Catholic Health Care Demise

Judie Brown of the American Life League has a fabulous posts up about the demise of the ability of Catholic Health Care.

Judie references several disturbing situations across the nation that are worthy of your time and attention.

Most important to Boston Catholics is her reference to the current situation in the Archdiocese of Boston:

The problematic nature of such agreements, arrangements and alliances is not by any means limited to Illinois and California. It is a nationwide epidemic, rooted in the age-old dilemma of choosing between God and money. This becomes very clear when revisiting the complexities of the Boston archdiocese’s Caritas Christi mess. You may recall that American Life League was quick to commend Cardinal Sean O’Malley when the archdiocese made this announcement on June 26:

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.

But, within days, we received a telephone call informing us that the agreement had actually not been cancelled. Carol McKinley reported this on her blog, which has thus far not been refuted: “Nobody (including other bishops and cardinals) is able to get details out of the cardinal about what it is he has approved. I think our Catholic pro-life force deserves to know what the actual arrangement is.”

But we do have an inkling when we consider the statement Cardinal O’Malley made, as quoted in the Boston Globe: “By withdrawing from the joint venture and serving the poor as a provider... upholding Catholic moral teaching at all times, they are able to carry forward the critical mission of Catholic health care.’’ The newspaper’s analysis: “Because Caritas will no longer be a joint owner of the insurance venture, the archdiocese is hoping that there will no longer be any question that Caritas will not financially profit from abortions, sterilizations, or other services provided by non-Catholic hospitals.”

A Caritas spokeswoman told the Globe, “This is the right way to move the distraction of the debate of ownership and allow us to be a provider.’’ Here is noted Catholic commentator Phil Lawler’s response: “A debate over involvement in killing unborn babies is a ‘distraction’ from the business of saving lives. A debate over mutilating people to make them infertile is a ‘distraction’ from the distinctive mission of Catholic health care.”

So we are left to wonder if all this means is that Caritas Christi is no longer a an official business partner of abortion providers, but still connected with them in some way. Does it mean that Catholic hospitals will continue to refer for abortion, use the morning-after pill to treat rape victims and so forth? Nobody knows!

More revelations about the Cardinal's misconduct is coming in the next several weeks.

Boston Catholics are not letting go - so stay tuned.

Spread the word

I posted this on What's Wrong with the World and I wanted to cross post it here - as there is a lot of confusion over what our current objections relate to.

Lydia asked whether the protocol of Catholics in Catholic Hospitals responding to a woman seeking an abortion by saying "we don't do those here so call your insurance company and they'll help you with that" is objectionable. Many others have asked about this - and also have asked the distinctions between the Caritas situation and hospitals caring for people who have Blue Cross Blue Shield.

I think it's important to get the material response to these inquiries more widely distributed.


First, in general, when a woman expresses to her primary care physician in a Catholic facility that she would like to terminate the pregnancy - no, Catholic physicians in Catholic hospitals do NOT respond to them by saying we don't do those here but call your insurance company and they'll give you the number of somebody who'll take care of that for you.

There is an indelible moral code that prevents Catholics from responding in such a ridiculous way. Imagine how ludicrous a similar response would be if a patient visiting a Caritas facility in Nevada told his primary care he felt the lack of a sexual relationship in his life was causing him physical ailments and emotional problems and does the hospital have a brothel to relieve the symptoms.

Catholic hospitals respond to a woman by counseling her with alternatives to abortion and referring her to life-supporting apostolates. If a patient is counseled compassionately and righteously and she still says I'm getting an abortion - after all counseling has been exhausted - of course at that point, a Catholic is relieved of the duty and it would be allowable to say, "I'm sorry, we have no information here about abortions. You'll have to contact your insurance company".

It's clear that Caritas has been violating ethics for a long time. It is incumbent upon the prolife community to change this policy and we are determined to make those changes happen.


With respect to the Caritas situation, let's be clear about our remaining concerns.

We don't object to Catholic hospitals being providers to Blue Cross or Commonwealth Care patients.

The difference here is Blue Cross did not force Caritas to give them written assurances to provide abortions or find somebody to provide abortions and shuffle women to those abortionists. The situation didn't compel them to find a partner to infuse cash into a new corporation to make contracts with abortionists and hire people to answer the phones, put NARAL as the Advisory Board to police it. There is no signed contract in play between Caritas and Blue Cross with these stipulations.

The ownership interest Caritas took in the partnership was not the primary ethical flaw. The primary ethical flaw was bidding on the contract in the first place, setting up all the contracts and people to carry out the abortions and promising to send the women to them as the first line response to a woman asking for an abortion. With this kind of an arrangement, there is an inherent willful omission.

