPDATE

Several emails and phone calls coming in have pointed out that we need clarification on several forthcoming assertions in the "new" arrangement.


The change will have no effect on patient care, because Centene Corp., the Missouri-based insurer, will continue to participate in the state-subsidized program, called Commonwealth Care, starting Wednesday.

And Caritas will continue to participate in the program, but now simply as one of many health care providers hired by Centene to treat patients. Caritas's role as a provider will be the same as the role it plays when providing care to people covered by private insurers such as Blue Cross.

In keeping with the ethical directives that bind Catholic hospitals, Caritas hospitals will not provide abortion or sterilizations. Caritas already refers privately-insured patients who seek such services to their insurance providers, and will do the same with state-insured patients. (Caritas spelled out its practices for handling Catholic ethical teachings in a statement June 11.)(emphasis mine)


I originally presumed that the above statements were a face-saving measure but others in the Catholic prolife community want clarification of this peculiar assertion that Caritas is doing what it always has done and what it always intended to do.

Does Caritas, as it now stands, do abortion referrals?

It appears by the joint statement, it does.

I presumed their statement was damage control - vis-a-vis, trying to blurr the distinctions between

• "Caritas" "being" the insurance company who makes contracts with abortionists, hiring phone operators and giving women the phone numbers to their abortion providers and instructions - as they were up until today in this arrangement
  
• "Caritas" referring women to abortionists as assertions are today
• "Caritas" having no part whatsoever in abortion referrals and instead, giving women advice completely consistent with the teachings of the Church

Which is it?

Because you can't have it all ways.

Our next steps will be FOIAs. There is lots of questions and problems. The Secretary of State's Office still has Caritas ties on the CeltiCare corp-- stay tuned.

***UPDATE 2

From the American Life League

"Praise God! After months of tireless effort from American Life League and pro-life heroes in Boston and around the country to expose a potential scandal only days away from becoming a tragic betrayal of Catholicism's unwavering commitment to the dignity of the human person, Cardinal Sean O'Malley has heard our voices and will end the joint venture with abortion-providing Centene Corp!

We profoundly thank Cardinal O'Malley for his courage, leadership and pastoral concern for the health and well-being of those youngest members of his archdiocese. He has set a beautiful example of dedication and charity for those poorest of the poor - the preborn.

Cardinal O'Malley has answered our call and beat the clock as the minutes ticked away until the July 1 launch of the new CeltiCare Health Plan and the Catholic Church's participation in the intrinsic evil of abortion.

Together with the thousands of American Life League supporters whose voices cried out in horror to the Cardinal at the thought of the Archdiocese of Boston supporting and promoting abortion, we congratulate Cardinal O'Malley on his commitment to the Faith - even during this time of severe financial crisis.

It has been American Life League's privilege and honor to work alongside Massachusetts heroes Carol McKinley, C.J. Doyle of Catholic Action League and many other Boston pro-lifers in our effort to bring this potential scandal to light.

Their constant vigilance and unwavering dedication to truth were a clear voice of conscience in Boston and the archdiocese is incredibly blessed to have such soldiers for Christ in their pews.

What happened in Boston will ring out far beyond the potential scandal that could have involved Caritas Christi and thereby the Archdiocese. Cardinal O'Malley's reaffirmation of the Faith, when it would have been all too easy to compromise, is a sign of the vitality of United States Catholics' commitment to human life and personhood.

American Life League and our supporters are humbled to stand alongside Cardinal O'Malley as a sign of contradiction to the culture of death."

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.

Woo-HOO!!

YIPPEE!

Many thanks to our friends from the American Life League - for without their back up, it all would have gone forward. Kudos to all the unsung heroes. You know who you are. You're the cream of the crop.

Caritas Abortion Surprise? Not So Much

American Life League continues its relentless spotlight on Cardinal O'Malley's abortion scandal.

Caritas Christi, a network of Catholic health-care facilities and hospitals, is affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston and is answerable to Cardinal Sean O’Malley. The Archdiocese has been under intense scrutiny since early February regarding a joint venture between Caritas and Centene Corporation. The venture will make financially strapped Caritas eligible for Commonwealth Care funding from the state of Massachusetts.

“The Archdiocese of Boston has another scandal on its hands. They are in danger of participating in state-sponsored abortion,” said Shaun Kenney, executive director of American Life League. “It’s time Cardinal O’Malley put a stop to this travesty.”

