A Word of Encouragement to Bishops on Hospitals

Would Catholic hospitals close rather than obey proposed new federal rules that would force them, and the medical professionals who practice within them, to perform abortions?

That's the expectation if the badly mis-named Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is brought forward and passed. There's already an air of expectation among pro-death adherents across the fruited plain that such will come to pass, especially as Mr. Obama's administration has already gutted "conscience rules" that were put into place by the outgoing Bush administration. Tim Townsend, reporting for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, discussed the FOCA situation:

The legislation has some Roman Catholic bishops threatening to shutter the country's 624 Catholic hospitals — including 11 in the Archdiocese of St. Louis — rather than comply.

Speaking in Baltimore in November at the bishops' fall meeting, Bishop Thomas Paprocki, a Chicago auxiliary bishop, took up the issue of what to do with Catholic hospitals if FOCA became law. "It would not be sufficient to withdraw our sponsorship or to sell them to someone who would perform abortions," he said. "That would be a morally unacceptable cooperation in evil."

But even within the Catholic community, there is disagreement about the effects FOCA might have on hospitals, with some health care professionals and bishops saying a strategy of ignoring the law, if it passes, would be more effective than closing hospitals.

I would not only encourage Catholic hospitals and medical professionals to ignore the law but go farther. I would encourage them to very publicly disobey the law in an act of civil disobedience that would force a Constitutional showdown on the issue while there is still a 5-4 majority of relative sanity on the Court.

Yeah, yeah, I know that conservatives are loathe to do such things, but there are great issues at risk here. You can justify breaking a law that is immoral at its core, that violates the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Besides, closing hospitals will hurt people, patients with real sicknesses and medical needs that deserve quality care. Let the federal government be the bad actor, closing a hospital for non-performance of an immoral action. Despite the watering down of moral standards, the American people are still mostly a life-affirming crowd that will understand the evil of government over-reach and will not stand for it come the 2010 elections.

We are several months, probably, away from this taking place, but it is not too early to consider the option of civil disobedience. This is going to take some faith and some courage, but that's why the bishops get to wear those pointy miters that signify the flames of the Holy Spirit. Not only will most of the Catholic faithful be with you on this, but so will a lot of our Christian brothers and sisters who are not Catholic.

Can You Love God Yet Back Abortion?

Taking his cue from the gospel readings, Bishop Robert Vasa of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oregon, writing in The Catholic Sentinel:

Those who profess to love God, but back abortion, are liars

The Mass readings for the week between Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord are taken from the First Letter of St. John. These readings are not always used for it often happens, depending upon the day on which Christmas falls, that the season of ordinary time begins immediately after the celebration of Epiphany. This year, however, the occurrence of Christmas allowed for a full week between these two post-Christmas celebrations and thus the readings from St. John’s first letter. As often happens, the daily Mass readings are both appealing and challenging. The reading of Thursday from I John 4:19ff is particularly appropriate in this year when the life issues are very much on the minds of pro-life persons.

The bishop then discusses the misnamed Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) pending before Congress. It would eliminate choice by federalizing abortion law so that virtually unrestricted abortion would be the law of the land in all 50 states. It would force religious hospitals and medical professionals to choose between obedience to the new abortion regime or end their careers.

... as I understand it, [FOCA] preclude(s) state limitation or regulation of abortion. Further, since abortion would be a federally protected right, it is very possible that even Catholic health care institutions and Catholic Physicians would be mandated to provide this heinous service. Thus I strongly urge all who have a glimmer of concern for the lives of pre-born children to engage themselves in this postcard campaign. This is not an action which would limit or alter present permissive abortion laws, which some so-called Catholic pro-choice persons might object to, it would simply preclude a dramatic expansion of that permissiveness. Thus it would be very difficult for any Catholic, no matter how much in favor of abortion itself, to find a reason to refuse to participate in this campaign.

At the same time, I do not see how any Catholic senator or representative could vote for the passage of FOCA without recognizing that such a vote would constitute a direct and intentional declaration of their disdain for Catholic teaching. Such a vote would be tantamount to a public declaration of their intention to abandon the Catholic faith. It would be imperative that the faith consequences of such a declaration be allowed to fall fully on the heads of those who would make it. [Emphasis OTB]

The writing from St. John applies: “Beloved, we love God because He first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from Him: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

We of the Catholic faith certainly know that love of God is central to our tenets, this is the appealing part. It is hard to imagine a Catholic saying, “I am a Catholic in good standing but I do not love God.” But the inspired scriptures tell us that whoever does not love his brother or neighbor does not and, indeed, cannot love God. This is the challenging part. The people of Jesus’ day understood this and it was this understanding that prompted them to ask, “And who is my neighbor?” For all of us, and especially for Catholic legislators in every strata of government, it is necessary to declare, in conformity with the Natural Law and the teaching of the Catholic Church that, the pre-born child is our brother, our sister, our neighbor!

This is strong stuff, and sorely needed.