Just because Caritas pulled out their ownership interest, the contract and all it's obligations didnt go away, neither did the corporation Caritas brought in to carry out all the moral evils so they could win the contract. Further, Caritas remains in this dynamic as the primary care physicians.

We do not know whether Caritas, the Commonwealth and Celticare have agreed to carry out those stipulations in the new arrangement. On the face of the statements being made, in fact, it appears the promises are being carried forward. We do not know if our Catholic healthcare workers are going to be burdened in this arrangement because we have no information whatsoever on what the arrangement is.

This is insufficient.

If we are not bound to the stipulations of the original contract in this new arrangement between all the parties, then the Cardinal and Caritas need to disclose those details and give us the proof - along with the opinion of the National Catholic Bioethics Center. That is the current state of affairs. But, there is more secrecy.

I also believe we have an ancillary conundrum that revealed itself when Catholics reported the ethical flaws and the dangers of the situation. The use of the media, apostolates and media sources to willfully create confusion and stall judgments, obfuscation - and discrediting and maligning people who are reporting factual information.

You see, I find it almost impossible to believe that several hundred thousand prolifers could identify the primary ethical flaw in the situation in the first five minutes - and Dr. John Haas and Fr. Tad from the National Catholic Bioethics Center were unable to detect the primary ethical flaw after four months of intense scrutiny of the arrangement. I also find it impossible to believe the NCBC neglected to report this primary ethical flaw to the Cardinal.

There was a lot of flapping of wings on a Friday night press release and they got out of Dodge on a 7:30 flight with the Cardinal blowing kisses - but after the victory party we woke up Saturday morning realizing Catholics in Boston actually don't know their findings.

If they did report it, it's critical to know, because it adds to the index of the willful deceptions going on up at the Chancery. And, willful deception is not something the people of Boston want to tolerate - for reasons I don't think any of us need to catalog.

Therefore, we have come to a place where we now, instead of getting quotes about the Cardinals thoughts and then getting quotes from prolife activists without releasing the material substance of the agreements to examine so we can all make a judgment in the matter, is upon us.

By the way - Anne Fox now appears to realize the Cardinal may be pulling the wool over everyone's eyes.

food for thought

Let's be clear about our remaining concerns.

We don't object that Catholic hospitals be providers to Blue Cross or Commonwealth Care patients.

The difference here is Blue Cross did not force Caritas to give them written assurances to provide abortions or find somebody to provide abortions and shuffle women to those abortionists. There is no signed contract in play between Caritas and Blue Cross with these stipulations.

We do not know whether Caritas, the Commonwealth and Celticare have agreed to carry out those stipulations in the new arrangement.

Are we free to practice medicine by offering patients alternatives to abortion and referrals to prolife apostolates?

In the course of this dust up, we found out our Catholic Hospitals are not practicing their faith in the execution of their medical practices as matters of general policy. This has to change.

If we are not bound to the stipulations of the original contract in this new arrangement between all the parties, then the Cardinal and Caritas need to disclose those details and give us the proof - along with the opinion of the National Catholic Bioethics Center.

Food for thought from prolifer John O'Gorman

Berlin 1941 – Boston 2009

Imagine a six hospital group affiliated with a German Catholic archdiocese offered, under a new health plan, government-subsidized train trips from smoky cities for resettlement in the East. The hospitals had a 49% share in this new 1941 health plan - with the blessing of the cardinal. Hospital staff will direct people to the train, and if necessary, provide transportation to the station – but will have no control over later treatments.



Citizens, concerned for the lives of the travelers, insisted the cardinal pull out of the agreement. He initially dismissed the complaints, but consulted his ethical advisers. After months of outcry the cardinal instructed the archdiocese to relinquish its 49% shareholding. The new health plan started up, and the six Catholic hospitals referred many people to it for resettlement in the East.



Is there anyone out there who hasn't yet figured out Cardinal O’Malley’s scheme with Caritas Christi/CeltiCare for abortion referral to three Planned Parenthood locations in Massachusetts?



Source: http://www.celticarehealthplan.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/familyplanninglist_05-21-09.pdf



Source: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-center/findCenter.asp





Yours Faithfully,

John O’Gorman

Michael Paulson has a collection of responses on the Caritas situation

Mixed Reaction to Caritas Abortion Decision

A few excerpts:

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts called Caritas's withdrawal from the joint venture a "partial victory,'' saying that "any continued participation by Caritas Christi in Commonwealth Care would obligate Caritas, directly or indirectly, to make abortion referrals." The statement continued:

"Caritas Christi has indicated that a woman seeking an abortion at a Caritas hospital will be sent back to her insurer. For Commonwealth Care members that insurer will be CeltiCare, which will not only procure the abortion but will provide transportation to the abortion facility. Instead of offering compassionate alternatives to abortion, Caritas Christi will still be engaged in a two-step abortion referral. Troubling questions also remain about whether Caritas has already benefited financially from this contract, and whether it continues to have an ongoing relationship with the Centene Corporation."

