Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York and Sr. Carol Keehan,
president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association (CHA), have
exchanged letters affirming that the local bishop is the authoritative
interpreter of religious and ethical guidelines in Catholic health
facilities.
The exchange also looked ahead to further cooperation on pro-life and religious freedom issues.
Sr. Keehan’s Jan. 18 letter to Archbishop Dolan, the president of the
U.S. bishops’ conference, noted previous discussions with the New York
archbishop and Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, Florida concerning
the Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs) which govern Catholic
hospitals in the U.S.
“I was happy to have the opportunity to assure you that publicly and
privately, CHA has always said to sponsors, governing board members,
manager and clinicians that an individual bishop in his diocese is the
authoritative interpreter of the ERDs,” her letter continued.
“We
explain that a Bishop has a right to interpret the ERDs and also to
develop his own ethical and religious directives if he chooses.”
The letter expressed the association’s “sincere desire” to work with
the Church and individual bishops to understand clinical issues and to
bring Church teaching to bear on them.
“We are absolutely convinced that the teaching of the Church, in
combination with a clear understanding of the clinical situation serves
the people of God very well,” Sr. Keehan continued.
She said her organization has “consistently worked” to help its
members and others understand the ethical directives while also noting
that the local bishop is their “authoritative interpreter.”
In his Jan. 26 reply, Archbishop Dolan said it was “so helpful” for
Sr. Keehan to reiterate the Catholic Health Association’s commitment to
“complete fidelity to Catholic moral teaching and practice.”
The acknowledgment of the local bishop’s place in interpreting the
ethical directives is “a welcome and crucial component” in understanding
authentic Catholic moral teaching.
In cases of ethical dilemmas there is a need for “appropriate
consultation” with medical professionals and ethical experts, the
archbishop said. However, where conflicts arise between these experts
and the local bishop, the bishop provides the “authoritative resolution
based on his teaching office.”
“Once such a resolution of a doubt has been given, it is no longer a
question of competing moral theories or the offering of various ethical
interpretations or opinions of the medical data that can still be
legitimately espoused and followed,” the archbishop explained.
“Thank
you for making clear that the CHA and the bishops both share this understanding of the Church’s teaching.”
Archbishop Dolan’s letter foresaw times when it will be “very
important for the Church to speak with one voice” on issues like the
right to life, religious liberty, and serving the poor and the needy.
He
specifically mentioned the Pitts-Lipinski bill that would “definitively
resolve” questions about the 2010 health care legislation’s funding for
abortion services.
The protection of Catholic institutions’ ability to “carry out their
mission in conformity with our faith” is also important because “there
are increasing political and social pressures that are trying to force
the Church to compromise her principles.”
Archbishop Dolan closed his letter by thanking Sr. Keehan for her
clarification and her “personal dedication” to the Church’s healing
ministry
The exchange of letters comes after almost a year of conflicted relations between the bishops and the Catholic Health Association.
The exchange of letters comes after almost a year of conflicted relations between the bishops and the Catholic Health Association.
In December of last year, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix, Ariz.
stripped the Catholic affiliation from a Phoenix hospital which
performed a direct abortion.
Sr. Keehan defended the hospital, whose
parent company is a CHA member.
She said the hospital had “correctly
applied” the Catholic bishops’ ethical directives.
Sr. Keehan’s organization had also backed the 2010 health care
legislation despite the opposition of the bishops and pro-life groups
who considered its abortion funding restrictions to be severely lacking.