Washington D.C., Jun 28, 2018 / 12:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholic health care must remain Catholic, even in instances of collaborations or mergers with non-Catholic institutions, say new directives from the U.S. bishops.
The sixth edition of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services was “overwhelmingly accepted” by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) at their spring meeting in Fort Lauderdale, said Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, who chairs the USCCB’s subcommittee on health care, which was responsible for compiling the new directives.
Overall, the directives deal with a myriad of issues, including health care at the beginning and end of life, as well as pastoral and spiritual responsibilities of Catholic health care institutions to their patients.
The new edition includes multiple updates to the sixth section of the directives, which deal with collaborative arrangements with other health care organizations and providers, whether those are Catholic or secular.
The new and updated directives are a result of four years of study and consultation with the Vatican and with the National Catholic Bioethics Center, McManus told CNA.
They clarify, among other things, that Catholic health care institutions must maintain their Catholic identity and provide care consistent with Church teaching even in instances when they collaborate or merge with other healthcare institutions.
“The rule of thumb is a Catholic hospital in partnership with a non-Catholic hospital cannot formally cooperate with doing evil,” Bishop McManus said. Formal “cooperation (with evil) is always eliminated, it cannot be done.”
The directives state that formal cooperation with evil happens “not only when the cooperator shares the intention of the wrongdoer, but also when the cooperator directly participates in the immoral act….(and) may take various forms, such as authorizing wrongdoing, approving it, prescribing it, actively defending it, or giving specific direction about carrying it out. Formal cooperation, in whatever form, is always morally wrong.”
Material cooperation, on the other hand, occurs when “the one cooperating neither shares the wrongdoer’s intention in performing the immoral act nor cooperates by directly participating in the act as a means to some other end, but rather contributes to the immoral activity in a way that is causally related but not essential to the immoral act itself. While some instances of material cooperation are morally wrong, others are morally justified,” the directives state.
Material cooperation is never justified in actions that are “intrinsically immoral, such as abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and direct sterilization,” the directives state. Other situations of material cooperation may be more morally complex.
According to the bishops: “Reliable theological experts should be consulted in interpreting and applying the principles governing cooperation.”
Another important consideration in situations of collaborations and mergers is the principle of scandal, McManus said.
“Theological scandal, strictly speaking, means that I cannot do or say something that might cause someone else to enter into sin,” he said.
“So even if there is cooperation that has been justified by (as) material cooperation, if that might cause scandal, even after attempts to explain why a Catholic and non-Catholic institution are partnering, if there is the reality of scandal, that has to be avoided,” he said.
The directives also clarify the role of a bishop in overseeing collaborations of Catholic and non-Catholic institutions.
Joe Zalot, a staff ethicist with the National Catholic Bioethics Center, told CNA that these directives are necessary because health care collaborations are increasingly common, and can create complex situations when determining who has authority over these entities.
“Basically what’s happened is that many of the Catholic hospitals, historically they were founded and run by religious orders, particularly women’s religious orders, and as those orders are literally and figuratively dying out, there were not enough sisters to administer them,” Zalot said.
As a result, some Catholic health care institutions are now overseen by what are called juridic persons in canon law, which are legal entities recognized by the Vatican. Because these juridic persons exist within a diocese, or in some cases multiple dioceses, the local bishop or bishops share responsibility in ensuring the Catholic identity of these entities, Zalot said.
“What these directives are doing is recognizing that fact and trying to define the role of the bishop in terms of Catholic health care entities in his diocese. Essentially the bishop has oversight of what happens in his diocese,” Zalot said.
“What the bishops are saying is not new. What they’re doing is clarifying the role of the bishop in terms of Catholic entities in (their) dioceses,” he added.
Zalot said that for the most part, these directives usually do not pose problems for Catholic institutions that seek collaboration with non-Catholic ones.
“What (the bishops) are concerned with is ensuring the identity of the Catholic institution remains, even within these mergers. And actually it does happen, we see it, there’s hospitals that have been merged into or bought by a secular institution. But one of the elements of the contract or the purchase agreement is that these institutions remain Catholic,” he said.