And Carol McKinley, a cyberactivist who has been quite critical of the archdiocese, blogged:

"Because the Cardinal and Caritas deliberately misrepresented what was happening in the arrangement until they actually got caught on the CeltiCare website with links to the abortionists they hired and their spokesperson admitted to NARAL being the Advisory Board for CeltiCare and that they had hired phone operators to answer the calls when they referred the women back to themselves to carry out and pay for the abortions, the overall consensus is disgust and a complete lack of trust that they are being forthright now about a situation they have been lying about all along."

What would these activists have Caritas do? The Lady in the Pew (Kelly Thatcher) blogs that if a woman named Judy calls and asks for an abortion:

"What I'm supposed to do is (a) help Judy find an alternative to abortion or (b) refer her to one of the many people and/or organizations who are very good at doing just that. Duh! One good thing, though. Until this whole issue came up, I never realized that so-called Catholic hospitals in the Archdiocese of Boston did the old Pontius Pilate number with abortion/contraception seekers. Now I do."

Harsh language, but Thatcher is not alone. Here is Diogenes, blogging for Catholic World News:

"So it appears that Caritas Christi, the health-care agency of the Boston archdiocese, won't be involved in the abortion business after all. Thank God for that. The announcement was obviously timed (after business hours on a Friday afternoon) for minimal media exposure, and offered no details about the new arrangement. A few questions linger. Among those questions: How did a Catholic agency get involved with this proposal in the first place? Do the people at the helm of Caritas Christi understand the purpose of health-care system with a Catholic identity? A spokeswoman for Caritas Christi told the Boston Globe: 'This is the right way to move the distraction of the debate of ownership and allow us to be a provider.' The distraction. A debate over involvement in killing unborn babies is a 'distraction' from the business of saving lives. A debate over mutilating people to make them infertile is a 'distraction' from the distinctive mission of Catholic health care."

I'm not sure it should be surprising that Catholics would consider the sole response to a woman with an unexpected pregnancy to give her a referral to pregnancy support apostolates.

Would you expect Catholics to say we don't have prostitution services here but if you call Centene they'll give you the number of Madame Fluzy's Brothel?

We don't distribute marijuana here but here's a complimentary crack pipe with CeltiCare's phone number on it?

You don't start out with a moral imperative and then end the sentence with a paradoxical shift.

Thou shalt not kill, here's the number of somebody who does.

If there ever was proof John Paul II knew how to kick this thing in the teeth - here it is:

Meanwhile, a postscript from Caritas, which is arguing that it could benefit from the withdrawal because it will make reimbursements for patient treatment easier, especially since the state decided to slow enrollment in the program. An e-mail from Caritas spokeswoman Teresa Prego:

"The dramatic reduction of new potential enrollees in the Connector plan due to the sudden elimination of auto-enrollments presented a substantial financial risk due to our involvement in the insurance partnership. We faced additional risk based on the fact we had made investments in physicians and support staff to handle the additional patients from the Connector. Our decision to withdraw from the insurance partnership allows us to mitigate our risk."

It's money you're after, is it? Well, the fix is in.

How edifying.

As we all learned years ago, one doesn't bother wasting one's time in the fruitless exercise of appealing to their consciences. When it comes to the welfare of children, you better a bag full of other tricks.

Catholic Action League on the Caritas Withdrawal

NEWS RELEASE

SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE

(781) 251-9739

CARITAS CHRISTI WITHDRAWS FROM CELTICARE



The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today welcomed the news that Caritas Christi Health Care --- the network of six Catholic hospitals affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston --- has withdrawn, under Archdiocesan pressure, from the HMO CeltiCare, which it co-founded and co-owned with the Centene Corporation. CeltiCare was established in May to administer a state funded Commonwealth Care health insurance contract, scheduled to start on July 1, which includes abortion coverage. It was the Catholic Action League which revealed on June 8 that CeltiCare advertised abortion as part of its health plans and listed Planned Parenthood as a reproductive services provider.