The venture, CeltiCare, of which Caritas has a 49 percent interest, has listed abortion and family planning “services” among the benefits included in its health-care coverage.

The plan is set to go into effect July 1.

“This problem at Caritas goes to the very top: We have clearly seen that the majority of the Caritas Board of Governors supports abortion access, so why should we be surprised they’re allowing it in Caritas?” Kenney asked.

Frankly, and I'm sorry to say this, but the Cardinal put them there. During his tenure here, Cardinal O'Malley has not taken any teaching of the Church seriously. He has coddled, appointed those he knows mislead on the teachings of the Church - and therefore, mislead the people.

I'm not saying it is intentional but it is most definitely an indication that he does not care about the teachings of the Church or the people relying upon proper guidance to circumvent moral bankruptcy, like he cares about the money. When it comes to money, he has scrutinized credentials and appointed only people whose portfolios proved they have the right background to direct the finances. There are no poor people with fiduciary duties.

There is no excuse for the Cardinal's appointees.

Boston's Hour of Accountability Draws Near

The bottom line is that NARAL and Planned Parenthood’s involvement is the proverbial straw that has finally broken the camel’s back and thus the Archdiocese of Boston is officially ending the charade. But, as of this moment, neither the word “abortion” nor the abortion cartel’s involvement have been mentioned in a single archdiocesan document or statement. How can that be?


Boston's Hour of Accountability Draws Near


The furor over the July 1 deadline facing Sean Cardinal O’Malley, of the Archdiocese of Boston, has been newsworthy for many weeks. Meanwhile, however, the clock is ticking and the fear is that Caritas Christi’s agreement with CeltiCare will go into effect with nary a whimper from the decision makers at the chancery. That would indeed be a tragedy of no small proportions.

As we said in our statement of this past Friday,

While Catholics and pro-lifers around the country await a definitive statement from the Archdiocese of Boston indicating that it will not participate in or facilitate abortions or other procedures contrary to Catholic teaching, Cardinal O’Malley’s latest statement raises even more questions.

The archdiocese has acknowledged that an agreement has been reached with Celtic Group, Inc. – a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Centene Corporation – for a joint healthcare venture. We know that CeltiCare includes abortion and “family planning services” in its coverage and has promised to continue this policy after July 1.

The archdiocese’s statement also acknowledged that the agreement requires modification. This is a positive step, but certainly not acceptable as a final answer.

What is disconcerting is that Cardinal O’Malley and the Boston archdiocese have thus far failed to clearly explain how abortion and “family planning services” will not occur in Catholic healthcare facilities. The terms of CeltiCare’s contract with the state government specifically require coverage for abortions and other “reproductive health” services. How then could Caritas Christi – which owns 49 percent of the for-profit CeltiCare – justify its involvement and direct connection with this business while adhering to the Catholic Church’s unequivocal teachings on abortion, contraception and sterilization?

Even if patients seeking abortions or contraception will be outsourced to a third-party referral service, this does not remove the archdiocese’s culpability for involvement in procedures that violate the Church’s fundamental moral teachings.

Most concerning of all is the following quote from Mr. Ralph de la Torre, president of Caritas Christi: ‘When a patient seeks such a procedure, Caritas health care professionals will be clear that (a) the hospital does not perform them and (b) the patient must turn to his or her insurance for further guidance’ [emphasis added].

Boston Catholic commentator Carol McKinley responded well to this statement: When the patient “turns to his or her insurance company,” they are “turning” to the “HMO” [of] which the Cardinal and Caritas are co-owners, [CeltiCare]. Therefore, the Cardinal and Caritas are providing these services…

With the exception of removing family planning, abortion, sterilization, embryonic stem cell research and other moral evils covered under the HMO the Cardinal has an ownership interest in, there is no conceivable modification to the arrangement that could ever be in compliance with Catholic moral teaching.

Incrementally separating the Boston archdiocese from committing an abortion or from the provision of contraception, sterilization and other such ‘services’ does not negate the fact that, through this agreement, Catholic hospitals will ultimately be referring mothers to abortion and/or contraception facilities such as Planned Parenthood, if the deal between Caritas Christi and CeltiCare remains as it is now written.

Cardinal O’Malley can stop this today with one word. We beg Cardinal O’Malley and the Boston archdiocese to prevent yet another scandal by providing a clear defense of Catholic moral teaching, rather than a pact driven far more by financial interests than fidelity to the Catholic faith.