“And as far as I know, most secular institutions don’t have a problem with that,” he added. The directives just help to ensure that “what is happening in a Catholic healthcare institution actually is Catholic, and you’re providing care consistent with the teachings of the Church.”
While discussing the revision of the directives at the general assembly in Fort Lauderdale, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore noted that three of the five Catholic hospitals in Baltimore are already in collaborative arrangements, and that the new revision “doesn’t answer every question, but it does offer helpful guidance.”
Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington said the revision “walks a very clear path through many complex issues,” preserving the theological principle of the autonomy of individual dioceses in pastoral ministry. It “makes clear there should be collaboration between dioceses, without taking away the autonomy of the individual bishop.”
The USCCB voted to approve the revised Ethical and Religious Directives June 14, by a vote of 183 to 2, with 2 abstentions.
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After Theodosius had ordered the slaughter of 7,000 innocents in Thessalonica, St. Ambrose locked the emperor out of the cathedral until he sincerely and publicly repented. It was one of the first Church-state differentiations that is still with us today.
Or is it? How will it turn out, Pope Francis with anti-pope Biden and this matter of 66,000,000 missing pairs of innocent eyes?
Ambrose counseled Theodosius to follow David, who had repented at having Uriah killed so that he might make of with his wife, Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11). David actually “got it” and truly repented, and regained coherent access to the Church, the cathedral, and the Eucharist.
And so, today???
Kudos to EWTN correspondent, Owen Jensen, for his regular questioning of the Biden administration’s efforts on abortion.
Oops. Like David, Theodosius repented…etc.
Material matters will be discussed. Moral matters appear not to matter.
Bergoglio may “speak differently” than Biden but his actions are the same as Biden’s. Witness only this week Bergoglio’s appoint of globalist pro-abortionist Jeffrey Saks to a Vatican dicastery after repeatedly headlining him at Vatican conferences and symposia. We have had 9 years of Bergoglio’s charade and it is long past time to call both Bergoglio and Biden what they are: pseudo-Catholic hypocrites whose focus is solely on this world and the power and fame it offers.
Jesus also chose sinners to follow Him. What other choice did He have?
Sinners who repented their sins, converted and changed their lives radically to follow Him. He did not confirm sinners in their sins. To imply otherwise is not only false but blasphemous.
Wrong, Donna.
Judas wasn’t the only apostolate Jesus taught and showed.
His Apostle “pool” may have been limited in that manner, but surely he did expect more of them than one gets from a Joe Biden or a Nancy Pelosi. I think just maybe he wanted them–and us–to be better than they/we were when he found us. Being within his orbit should facilitate that, but then we do have to cooperate.
Francis called the morally depraved President Higgens, who enshrined abortion in Ireland, a great and wise man and he thanked God that Ireland had such a great leader. In every prior opportunity to date upon meeting a morally depraved head of state, he acted in a similar fashion, until he met Trump, the man who saved more innocent lives than any man in history, whom Francis treated as though he were Satan. So now we’re supposed to believe Francis will do anything but yuk it up with Biden?
The President may be “morally depraved” as you put it, but this odes not mean that writer, poet and teacher is not a very knowledgeable person. I know some very intelligent people, who have numerous degrees, but harbor hatred which is also morally wrong.
The Pontiff Francis is delighted to have the American-abortion-champion Biden in photo-opportunity with himself, in the same way the Pontiff was delighted to award the papal medallion to Frau Ploumen, the Belgian-abortion-champion.
Because in “the movement,” there are “no enemies on the left.” Just ask General Secretary Xi…
Biden’s faith must indeed be “very important” to him, since he so regularly uses it as a campaign pitch to Catholic voters. It seems to work, doesn’t it?
“Let the children come to Me.”