The Catholic Action League called the decision by Caritas to withdraw from CeltiCare “an 11th hour, but only partial victory, for the thousands of pro-life Catholics who have spent the last four months bombarding the Archdiocese of Boston with letters, petitions, phone calls and e-mails. The League warned however, that any continued participation by Caritas Christi in Commonwealth Care would obligate Caritas, directly or indirectly, to make abortion referrals.



Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: “Caritas Christi has indicated that a woman seeking an abortion at a Caritas hospital will be sent back to her insurer. For Commonwealth Care members that insurer will be CeltiCare, which will not only procure the abortion but will provide transportation to the abortion facility. Instead of offering compassionate alternatives to abortion, Caritas Christi will still be engaged in a two-step abortion referral. Troubling questions also remain about whether Caritas has already benefited financially from this contract, and whether it continues to have an ongoing relationship with the Centene Corporation.”



“Other questions are still unanswered. It has been publicly known since the 27th of February that this contract entailed participation in state subsidized abortions. The Caritas Christi Board of Governors, which includes an Archdiocesan Cabinet Secretary, has presumably known this since the end of 2008. Why did Caritas, with Archdiocesan support, seek to secure and eventually sign a contract which they knew to be morally problematic? Why did Cardinal O'Malley castigate the now vindicated critics of the contract as doing ‘a great disservice to the Catholic Church’? Why did it take the Archdiocese six months (just five days before the start-up date) to begin to disengage?”



“Caritas withdrew from CeltiCare because it became a toxic public relations liability for the Archdiocese, provoking a firestorm of pro-life opposition throughout the country. If Caritas is to remain faithful to Catholic moral principles is must withdraw however, not only from CeltiCare but from the entire Commonwealth Care contract."

Does Cardinal O'Malley Outsource his Conscience?

This is one of my larger questions.

From NECN

NECN) - Caritas Christi Health Care has announced an end to its joint ownership with CeltiCare, a healthcare group that permits abortions.

The last-minute decision comes at the insistence of Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley.

Citing Catholic moral teaching, the Cardinal said this will allow Caritas to expand services for the poor and uninsured.

The announcement follows several weeks of consultation with the national catholic bio-ethics center.

CJ Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, does not think Caritas went far enough.

"I'm not sure why the cardinal has to outsource his conscience to a bureaucracy in Philadelphia. I think the facts in this case had been very very clear. This contract requires abortion coverage and no Catholic institution should have been involved in it," Doyle said. "And not to be unkind or uncharitable, but one wonders at this last minute decision by the Diocese, whether this is a result of fidelity to Catholic teaching or simply the fact that CeltiCare had become a toxic public relations liability."

Caritas was founded by the Archdiocese of Boston. Coverage will not change for health plan participants.

The Phone is off the hook at the Archdiocese

We have plenty of Monday Morning Questions for the Quarterbacks

In taking an inventory of what it's like on the ground in the prolife community here in Boston, I would describe it as hopeful that the Cardinal can be taken at his word about the new arrangement. However, because the Cardinal and Caritas deliberately misrepresented what was happening in the arrangement until they actually got caught on the CeltiCare website with links to the abortionists they hired and their spokesperson admitted to NARAL being the Advisory Board for CeltiCare and that they had hired phone operators to answer the calls when they referred the women back to themselves to carry out and pay for the abortions, the overall consensus is disgust and a complete lack of trust that they are being forthright now about a situation they have been lying about all along.

I think a situation that uses the network of hospitals as a list of providers covered by the insurance plan could potentially allow prolife physicians to practice without violating their conscience. If we can trust the arrangement to be what they are trying to make it out to be on its face, it also opens the door for the poor to receive ethical and moral healthcare. It's a win/win situation that is very hopeful.

What we don't know is whether Caritas has withdrawn their promises and assurances they made to the Commonwealth to provide immoral services to the poor. It seems to me that while the corporation they created to take an ownership interest in the abortion arrangements has been stomped out, we don't know if the original contract that was awarded to Caritas is still in effect. We don't know if this is the same contract or similar contract with the same assurances, only they are now promising to send women forward to CeltiCare -- and NARAL is policing and monitoring this arrangement.

If this is the case they've rearranged the chairs on the Titanic.

After the secrecy and lies that have tainted this arrangement, we all believe it is critical to get our hands on the contract and the recommendation from the National Catholic Bioethics Center.

from the Globe article...

On the other side of the abortion debate, Andrea Miller, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, said that she had been concerned about Caritas’s involvement in the joint venture because of the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion, but that she remains concerned about whether Caritas’s role as a provider will make it more difficult for poor people to get services opposed by the church but supported by NARAL.

“The questions remains: Will the involvement of Caritas Christi health providers negatively affect women’s ability to get timely access to reproductive services, including birth control?’’ Miller said.

