You may recall the controversy surrounding Catholic Healthcare West and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix. Essentially, it had come to the Bishop’s attention that St. Joseph’s, an ostensibly Catholic Hospital, directed by a supposedly Catholic organization, had been breaking several Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Healthcare Services (ERDs).
Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmsted has issued this statement, and set up this website to provide information. Ethical crimes committed by St Joseph’s include:
1) Voluntary abortion
2) Voluntary sterilization
3) Providing contraceptives, and offering counseling on their use.
Bishop Olmsted also made it abundantly clear that the heretical nun who gave the abortion the go-ahead had incurred excommunication. Perhaps Bishop Clark could learn a thing or two about the proper procedures in Catholic healthcare facilities. Just over two weeks ago, Mike reminded us of an appalling story happening at St Joseph’s in Elmira, and Bishop Clark’s continued failure to intervene.
In case he hasn’t read the USCCB document on the matter, I might point to ERD 58, which was used by the National Catholic Bioethics Center to determine the morality of the Terri Schiavo case :
“58. There should be a presumption in favor of providing nutrition and hydration to all patients, including patients who require medically assisted nutrition and hydration, as long as this is of sufficient benefit to outweigh the burdens involved to the patient.”
It seems rather clear that this fits Mr. Harvey’s scenario, and that Bishop Clark is FAILING in his moral duty, and has committed a GRAVE offense. It is one thing for a layperson to lead others astray, as in the case of Sr. McBride or Rita Ghoul, but it is quite a bit more troubling to see a Catholic Bishop clearly ignore the documents of HIS OWN CONFERENCE.
Tags: Bishop Clark
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