Many will recall the battles earlier this year on this blog when I defended Bishop Olmsted for declaring that Sister Margaret McBride, R.S.M. excommunicated herself by approving an abortion at Saint Joseph’s. I wrote several posts on this issue:
SIXTH (How Catholic Bioethics is guided)
SEVENTH (An article on Double-effect)
Many came out in defense of this monstrous nun. But nobody ever starts with an abortion like this. Now the explosive truth has been revealed, and it’s eye-popping!!
Now that the truth has come to the Bishop’s attention about what a vipers pit that “Nun” has been running, Bishop Olmsted let fly. Here is the Bishop’s own official statement, released through his Office of Communications.
Merry Christmas from Coming Home to one of the few Eagles among our Bishops! God bless you, Bishop Olmsted.
St. Joseph’s Hospital no longer Catholic
Statement of Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted
December 21, 2010
Jesus says (Cf. Mt 25:40), “Whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me.”
Caring for the sick is an essential part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Throughout our history, the Church has provided great care and love to those in need. With the advent of Catholic hospitals, the faithful could also be confident that they were able to receive quality health care according to the teachings of the Church.
Authentic Catholic care in the institutions of Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) in the Diocese of Phoenix has been a topic of discussion between CHW and me from the time of our initial meeting nearly seven years ago.
At that first meeting, I learned that CHW already did not comply with the ethical teachings of the Church at Chandler Regional Hospital. The moral guide for Hospitals and Healthcare Institutions is spelled out in what are called the Ethical and Religious Directives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. I objected strongly to CHW’s lack of compliance with these directives, and told CHW leaders that this constituted cooperation in evil that must be corrected; because if a healthcare entity wishes to call itself Catholic (as in “Catholic” Healthcare West), it needs to adhere to the teachings of the Church in all of its institutions. In all my seven years as Bishop of Phoenix, I have continued to insist that this scandalous situation needed to change; sadly, over the course of these years, CHW has chosen not to comply.
Then, earlier this year, it was brought to my attention that an abortion had taken place at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix. When I met with officials of the hospital to learn more of the details of what had occurred, it became clear that, in the decision to abort, the equal dignity of mother and her baby were not both upheld; but that the baby was directly killed, which is a clear violation of ERD #45. It also was clear that the exceptional cases, mentioned in ERD #47, were not met, that is, that there was not a cancerous uterus or other grave malady that might justify an indirect and unintended termination of the life of the baby to treat the grave illness. In this case, the baby was healthy and there were no problems with the pregnancy; rather, the mother had a disease that needed to be treated. But instead of treating the disease, St. Joseph’s medical staff and ethics committee decided that the healthy, 11-week-old baby should be directly killed. This is contrary to the teaching of the Church (Cf. Evangelium Vitae, #62).
It was thus my duty to declare to the person responsible for this tragic decision that allowed an abortion at St. Joseph’s, Sister Margaret McBride, R.S.M., that she had incurred an excommunication by her formal consent to the direct taking of the life of this baby. I did this in a confidential manner, hoping to spare her public embarrassment.
Unfortunately, subsequent communications with leadership at St. Joseph’s Hospital and CHW have only eroded my confidence about their commitment to the Church’s Ethical and Religious Directives for Healthcare. They have not addressed in an adequate manner the scandal caused by the abortion. Moreover, I have recently learned that many other violations of the ERDs have been taking place at CHW facilities in Arizona throughout my seven years as Bishop of Phoenix and far longer.
Let me explain.
CHW and St. Joseph’s Hospital, as part of what is called “Mercy Care Plan”, have been formally cooperating with a number of medical procedures that are contrary to the ERDs, for many years. I was never made aware of this fact until the last few weeks. Here are some of the things which CHW has been formally responsible for throughout these years:
• Contraceptive counseling, medications, supplies and associated medical and laboratory examinations, including, but not limited to, oral and injectable contraceptives, intrauterine devices, diaphragms, condoms, foams and suppositories;
• Voluntary sterilization (male and female); and
• Abortions due to the mental or physical health of the mother or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
This information was given to me in a meeting which included an administrator of St. Joseph’s Hospital who admitted that St. Joseph’s and CHW are aware that this plan consists in formal cooperation in evil actions which are contrary to Church teaching. The Mercy Care Plan has been in existence for 26 years, includes some 368,000 members, and its 2010 revenues will reach nearly $2 billion. CHW and St. Joseph’s Hospital have made more than a hundred million dollars every year from this partnership with the government.