“We will continue to monitor the involvement of Caritas providers in any of the Commonwealth Care plans and hope that the [state regulators] will continue due diligence to ensure that referrals and services are provided in a manner that does not delay or deny access to reproductive health services.’’

Washington Post

O'Malley has been criticized for allowing Caritas Christi Health Care to partner with Centene Corp., which covers abortion services.

With the decision, Caritas will still provide health care to patients, including those covered by Centene - though it won't provide services that violate Catholic teachings.

WBUR

“By withdrawing from the joint venture and serving the poor as a provider in the Connector, upholding Catholic moral teaching at all times, (Caritas Christi is) able to carry forward the critical mission of Catholic health care,” Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley said in a statement.

The insurance plan, CeltiCare, will go ahead and enroll new members. Those members will be able to use Caritas hospitals."

“By withdrawing from the joint venture and serving the poor as a provider in the Connector, upholding Catholic moral teaching at all times, (Caritas Christi is) able to carry forward the critical mission of Catholic health care,” Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley said in a statement.

The insurance plan, CeltiCare, will go ahead and enroll new members. Those members will be able to use Caritas hospitals.

Most anti-abortion advocates hailed the eleventh-hour change, but some were skeptical of the move and said the Archdiocese still had to answer some questions.

“It appears that the reaction of the Archdiocese has less to do with fidelity to Catholic teaching and more to do with the fact that CeltiCare had become a toxic public relations for them,” C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts said.

However, Doyle said there are still a lot of unanswered questions about the arrangement, like whether or not the Archdiocese received any financial benefit from the deal before it backed out. He said the Catholic Action League is planning to submit a Freedom of Information Act request to get that information.

The Archdiocese did not return calls for comment.

Prolife Community Calls for Representation at a Table of Transparency

The prolife community wants to examine the deal more carefully as there are statements of record that raise concerns and is also calling for representation at a new table of transparency in this arrangement.

A lot happened under the radar to bring about this end and we still have some goals to accomplish in the post-mortem of this scandal.

There is definite reasons for optimism. If the representations made by Caritas and the Cardinal are accurate - Catholics have conscience protections they did not have yesterday and we have the abilities to tweak the dynamics of what happens to a woman asking about pregnancy, to our satisfaction.

However...

I'm going to continue to pursue communications between Caritas and the Commonwealth with the Freedom of Information Act and I believe we must push to send a prolife delegation at a new table of transparency.

Cataloging the conduct of all the characters in this debacle and putting those complaints formally on the record is critical as I believe the intentional deceptions and other behaviors reveal a very serious situation in Boston that has got to be uprooted. Something stinks up at the Chancery and until we get to the bottom of the rotting flesh guiding the discretion of the Cardinal - I'm actually not satisfied on the whole.

With respect to the Caritas debacle as today's article in the Boston Globe is more clear in revealing, in trying to balance the teachings of the Church with money concerns the Cardinal took "an interest" in servicing the poor with abortions and sterilizations and other moral evils by creating an insurance company to carry them out and pay for them. Both the Cardinal and Mr. de la Torre repeatedly stated that this arrangement was absolutely the same policy they have always had in their commitments to the sanctity of life.

As one commenter put it on the Boston.com website: Until I read this article, I hadn't understood that Caritas was thinking of getting into the *insurance* business...*now* I get what the fuss was about.

There was willful deception. That is a problem that isn't going away - even if this deal is on the up and up. I digress.

The archdiocese said that O’Malley sought the withdrawal after weeks of consultation with the National Catholic Bioethics Center, a church-related think tank, following harsh criticism by antiabortion groups for not blocking the Caritas venture. O’Malley is a long-time and staunch opponent of abortion, but also has an interest in serving the poor and protecting the viability of Catholic hospitals. The controversy over the Caritas-Centene venture reflects the tension inherent in balancing those concerns in the heavily regulated healthcare industry.

This balancing act reveals a fatal flaw in the discretion of the administration that demands follow-up with Church officials. Forgive me, but we can't just walk away from the reality that this balancing act is that of J Bryan Hehir, who lacks the fidelity and discretion necessary to be the Cardinal's representative on anything. There is an unknown about not only these arrangements but, what other arrangements are going on in this balancing act that are dangerous to poor, people and the deposit of faith?

Further, with respect to abortion referrals, I'm actually still unclear about exactly what is going on inside of our Catholic hospitals when a woman comes in and asks about abortions.

In keeping with the ethical directives that bind Catholic hospitals, Caritas facilities will continue the practice of not providing abortion or sterilizations. Caritas refers privately insured patients who seek such services to their insurance providers and will do the same with state-insured patients who seek treatment via Commonwealth Care.