Further, McKinley, who is no stranger to controversy or making sure all the facts add up, wrote this last Saturday:


Can a Catholic Cardinal bid on a contract that includes performing abortions, give written assurances they will either perform them or contract with people outside of their network to perform them, create an entity to send the women to the abortionists and take 49% ownership in that entity who then hires subcontractors to perform abortions, hires bilingual phone operators who will give the woman the number of the abortionists they've subcontracted, tell their employees at the hospital to give the number out of their 49% owned corporation?

What level of ownership interest can they take in the set up that would make the arrangement consistent with the Gospel of Life and Catholic theology?

After they have set this all up, can they then submit a revision of a partnership agreement to reduce their interests to 3% ownership in the arrangement?

1% ownership in the arrangement?

After you bid on a contract that compels you to promise to perform abortions and you promise in writing to perform them - what is the structure in a corporation that the Cardinal can claim his arrangement meets compliance with Catholic ethics?

When the Cardinal placed members of NARAL as his Advisory Board Members in his new business venture, what kind of advice to you suppose he is seeking? What are the ramifications of such advice?


McKinley and the majority of those concerned about this grave situation in the Boston archdiocese have asked how, in God’s name, this agreement with the secular corporate structure of CeltiCare could possibly concur with the teachings of the Catholic Church, as set forth in Humanae Vitae and Evangelium Vitae. Try as we might, we cannot find a statement in either encyclical letter that justifies accepting a little bit of evil in exchange for an allegedly greater good. As a matter of fact, Pope John Paul II taught,

The moral conscience, both individual and social, is today subjected, also as a result of the penetrating influence of the media, to an extremely serious and mortal danger: that of confusion between good and evil, precisely in relation to the fundamental right to life.

The condition the Holy Father described is so evident in so many corners of the culture today that we have to ask ourselves if perhaps, in his quest to aid the poor and needy in his archdiocese, the cardinal and his advisors felt pressured into making this deal for altruistic reasons. Perhaps they feel compelled to act without seriously considering the questions we and so many others have raised. While serving the poor is indeed a noble goal, this plan’s consequences are so serious that we have adamantly called for a reexamination of the agreement and dissolution of the contract before July 1.

Phil Lawler, a well-known Catholic commentator and reporter, examined the matter and wrote,

While pro-life activists in Boston have pleaded for Caritas Christi to withdraw from the CeltiCare initiative, abortion advocates have also been watching the situation closely and demanding reassurance that the new state-funded agency will impose no restrictions on access to abortion. The efforts of abortion advocates-- unlike those of pro-life activists-- have been successful. The Boston Globe reported:

Brian Delaney, a spokesman for CeltiCare, said an abortion rights group, NARAL Pro-Choice of Massachusetts, will serve on an advisory group for the health plan but he did not know whether any Catholic groups would be on the panel.

Boston archdiocesan officials have stressed that no abortions will be performed at the hospitals of the Caritas Christi chain. That claim is not in dispute. The question is whether Caritas Christi, through its partnership in CelticCare, will provide-- and perhaps even profit from-- abortions performed at other facilities. CeltiCare advertisements indicate that Planned Parenthood will be enlisted to provide "reproductive services."

The bottom line is that NARAL and Planned Parenthood’s involvement is the proverbial straw that has finally broken the camel’s back and thus the Archdiocese of Boston is officially ending the charade. But, as of this moment, neither the word “abortion” nor the abortion cartel’s involvement have been mentioned in a single archdiocesan document or statement. How can that be?

What is it going to take for the Archdiocese of Boston’s officials to take definitive action? Please keep them in your prayers and continue to communicate your concerns to them. The clock is ticking; the hour is late; the Boston Massacre of 2009 could be just around the corner ...

CONTACT:

Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM, Cap.
Cardinal Archbishop of Boston
Office of the Cardinal
66 Brooks Drive
Braintree, MA 02184-3839
617-782-2544
Judie Brown

American Life League: Clock Ticking in Boston Archdiocese Abortion Scandal

WASHINGTON, June 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Archdiocese of Boston is on track to provide abortion "services" and American Life League is rolling out an aggressive campaign to expose the scandal.

Celticare, the joint venture of archdiocesan Caritas Christi Health Care network and Centene Corp., will join Massachusetts' subsidized health program effective July 1.

Celticare lists abortion, family planning and "reproductive services" on their Web site. Centene and Caritas Christi both said they would ensure access to all services required by the Massachusetts Connector Authority, including "confidential family planning services."

"We will not allow this scandal to go unnoticed," said Judie Brown, president of American Life League. "The Catholic Church in Boston is set to become a partner in the abortion industry."

