Posted on 07/09/2013 2:46:10 PM PDT by NYer
ERIE, PA, July 8, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The bishop of Erie, Pennsylvania, has declared the city's largest hospital may no longer be considered a Catholic institution, after its new owners have signaled they will begin performing sterilizations in violation of the Catholic faith.
St. Vincent Health System is transitioning to new ownership, from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania to the Pittsburgh-based Highmark Inc.
In a statement, Bishop Lawrenc Perisco explained that binding Vatican "directives state that Catholic institutions and hospitals may not promote or condone contraceptive practices or direct sterilization of men or women. We do not have a guarantee that these procedures will not be condoned or performed."
"Therefore, the Sisters of St. Joseph and their leaders understand and know that I can no longer call Saint Vincent Health System a Catholic institution.”
“As the bishop of the diocese, I have a responsibility as pastor, teacher and priest to inform the faithful of this decision," he declared.
“It's basically the contraceptive issue of tube-tying and male vasectomies,” said Sister Mary Hermann, president of the order that had held controlling interest on St. Vincent's board of directors since 1875. “I anticipate, and so does the bishop, that Highmark will start to do those in the future.”
Saint Vincent President and CEO Scott Whalen obliquely defended the change in the name of progress.
"The future of health care in Erie has changed, and Saint Vincent must be in a position to provide a full continuum of care for all residents in this region," Whalen said.
Bishop Perisco made clear that his statement “does not mean that Catholics cannot avail themselves of the services of Saint Vincent Health System.” Rather, it means that the facility may no longer be identified as explicitly Catholic and thus bound to abide by the religious and ethical precepts of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Sisters of St. Joseph will continue their ministry within the complex, as well.
Highmark acquired the hospital from the religious order in exchange for $65 million over three years. The hospital, Erie's largest, has 428 beds.
And so it begins, ping!
then how about removing the name SAINT VINCENT from the front door?
Perhaps they should rename it “Lord of the Flies House of Horrors”.
It’s kind of how they sold Mercy Hospital here in Pittsburgh to UPMC yet still maintain it is a “Catholic” institution.
UPMC has many other hospitals in town, so I guess they don’t feel compelled to fight the battle of doing sterilizations at Mercy. Yet.
Cheering in the White Hut. Another Marxist success.
All of this, of course, is fall out from the organizational suicide of many religious orders in the 1970s.
Then why did they sell it to the folks to whom they sold it?
Yup. This was the plan all along.
Ask the nearly defunct order of habit-kicking nuns that used to own it.
-— All of this, of course, is fall out from the organizational suicide of many religious orders in the 1970s. ——
You’re probably familiar with this story. It’s one of the great, tragic, religious stories of the last century:
We Overcame Their Traditions, We Overcame Their Faith
http://www.ewtn.com/library/PRIESTS/COULSON.TXT
These hospitals were built with the money of Catholics and we just turn them over. Well at least they no longer call them Catholic, unlike the many universities that have not adhered to Catholic teaching in a long time.
Do I understand correctly that the hospital will no longer have a pastoral care staff or pastoral services? The bishop should leave it to the hospital to explain why catholic patients can no longer see a priest or a deacon.
Excellent article. Thanks for posting!
Barackula -- the Obamination of Desolation |
I have credentials at Mercy. They are Catholic....that was part of the deal the bishop struck with UPMC. He would only agree to the sale of the hospital if UPMC allowed it to retain its Catholic identity. When I filled out all the forms for my credentialing, I had to sign boatloads of forms acknowledging that I will not engage in practices contrary to Catholic teaching, i.e., no IVF/ART, contraception, abortion, or euthanasia. I was pretty ok with that.
I float throughout UPMC’s urban hospitals & I have to admit, Mercy is the only place I don’t feel asked to violate my conscience. Magee is a total cesspool, and even Shadyside occasionally performs an abortion or two. Sick.
There’s so much evil in this world. I need out of healthcare. My days in this profession are numbered.
Please pass it on. It's an astonishing story, with an extremely important and timely lesson.
If he doesn’t close the hospital, then it’s just words and means nothing. Marist College is no longer “Catholic” and still remains open employing pro-abort professors who brainwash thousands of students a year where their parents still think they are sending their kids to a Catholic College..
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