Four months ago, Caritas had announced plans with Centene to create a new company, now named CeltiCare, to provide health insurance to thousands of low-income Massachusetts residents under Commonwealth Care. Until Caritas withdrew yesterday, CeltiCare was 49 percent owned by the Catholic hospital system, and 51 percent owned by a Centene subsidiary.

Because Caritas will no longer be a joint owner of the insurance venture, the archdiocese is hoping that there will no longer be any question that Caritas will not financially profit from abortions, sterilizations, or other services provided by non-Catholic hospitals.

That remains questionable. We have more questions. What are the arrangements, what is the deal, who is involved, what money is changing hands and what happens to the women and children?

It absolutely incumbent upon the prolife community to find out what exactly is happening to women when they come into a Catholic hospital and asks about abortions historically, and going forward. According to Mr. de la Torre, it appears that instead of taking proactive steps to guide the discretion and giving them referrals to the many apostolates and missions that will support the mother and the life of the child, procedurally - women are referred back to the insurance companies.

We've got to change those policies and procedures.

In keeping with the ethical directives that bind Catholic hospitals, Caritas facilities will continue the practice of not providing abortion or sterilizations. Caritas refers privately insured patients who seek such services to their insurance providers and will do the same with state-insured patients who seek treatment via Commonwealth Care.

Not good enough. We want new policies in place - we want them referred to prolife apostolates.

The below is a yellow flag:

“Caritas Christi will continue to participate as a key part of the CeltiCare provider network,’’ said Richard Lynch, chief executive of CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts. “The arrangement in no way affects the operations of CeltiCare Health, and we look forward to delivering quality healthcare services to our members starting on July 1.’’

Caritas spokeswoman Teresa Prego declined to say what the financial impact of the development would be.

But she said that Caritas would benefit financially by being an official provider of health services to patients in the Commonwealth Care program.

“It simplifies the process for payment now and ensures that we are paid for the procedures performed in our facility,’’ she said.

And Prego said of the decision to end the joint venture, “This is the right way to move the distraction of the debate of ownership and allow us to be a provider.’’

Is this a paper shuffle?

When will the official recommendation from the National Catholic Bioethics Center be released and published?

We want to see the deal.

Those inclined - please give thanks to that recognizable fellow above wearing the hat.

In addition to the American Life League --John O'Gorman, Father Tom DiLorenzo, Phil Lawler - any many unsung heroes all worked hard under the radar.
More later...

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.

American Life League Promises Investigation of Caritas Christi

When Cardinal O'Malley's abortion business gets rolling on July 1st, the American Life League is promising to keep the pressure on with an investigation.

American Life League executive director Shaun Kenney announced a new campaign to investigate whether young mothers will be referred for abortions by Caritas Christi, the Boston Archdiocese-affiliated healthcare provider, after its joint venture with CeltiCare goes into effect July 1.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081105/DC44231LOGO )

"Caritas Christi and the Archdiocese of Boston have given reassurances that no Catholic hospitals will make abortion referrals," stated Kenney. "After July 1, we will put that guarantee to the test."

Organizations such as Live Action Films and other pro-life organizations have successfully exposed unsafe and illegal healthcare practices at abortion facilities all over the United States. Such practices include covering up child rape, committing abortions on minors without the required parental consent or notification and intentionally altering legal forms in order to commit abortions.

If Archdiocese-affiliated Caritas Christi is indeed making referrals for -- or participating in -- activities incompatible with its Catholic identity, the financially-strapped healthcare system could set a dangerous new precedent for Catholic institutions around the country.

"American Life League and its associates will not be satisfied with a policy that provides degrees of separation between the mother and an abortion business," said Kenney. "Catholics within the Archdiocese of Boston should be told the truth."

Under Cardinal Sean O'Malley's leadership, Caritas Christi and the Archdiocese of Boston have been under intense scrutiny due to the abortion scandal that has rocked the Catholic and pro-life communities in Massachusetts and beyond over the past two months.

"Catholic hospitals have a worldwide reputation as places of mercy," said Kenney. "Abortion is no mercy. Our Catholic hospitals and institutions should be doing everything possible to safeguard our mothers and children from the horrors of abortion, not seeking new ways to turn a blind eye toward an ever-increasing social problem.

"This scandal will not go away quietly so long as mothers and their babies are threatened by abortion through a supposedly Catholic healthcare system," stated Kenney. "Either our Catholic hospitals live up to our Catholic identity and protect every human being -- born and preborn -- or we compromise our principles and turn a blind eye for the sake of state and federal funding. Mothers and their babies deserve much better, and we will do everything we can to ensure this is the case.