In light of all these failures to comply with the Ethical and Religious Directives of the Church, it is my duty to decree that, in the Diocese of Phoenix, at St. Joseph’s Hospital, CHW is not committed to following the teaching of the Catholic Church and therefore this hospital cannot be considered Catholic. The Catholic faithful are free to seek care or to offer care at St. Joseph’s Hospital but I cannot guarantee that the care provided will be in full accord with the teachings of the Church. In addition, other measures will be taken to avoid the impression that the hospital is authentically Catholic, such as the prohibition of celebrating Mass at the hospital and the prohibition of reserving the Blessed Sacrament in the Chapel.
For seven years now, I have tried to work with CHW and St. Joseph’s, and I have hoped and prayed that this day would not come, that this decree would not be needed; however, the faithful of the Diocese have a right to know whether institutions of this importance are indeed Catholic in identity and practice.
Sad state of affairs. Bsp. Olmsted had to clearly teach the faithful and all others by his condemnation of the horrible acts at this formerly Catholic institution. Thanks Gerard for putting a light on this.
• Contraceptive counseling, medications, supplies and associated medical and laboratory examinations, including, but not limited to, oral and injectable contraceptives, intrauterine devices, diaphragms, condoms, foams and suppositories;
• Voluntary sterilization (male and female); and
• Abortions due to the mental or physical health of the mother or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
Yes. Yes, yes, YES, a million times a million YES!
This is what I stand for, this is what I believe. YES!
I am the moral equivalent of the “monstrous” nun.
Good for Bishop Olmstead! It is so refreshing to see a bishop with courage!
God bless Bishop Olmsted.
Not quite, L.
You are open and honest about what it is you believe. This nun is under vows of holy obedience and has been using deceit and treachery in hiding her deeds from her bishop, and passing off the hospital as being in accord with the ERD’s. That makes her a monster.
It simply makes you secular.
Ha, sorry, Dr. Nadal, I wrote that comment when I arrived home from my office Christmas party, where I drank more wine than usual. Hence my (ahem!) enthusiasm.
You’re right — I have not taken the same vow of obedience as a nun. My opinions are exactly that: mine.
I was born in a Catholic hospital in Connecticut that (according to local rumor, relayed by my mother) performed abortions for rape victims. I had one of my children in a Catholic hospital, where he was delivered by a doctor who had no problem at all with my “choose-mother’s-life-over-baby’s” birth plan, and even offered to sterilize me after the c-section.
There is probably a need for true Catholic medical institutions, for the people who seek them. But being secular, I can only be glad that another hospital is “Catholic,” and not Catholic.
I feel a deep sense of sadness and revulsion that a nun would be in such rebellion against her vows and her faith.
But I also feel saddened that baptized catholics would revel in the trappings of the culture of death to the point of exclaiming in ecstacy over such.
It says a great deal about the rebellion of Catholics not only on an institutional level (such as St. Joseph’s) but also on a personal level.
I think what our bishops and priests have totally missed is that the rebellion of so called “catholic” institutions is indicative of a much bigger and deeper problem – the wholesale rebellion of an entire generation of catholics from their faith.
In reality, taking the Catholic out of a name is to my mind somewhat meaningless. Catholic hospitals haven’t been catholic in a long long time, just as Catholic universities and many schools haven’t been Catholic in years.
What we really need is to put the Catholic back into the people in the pew. Then the Catholic in the institutions such as St. Joseph will rectify itself.
L.,
I’m partying with you from now on!!
I was once at a party with a Mormon friend, who abstains from alcohol. “Hey, I get to drink your share of the wine!” I said to her.
“Yes, but I get to use your share of the contraception,” she said back.
Ooooh, touche!
Good to see a bishop doing his job. Let’s see more of that and the Church will be the better for it.
L: But being secular, I can only be glad that another hospital is “Catholic,” and not Catholic.
I guess I don’t understand why. If you don’t want a Catholic hospital, then why go to a “Catholic” hospital at all. Why not just go to an Adventist, Baptist, or non-religious hospital? I understand that there is not much choice in emergency situations sometimes, but in many areas there is more than one hospital choice.
Barboo, in many areas, the Catholic hospital is the ONLY choice — and in many circumstances, even if there are other hospitals, factors like which hospital accepts which insurance also come into play. Believe me, I would NEVER be a patient at a true Catholic hospital if I could help it (just as I always seek to avoid being treated by pro-life doctors). I am living overseas in a very large city, but I have U.S. health insurance, which narrowed down my choices considerably.
A devout Catholic can refuse an abortion, or sterilization, or artificial birth control even at the most secular hospital. But a secular patient can’t receive any of that at a true Catholic hospital — not even in cases of right heart failure and cardiogenic shock.