Since Pelosi’s meeting with Pope Francis was private, we can expect that Biden’s meeting will also be private. Whatever was discussed with Pelosi and whatever will be discussed with Biden will not be public. We don’t know if the pope spoke to Pelosi, pastorally of course, about her support for killing the unborn. We won’t know if the pope will speak to Biden about his support for killing the unborn. The pope certainly won’t make private discussions public, and if he corrected Pelosi or will correct Biden, they certainly won’t make that public. We, as Catholics, trust that the pope has and will continue to correct these self-professed “devout Catholics” in a pastoral way, explaining that they are endangering their immortal souls by promoting immoral murders of unborn humans. We don’t need to know, they do.
Yes, we do, because when Biden and Pelosi come out of their “private” meeting with Bergoglio that is photographed and sent online all over the world, they will loudly proclaim their absolute pro-abortion public position which they declare they will enact in legislation that applies to every American. What is at issue is not their internal, subjective state of soul but their external, objective acts that are mortally sinful.
The Pope has a duty to admonish them publicly. The faithful who are scandalized by politicians who support legalized abortion while flagrantly passing themselves off as “faithful” Catholics have a right to expect that he do so. These people have been promoting this crime for decades. We are well past the point where “private discussions” are adequate.
No. The Pope does not have a duty to admonish them publicly. His duty is to proclaim the Lord’s and the Church’s teachings – which he has done very emphatically – but what you suggest is not proper. Jesus. taught his followers and even said woe to some groups but never did he condemn anyone. Not even the adultness! Not even the sinners with whom he hate and drank. Why? Because he made it clear that he did not come to judge but to save. Publicly shaming people is our human way of doing things, but it is not our Lord’s way.
Hmmm… then what was “you are like white washed sepulchers filled with dead men’s bones?”
As I said, Jesus did condemn attitudes and actions of people or groups, but never did he condemn any particular person.
“if he corrected Pelosi or will correct Biden” – let’s be plain about what that means – “unless you repent and stop supporting the killing of the most innocent, I will excommunicate you”.
Of course those two (and many others) have already excommunicated themselves by their actions, but it would help if the Pope (finally) made it official.
Which he won’t.
God is our Creator, we are His creatures. A woman has no more right to kill her son or daughter than a man has to kill his son or daughter. I pray every day for 9 months to name and save an unborn baby and I pray every day for all Planned Parenthood facilities to close permanently. It takes humility to accept the Kingship of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is the narrow gate and the road less traveled that we are called to. May God have mercy on their souls who deny God’s commantments.
Just an hour ago, secular publication “The Hill” announced that the Vatican ‘abruptly’
canceled a previously publicized live broadcast of Biden meeting Pope Francis.
Such secret “transparency” reveals more than what Nancy and Francis showed last week. What hides behind shall be revealed, but until then I’m voting it’s nothing more than smoke, levers, gears, and mirrors–toys of the devil’s playmates.
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I think you should have used that skeleton photo the “In the Defense of Trick or Treating” for this article.
Funny! Other ideas: Olive Oyl with Popeye or Laurel and Hardy.
Or, how about one which shows village idiots throwing stones at them.
I guess in this case one could then argue that words do indeed kill.
Biden “speaks differently than Pope Francis on abortion.” Some day Biden will “hear” from the tens of millions whose right to governmental protection was thwarted by this slaughter of the innocents. They will have opportunity to voice their “differences” with Biden (and others.). It will not be a “warm” meeting—quite heated one would imagine.
Once tredeau gets to Rome that would be the ideal time to drop a Bomb on these abortion loving ,family destroying , lavender loving Catholics !!!!
The earlier comment is correct, Jesus DID NOT embrace sinners and tell them “its ok, just keep sinning and follow me.” THEY repented. Calling them “good catholics” is reinforcing their sinfullness and there by putting their souls at risk. Thats what excommunication is all about Mal and Donna. It is supposed to put people on notice to repent from their sins for their own sake.
I have finally come to the belief, many of our catholic clerics are really not opposed to abortion, just secular progressives posing as ministers of the Gospel.