"American Life League and millions of pro-lifers continue to call on Cardinal Sean O'Malley to carefully review the agreement and stop Caritas Christi's closed-door deal with the Massachusetts CeltiCare program," said Kenney.

The investigation is slated to begin on July 1 and run throughout the remainder of 2009.

As for my part, I will begin three crusades - one will be a grassroots parish-to-parish (hand-to-hand) campaign to unravel the Cardinal's deliberate and willful dishonesty - another campaign to make case nationally and internationally, within our Church structures to demonstrate that having a dishonest Cardinal is proof positive that whatever has been said about the safety of children from pedophiles is unreliable - and a third campaign will hit them where it hurts, pressuring the people with the money to withhold donations.

It is critical to expose that the systemic flaw of circling to protect a Bishop even when he is guilty and lying about the hand he is playing in salacious crimes against children, is still very much in place in the Catholic Church. From the pews, across the Conference of Bishops and all the way up the ranks to the Vatican. We cannot rely upon honesty, diligence in reviewing allegations and acting upon them. The system does not exist.

Stay tuned.

One Only Wishes One Had a Tomato

For several months, Boston Catholics have been on a tour of Malebolge.

Malebolge, is the eighth circle of hell in Dante's Inferno, reserved for frauds and deceivers. It's comprised of ten ditches that are divided to inflict punishments according to the severity of the sin. The ditches run the gambit from the run of the mill seducers and panderers to the most severe, people who con other people through lies. Those who try to pass off false things as real things. We've spent a great deal of time, in particular, in bolgias (ditches) three and eight.

Bolgia Three: Simonists (sinners guilty of selling church offices for personal gain) are punished here. They are turned upside down in large baptismal fonts cut into the rock, with their feet set ablaze by oily fires. The heat of the flames burns according to the guilt of the sinner.

Bolgia Eight: In this trench, the souls of Deceivers who gave false or corrupted advice to others for personal benefit are punished. They are constantly ablaze, appearing as nothing so much as living, speaking tongues of flame.

In this week's National Catholic Register Article updating the scandal, Cardinal O'Malley's abortion contract architect, J. Byran Hehir, has tipped the hand on "who" has been guiding the "opinion" of the National Catholic Bioethics Center and I fancy, the "conclusion" of that "opinion".

ed elli avea del cul fatto trombetta (and of his ass he had made a trumpet 21.139)

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.”

The article summarizes the various reactions of Catholics to "the first part" with CJ Doyle's unraveling of the falsehoods inherent in the "solutions" ~ Caritas has cloaked itself with a new name (CeltiCare),has lined up abortionists, hired bilingual phone operators to man the phone lines 24/7 to hand out the numbers of their abortionists and with the hundreds of millions of dollars that will flow through their bank accounts, they are even going to pay for the abortions. They are claiming to be virtuous in this arrangement because they are not going to "mark up" the services, add extra fees to the abortions, like they do other services and medications.

Some pro-life activists continued to be skeptical, especially in reaction to the other part of the joint statement, contributed by Dr. Ralph de la Torre, president of Caritas Christi. When a patient seeks an abortion, de la Torre said, “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 insurer for further guidance.”

“The cardinal’s statement is contradicted by that of Dr. de la Torre,” said C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League in Roslindale, Mass. “In sending a patient seeking an abortion back to her insurer, Caritas will be sending Commonwealth Care members to the Caritas/Centene partnership, which will not only procure the abortion, but lists Planned Parenthood as a reproductive services provider.”

Perhaps Fr. Tad's comments have been taken out of context, but they too certainly appear as if the charade of doing abortions under a different name is going to be sanctified, even by him:

Asked to comment on the wisdom of mergers in general, Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, director of education for the bioethics center, advised: “Such mergers can be pursued as long as the Catholic health-care provider is clear about the meaning of its Catholic identity and remains intent on upholding that identity in all the negotiations and arrangements leading to the merger and subsequent to its realization.

“This means that the Catholic institution (and the merged institution later) will be bound by the provisions of the ‘Ethical and Religious Directives,’” he said. “The possibility of scandal must be meticulously avoided.”

Fabricating and twisting the teachings of the Church to make it all appear as if the Caritas abortion business arrangement is a "meticulous" avoidance of scandal? (In fairness to Fr. Tad, he's simpy giving general guidance - but unless the NCBC's opinion states that Caritas must exit from the entire contract, one has to assume that however Caritas/CeltiCare is restructured is their idea of a "meticulous avoidance of scandal")

This isn't going to fly in Christendom.