So yes, if St. Jospeph’s continues to operate as a secular institution, I can only be glad.
“A devout Catholic can refuse an abortion, or sterilization, or artificial birth control even at the most secular hospital. But a secular patient can’t receive any of that at a true Catholic hospital — not even in cases of right heart failure and cardiogenic shock.”
Argumentum ad Metum
Again.
Let’s see, A person doesn’t receive ABC, sterilization, or a abortion at a Catholic Hospital, and then suffers right heart failure and lower left ventricle failure from a lack of O2.
Stick to the Suntory Hibiki 30yr.
Anything less, and your logic flows like square Pachinko balls.
Astran, as usual, I have no clue what you’re talking about there. Merry Christmas anyway!
Right heart failure and cardiogenic shock were conditions the abortive mother at St. Joseph’s suffered:
http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/St.-Josephs-Hospital-Analysis.pdf
Nice post Gerald. This nun truly is a monster, and a decietful one. I wish all Bishops were like Bishop Olmsted.
L:”I am the moral equivalent of the “monstrous” nun.”
I agree.
L,
You leaped from ABC(abortion) to a lack of O2, which is the cause of “cardiogenic shock.” Dr. Nadal went over the subect, over and over. You obviously have a bias towards Catholic medical care. We get it.
But, as usual, unusual and exception to the rule “cases” are brought forward in attempts to justify a action. It’s bad logic, unless your a scientist investigating a solid prediction(repetition) that turns sour.
Bishop Olmstead finally acted in response to numerious untrue Catholic medical practices at the hospital. See, it’s more then one, not a one off, or exception to general activity.
Demoralized people can’t access true information.
But, maybe it’s the Hibiki that inhibit’s your accessing true information, and a lack of O2 from trying to get through all that cigarette smoke at the Pachinko parlor. Official, Official, the balls in my machine are square.
L wrote: A devout Catholic can refuse an abortion, or sterilization, or artificial birth control even at the most secular hospital. But a secular patient can’t receive any of that at a true Catholic hospital — not even in cases of right heart failure and cardiogenic shock.
That’s true. But on the flip side, any person despite religion can be pressured and coerced into an abortion, sterilization, or artificial birth control during a stressful or vulnerable time at a secular hospital. Is that really better? That probably happens way more often than a maternal death because a Catholic hospital refused to provide an abortion or sterilize.
Never mind that recent studies have indicated that people receive better care at religious-run hospitals than secular ones. So you would really avoid a truly Catholic hospital at all costs, even if your health issues had nothing to do with reproduction? That’s just ridiculous.
Ricky,
Great points! If you get a chance, could you forward references to those studies that you mention? Thanks.
Merry Christmas!
Ricky
My personal experience has mostly been that , up to the time when catholic hospitals were removed from the direction of the religious orders that ran them, care was excellent.
For example, the nurses and doctors who worked at the St Joseph hospitals were under the direction of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Each hospital also had its own nurse’s residence where nurses were trained in the profession according to the teachings of the Catholic church. It would have been unthinkable to dispense contraceptives, abortificients and to perform abortions even in the case of a mother dying. It would have been unthinkable to withhold hydration from a seriously ill person.
A recent example of the type of care given at “catholic” hospitals can be found in St. Joseph Hospital in London ON which regularly induces labor in situations where a mother is carrying a seriously defective child. The hospital claims that this is early labor (which it is) but the intent is to deliver the sick child before viability so that it cannot possibly survive. This is really a late-term abortion. This is murder.
The other point is that of course, while one might choose to attend a secular hospital because of an agreement with the type of ethics acted upon in that hospital, it might be wise to understand that this ethic is not limited to the beginning of life. Without a respect for the dignity life throughout, one will find similar decisions against life in critical care and at the end of life.
Generally speaking, I find many proabortion supporters are in favor of euthanasia, assisted suicide and pulling the plug on critically injured loved ones. It is all part and parcel of the same ethic.
Mary Catherine makes an excellent point — the reaons that I shun Catholic hospitals if I can go far behind abortion and contraception. They are unlikley to honor the terms of my living will, and also likely to refuse to withold hydration (as my family ordered, for one of my grandmothers).
Sure, people can be pressured into unnecessary medical procedures during stressful and vulnerable times –this does not mean we should criminalize some of these procedures outright, everywhere, and withhold them from people like me who freely choose them.
I also recall seeing studies that religious-run hospitals have better safety records. My older two children were born at a fine Jewish hospital, that performs sterilizations, late-term abortions, and “pulls the plug” on the dying. I regret we no longer live anywhere near it.
