Citing "ongoing communication and
attempts to rectify the situation," Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted
extended from Dec. 17 to Dec. 21 a deadline he had set for a local
Catholic hospital to comply with three demands related to the church's
ethical directives for health care.
The bishop set the new deadline for Catholic Healthcare West, the San
Francisco-based health system that includes St. Joseph's Hospital in
Phoenix, to agree that the termination of a pregnancy at the hospital in
late 2009 violated the "Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic
Health Care Services" and "so will never occur again" there.
The other requirements outlined in a Nov. 22 letter were for Catholic
Healthcare West to agree to "a review and certification process"
concerning its compliance with the ethical directives and for the
medical staff of St. Joseph's to receive "ongoing formation" on the
directives, overseen by the National Catholic Bioethics Center or the
diocese's medical ethics board.
If the requirements were not met by Dec. 17, Bishop Olmsted said in the
November letter, he would be forced "to notify the Catholic faithful
that St. Joseph's Hospital no longer qualifies as a 'Catholic' hospital
because of its failure to acknowledge the bishop's right and duty to
judge whether the (directives) are interpreted and implemented
correctly."
After the letter from Bishop Olmsted to Lloyd H. Dean, president of
Catholic Healthcare West, was published Dec. 15 by the Arizona Republic
newspaper, the Diocese of Phoenix neither confirmed nor disputed the
contents of the letter, saying it was "considered to be private and
confidential."
"The bishop and his staff are working together with Catholic Healthcare
West and St. Joseph's Hospital to find the best way to provide authentic
Catholic health care in accordance with the church's teaching," the
Dec. 15 statement said.
The case under discussion in the dispute involved a woman, who has not
been identified, who was 11 weeks pregnant and suffering from pulmonary
hypertension, a condition that the hospital said carried a near-certain
risk of death for the mother if the pregnancy continued.
A nun who concurred in an ethics committee's decision to abort the child
was "automatically excommunicated" by her action, Bishop Olmsted said
in May.
Mercy Sister Margaret Mary McBride also was reassigned from her position
as vice president of mission integration at the hospital after news
surfaced about the abortion. She remains at the hospital but has
declined to comment on the case.
St. Joseph's Hospital said in a Dec. 15 statement that dialogue with the
bishop was continuing "and we hope to achieve a resolution."
"We believe that all life is sacred. In this case, we saved the only
life we could save, which was the mother's," the statement added.
The withdrawal of a hospital's Catholic identification would not be unprecedented.
Bishop Robert F. Vasa of Baker, Ore., announced in February that St.
Charles Medical Center in Bend had "gradually moved away" from the
church's ethical directives and can no longer be called Catholic.
As a result of that decision, Mass is no longer celebrated in the
hospital's chapel and all items considered Catholic were removed from
the hospital and returned to the church. The hospital retained the St.
Charles name and a cross remains atop the building.
In his November letter, Bishop Olmsted outlined similar consequences.
"A revocation of my endorsement of St. Joseph's Hospital would necessitate the following actions:
-- "Removal of the Blessed Sacrament from all chapels and tabernacles at St. Joseph's Medical Center.
-- "Prohibition of all Masses celebrated in chapels within St. Joseph's Medical Center.
-- "Public advisory from the bishop's office issued through the Catholic
Sun newspaper and website that St. Joseph's no longer qualifies as a
'Catholic' hospital."
Bishop Olmsted said "priestly ministry and other ministry to the sick
will most certainly continue with St. Joseph's Hospital, as it does in
any hospital when the sacraments or pastoral care are requested by
patients."
Although the correspondence from Dean to Bishop Olmsted was not made
public, the bishop indicated in his response that Dean had included a
lengthy moral analysis of the case by moral theologian M. Therese
Lysaught of Marquette University with his Oct. 27 letter to the bishop.
"Undoubtedly, the assessment from Dr. Lysaught is extensive and I
appreciate the diligence with which it was drafted," Bishop Olmsted
wrote. "At the same time, however, I disagree with her conclusion."
"In effect, you would have me believe that we will merely have to agree
to disagree," the bishop told Dean. "But this resolution is unacceptable
because it disregards my authority and responsibility to interpret the
moral law and to teach the Catholic faith as a successor of the
apostles."
Bishop Olmsted also cited problems with Chandler Regional Hospital in
Chandler, Ariz., which is not Catholic but is operated by Catholic
Healthcare West. He said he found it "deeply troubling" that voluntary
sterilizations were performed at Chandler.
"I recognize that my objections to how Chandler Regional operates are
more involved, but I would foresee us needing to address those directly
in the near future," he said.
SIC: CNS/INT'L