Catholic Action League of Massachusetts reports new information on abortion services on Celticare's Web site is "final and conclusive proof" Caritas Christi will participate in abortions.

While the Archdiocese of Boston continues to assert that the matter is under review, Centene Corp. has and continues to state the current plan will become effective July 1.

"Cardinal O'Malley must realize this situation requires his immediate and definitive action," Brown said. "The Cardinal must not permit this scandal to continue. It would be tragic for yet another debacle, caused by misinformation, contradictory statements and shameful cover-ups to besmirch the reputation of the Archdiocese of Boston."

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.

American Life League Coverage

Judie Brown at the American Life League has been fearlessly posting over the last several days about the Caritas abortion referrals.

PANDORA’S BOX HAS NOTHING ON CARITAS CHRISTI

The facts about this “Commonwealth Plan” are disturbing on a very basic level. The Massachusetts Commonwealth Care plan is the very type of "universal health-care insurance" that President Barack Obama wants to impose on the rest of the country. Indeed, proponents of national health-care insurance always point to the Massachusetts program as a model of a successful plan.

Second, in order to be an approved health-care provider eligible for payment under the Massachusetts plan, the law requires that the hospital must provide the full range of “reproductive services," such as abortion, sterilization, contraception and counseling that recommends such services. All of these things are directly contrary to the teaching of the Church. This is what we have to look forward to from Obama's proposed national plan.

Furthermore, Caritas Christi cannot participate in the approved plan without agreeing to provide the mandatory “reproductive health services” that are in direct violation to Catholic teaching.

In order to avoid the direct provision of immoral services, CC has entered into a partnership with Centene, under which Centene will do all the dirty work and CC will claim that it is not doing anything contrary to the teaching of the Church. While this might sound like a little bit of compromise for the sake of the common good, it is no such thing! Cooperation with evil is not a part of Catholic teaching. It never has been and it never will be.

As a matter of fact, in Massachusetts law, Caritas must provide counseling that includes immoral "reproductive services" and must arrange for patients to receive those immoral services from Centene, even to the point of transporting patients to abortion facilities. Both Caritas and Massachusetts regulators have publicly confirmed this fact as Massachusetts Citizens for Life pointed out.

Furthermore, it is indisputable that, even if Caritas Christi itself does not perform any immoral services, its partnership with Centene means that CC will be profiting from the immoral services rendered by Centene. One can easily come to the conclusion that the entire partnership deal with Centene is driven solely and exclusively by financial motives.

This certainly begs the question, how could a Catholic entity such as Caritas Christi become embroiled in such a fiasco? How many evils will a Catholic health care provider accept as part of a deal that most assuredly was made in Hell?



CARITAS CHRISTI’S DEAL WITH THE DEVIL – II

CJ Doyle quote:

• In response to an inquiry from the Catholic Action League, Brian Delaney, Director of Communications for CeltiCare, stated on May 11 that, “CeltiCare’s program has been approved by the Massachusetts Connector Authority. Under the contract, CeltiCare will be operational July 1, 2009, and will meet all the [s]tate’s requirements under the Commonwealth Care program, including providing family planning services as appropriate.” Assertions to the contrary by Cardinal O’Malley notwithstanding, this is the third time since February 26 that a representative of the Caritas/Centene partnership has affirmed that the Commonwealth Care contract will include abortion and contraception.

As we mentioned yesterday, American Life League is well aware of the healthcare plans being orchestrated by the Obama administration. We are equally aware of President Barack Obama’s track record of using Catholics to his advantage and their willingness, for whatever reason, to be used. Obama’s relatively short history of appointments of totally pro-abortion Catholics, the Notre Dame scandal and other such events lead us to suspect that if the Archdiocese of Boston remains silent and does not demand immediate dissolution of the “joint venture” agreement, the death knell for genuine Catholic health care will have been sounded.

The evil that has gone unaddressed by Cardinal O’Malley, and persists in the context of unanswered questions and the absence of policies based on Catholic doctrine, is scripted by the devil himself. Of that there is no doubt. American Life League cannot be silent while such a dastardly plan moves forward with nary a whimper.

I somehow had missed the highlighted citation from CJ Doyle's last press release. The deception of the Cardinal, Chancery officials is breathtaking.

Do visit ALL and continue to spread the word, forward it to your priests, Bishops, forward it to the Nuncio, Rome, encourage intervention as though children's lives depended upon it. Because they do.