I think calling this nun a monster is unfair. I’d like to think that if this was my daughter, I would encourage her to keep the baby, but I am not so sure I would, if it meant losing my daughter. I just don’t know. I posted on Facebook too, but I think those priests, who have molested children for years, only to be “reassigned,” are monsters. I am afraid I don’t have much mercy for child predators. Why are we not calling those folks out like we are the nun?
It’s Christmas Day here already — just want to wish everyone a merry Christmas.
Or, as we say in our secular household, merry Xmas, with love, from our home to yours. 🙂
CC,
We’ve done everything but boil the predators in oil. Though they are priests forever, they have been banned from the active priesthood, named in the press, shamed as publicly as possible, prosecuted if still within the statute of limitations, and treated as pariahs. The worst of these, Fr. John Goeghan was beaten to death in prison shortly after having arrived there. Others have committed suicide. What else would you have done with them?
Excommunication, recall, is meant as a medicine. It is meant to recall the sinner to their senses and promote true contrition and a return to full standing in the Church after a full, honest confession and firm purpose of amendment, as well as appropriate penance.
McBride can be fully restored after confession. These priests may be restored to sacramental participation, but never again to sacramental ministry. Their punishment is far more severe than anything McBride faces. She’s still a nun, still doing her thing, even though she has signed off on murder, and in more than one case, it seems.
This nun IS a monster. She has presided over a hospital that murders babies in the womb because they were conceived in rape or incest. I have a friend, Juda Myers, who was conceived in rape. She’s glad her mother didn’t meet up with “Sister” McBride. This nun has been running a shadow healthcare system under the banner of Catholic Healthcare. She deceived her Bishop for years.
I do think calling McBride a monster is fair. It’s also accurate. This isn’t the first murder she has signed off on. Read the Bishop’s statement again. This is no longer about the original case. One death has pulled the curtain back on a stack of corpses. Also don’t forget that there are several hospitals within a five minute drive of St. Joseph’s. That abortion could have happened elsewhere, and McBride could have told the family that little fact.
God Bless.
Dr. Nadal while it seems that name calling is what you are used to how about idiot which is what you are. You don’t even know the specifics of this case and you feel you have the right to call Sr. McBride a monster. You have a righht to your opinion no matter how uninformed it is but that doesn’t change the fact that you are an idiot.
God Bless, from the Diocese of Phoenix
ps. not everyone in the Diocese loves Bishop Olmsted, just his blind sheep with no mind of their own.
Well, Dan, you no doubt have great inside knowledge of “Sister” McBride and the case. So, come out from behind your screen name, use your full name, and then fully inform us. Be sure to use your source material.
Be sure to explain how presiding over a system where abortions were performed “for the mental health” of the mother, on babies conceived in rape and incest, is not monstrous.
Be sure to explain why the 27 year old patient in the original case wasn’t told that there are several facilities within a three mile radius that could have received this woman within ten minutes for the abortion.
Be sure to explain how sterilizations on men and women in Catholic healthcare, and the keeping of all this from the attention of the bishop isn’t deceitful and treacherous for one under ecclesiatical authority, who before God took a sacred vow of obedience.
I’m looking forward to your informed and reasoned debate, Dan. But somehow, your crack about ‘blind sheep’ tells me that you’re just another hack for the culture of death, an angry punk who’s pissed off that a bishop finally stood up to the rebellion.
But do enlighten us, Danny Boy.
I guess Danny Boy was just into a drive-by.
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If this is an isolated case where both the baby and the mother were clearly and imminently dying, how is allowing both to die pro-life? Especially if the means exists to save one. I remember my grandmother telling me of Catholic hospitals, before C-sections, that would allow both the mother and the baby to die. This is not the Way of Life taught by Jesus and the Apostles, either.
I agree with the church that abortion is wrong, and that one life doesn’t take priority over the other. It was right for the diocese to say that the ends do not justify the means. HOWEVER, excommunication of the nun administrator is going too far (unless, of course, all pedophile priests were excommunicated first). The Church’s stance for the pedophile priests and Bishops who protected them was “forgiveness”? If the Church is going to be believable and credible IT MUST BE CONSISTENT.
This situation reminds me of the Augustinian priest, Martin Luther, when he defied Church teaching and buried the mentally ill boy who committed suicide in the Catholic Cemetary. By doing this Fr. Martin brought the boy’s family the peace of Christ. In the throws of a life and death battle, where both mother and child were without doubt going to perish, and knowing that this woman had other children to care for, I can see how such a decision would be made.
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