For those acutely aware of the people who will die in the performance of the contract the Cardinal is blessing, the souls conned and baited into hell - the scandal train left the station four months ago.

Meanwhile, the Bishops, not a peep from any of them on this scandal, have assembled in a bunker in Texas.


I'm reminded of a piece Fr. Wilson wrote about six years ago -


I watched Bishop Wilton Gregory catechizing that press conference about the National Review Board’s sexual abuse report and how it’s about "the children, the children, the children," whereas it is really about the bishops, the bishops, the bishops. This episcopate will never do anything but spin the problems; won’t ever settle down to address the hard work of renewal.

Watching the bishops’ conference in action is like viewing the film of a train wreck over and over again. With bright-colored clowns hanging out the train windows, waving and blowing kisses. One only wishes one had a tomato.

Two updates today

Kim Morris who runs the the Affordable Health Insurance Blog put up a link in my comments section:

A discussion of Massachusetts insurance law, which is really the underlying cause of the dispute, is omitted from this article. MedSave.com has received a number of inquiries on this issue that are addressed at http://medsave.com/healthinsurance/?p=363

Massachusetts Celticare protest triggers OnlineAdviser response

This week’s unique news events in Massachusetts put us in the unexpected position of explaining a few basic facts about Celticare, Celtic Insurance. and our role as an enrollment adviser for these health plans:

* Celtic Life Insurance Company is a private insurance company offering individual health insurance in most states throughout the U.S.
* The most popular and widely known brand name for Celtic Insurance is “Celticare”.
* OnlineAdviser supports Celtic Insurance enrollments through www.celticenrollment.com
* Massachusetts has a highly regulated health insurance market and is the only state that requires residents to purchase health insurance.
* Currently Celtic Insurance is not available in Massachusetts.
* A Massachusetts-based health plan administrator made arrangements to offer a Celticare health plan withing that state effective July 1, 2009. We covered this new insurance introduction in a blog post last month.
* Some health plans, including those in the state of Massachusetts, cover abortion as a medical procedure under some certain circumstances.
* The circumstances under which abortions would be a covered procedure are determined by state law and professional medical standards.
* Most individual health insurance policies (especially the low cost policies at MedSave.com and Celticenrollment.com) do not cover abortion, except as required by law.
* An insurance company has little, if any, authority in determining whether an abortion is a medical procedure which must be covered under a policy.
* Celticare’s Massachusetts health plans administrator has Catholic connections.
* Catholocs are rising strong protests to the Celticare health plan beginning July 1, 2009.
* The protests center on the inherent conflict-of-interest concerns by Catholics, and are not specifically directed at Celtic Insurance, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or Celticare Insurance.
* Celticare plan in Massachusetts will abide by state insurance law with regard to abortion coverage requirements, regardless of religious concerns of any affiliated party.
* The protest does not affect Celticare or Celtic Insurance plans in any other state.
* Our sole mission is to help people find affordable health insurance and in many cases Celticare provides an excellent choice of quality coverage at a fair price.
* OnlineAdviser is not, and will not be involved in any political or religious agenda or debate on this issue.
* Any other questions or comments may be addressed to onlineadviser@celticenrollment.com

Thanks Kim. As another posted has explained, for Catholics, the dispute is about the kinds of things done to the poor and the problems it creates for Catholic healthcare workers. We can't impose that the Commonwealth or insurance companies stop providing these moral evils - but we do have every right to block the Cardinal from forming an insurance company to provide these moral evils. We're advocates of affordable healthcare and we hope the Commonwealth appreciates the medical services we provide in all aspects of care that are consistent with our tenets to consider us a provider that primary care physicians can refer "to". There are Catholic physicians in every conceivable specialty. Any written assurances given to you by Caritas and approved by the Cardinal that Catholics could provide, refer or contract services Catholics consider moral evils is an impossible "assurance" to carry out.

Legislative Counsel for the ACLU is taking issue with the Cardinal's confusing statements that women will not be referred for abortions:
Caritas insurance plan calls for state scrutiny


The cardinal says that Caritas will not provide or refer patients for procedures prohibited by Catholic teaching. Abortion and sterilization are mentioned as prohibited services. If Caritas will be providing primary care services, we wonder what delays will result for those patients requesting contraception.

State law also requires that hospitals provide emergency contraception to rape victims. Is Caritas complying with that law? We urge the state to scrutinize the way this new plan actually operates. It should ensure that our taxpayer dollars are not supporting a company that, because of religious doctrine, places obstacles in the way of women and men who need reproductive healthcare.