Boston Catholic Hospitals Pull Out of Abortion Venture at 11th Hour

Boston Catholic Hospitals Pull Out of Abortion Venture at 11th Hour...

"Every man, woman, and child of the age of reason knows right from wrong, for he has been given an inborn conscience. At the moment of his conception life is within the womb, and at the moment of conception a life is forming, regardless of what the agents of hell now pollute the minds of mankind with, creating murders of the young! I say unto you, life begins at the moment of conception and all who extinguish this light are murderers, and without repentance shall be condemned to hell!" - Jesus, June 18, 1977

LifeSiteNews.com reported on June 27, 2009:

At the prompting of Boston Cardinal Seán O'Malley, the Boston archdiocesan health care system, known as Caritas, which has been embroiled in a scandal over plans to provide the state's abortion-covering insurance, has pulled out of the deal just days before the plan was set to begin. The move followed months of outcry from Catholic groups who were angered at the hospital system's lucrative participation in the plan.

While the American Life League has expressed satisfaction with the turnaround, a Massachusetts group is continuing to call for the hospitals' complete dissociation from the plan.

The joint venture, known as CeltiCare, had won a bid to provide Massachusetts' Commonwealth Health Care Plan, which covers abortion, contraception, and sterilization.

Richard Lynch, the chief executive of CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts, announced Friday that Celtic Group Inc. was now the sole proprietor of the state-subsidized "Commonwealth Care" plan, following the withdrawal of Caritas. The Catholic hospitals will now participate in the plan as a health care provider, similar to its relationship with private insurers, through the state's Connector Program.

Caritas and Cardinal O'Malley issued a joint statement the same day announcing the arrangement.

"I am pleased that Caritas Christi was able to achieve this outcome," stated Cardinal O'Malley. "Throughout this process, our singular goal has been to provide for the needs of the poor and underserved in a manner that is fully and completely in accord with Catholic moral teaching.

"By withdrawing from the joint venture and serving the poor as a provider in the Connector, upholding Catholic moral teaching at all times, they are able to carry forward the critical mission of Catholic health care."

Caritas Christi CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre said, "The opportunity for Caritas Christi to participate in the Connector program will allow Caritas to serve the low income and underserved population's desperate need for quality health care. We are committed to fulfilling our mission, as we always have, rooted in the principles established by Catholic teaching, of providing the highest quality healthcare to patients across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."

The release explained that "care for the poor and the uninsured was the original motivating force" in the agreement to provide the state-subsidized plan. However, in an echo of the criticisms aimed by Catholic pro-life activists, it acknowledged that a "principal goal" of Catholic health care in the U.S. is "protecting the sacredness of human life from conception until natural death."

"The protection of human life and dignity demands that Catholic institutions never contribute to procedures which are inconsistent with Catholic moral teaching, such as abortion and sterilization," it said.

The American Life League (ALL) expressed relief at the news and praised the cardinal's leadership.

"Praise God! After months of tireless effort from American Life League and pro-life heroes in Boston and around the country to expose a potential scandal only days away from becoming a tragic betrayal of Catholicism's unwavering commitment to the dignity of the human person, Cardinal Sean O'Malley has heard our voices and will end the joint venture with abortion-providing Centene Corp!" read an ALL statement Friday.

ALL noted the difficulty of choosing to abandon the plan in the face of the "severe financial crisis," which has affected Caritas Christi hospitals.

"We profoundly thank Cardinal O'Malley for his courage, leadership and pastoral concern for the health and well-being of those youngest members of his archdiocese," ALL wrote. "He has set a beautiful example of dedication and charity for those poorest of the poor - the preborn."

The group called the reversal "a sign of the vitality of United States Catholics' commitment to human life and personhood," and said they are "humbled to stand alongside Cardinal O'Malley as a sign of contradiction to the culture of death."

Massachusetts' Catholic Action League welcomed the news, but called the withdrawal an "only partial victory."   League president C.J. Doyle said there remained "troubling questions" as to whether Caritas has already financially benefited from the contract, and whether Caritas "continues to have an ongoing relationship with the Centene Corporation."

"If Caritas is to remain faithful to Catholic moral principles is must withdraw ... not only from CeltiCare but from the entire Commonwealth Care contract," said Doyle.

The League also urged Caritas to offer alternatives to those seeking abortion instead of simply referring them to their insurance provider. Caritas spokeswoman Teresa Prego admitted earlier this month that patients seeking abortion are referred to their insurance provider for further help in obtaining the procedure.

"Instead of offering compassionate alternatives to abortion, Caritas Christi will still be engaged in a two-step abortion referral," said Doyle.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Pro-Abortion Contributions Revealed Among Boston Catholic Hospital Board Members
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09061811.html

Boston Archdiocese Reaffirms Hospitals' Commitment to Catholic Morals, ALL Responds
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09061105.html

Catholics Up in Arms over Boston Catholic Hospitals Abortion Coverage, Archdiocese Now Says Matter "Under Review"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09061005.html

Commentary: Caritas Christi's Deal with the Devil - Part II
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052712.html

Commentary: Will the New England Catholic Health Care System Participate in Abortion?
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052604.html

Tension Mounts over Possible Abortion Referral Venture at Boston Catholic Hospitals
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052115.html

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Pro-Abortion Contributions Revealed Among Boston Catholic Hospital Board Members...

LifeSiteNews.com reported on June 18, 2009:

The scandal surrounding Boston archdiocese hospitals' joint distribution of health insurance that includes coverage for abortion deepened yesterday as a local Catholic group revealed the names of five out of nine hospital board members who have contributed heavily to pro-abortion politicians.

Catholics in recent months have expressed outrage over the joint venture between the Catholic Caritas Christi hospitals and the Centene Corporation to overtake the state subsidized health program, which requires coverage for abortion, sterilization, and contraception. The two entities, under the name CeltiCare, will begin managing the program July 1.

The Catholic Action League released a statement Wednesday on the Caritas Christi board members, with information gleaned from the Federal Election Commission and the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. The statement revealed that:

- Caritas Chairman James J. Karam: contributed over $19,000 combined to the campaigns of President Barrack Odama; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; US Senator John Kerry; Governor Deval Patrick; former Vice President Al Gore; Congressmen Barney Frank and Jim McGovern; former Lt. Governor Kerry Murphy-Healey; former Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly and State Senator Joan Menard.

- Board member Joseph H. Feitelberg, Area Chair for the Order of Malta: contributed over $8,000 among the campaigns of John Kerry; Deval Patrick; Kerry Murphy-Healey; and Congressmen Barney Frank, Patrick Kennedy and Jim McGovern.

- Board member Neil F. Finnegan contributed over $19,000 among the campaigns of Vice President Joe Biden; US Senators Christopher Dodd, Edward Kennedy and John Kerry; Congressmen Michael Capuano, Patrick Kennedy and Edward Markey; Boston Mayor Thomas Menino; and former State Treasurer Shannon O’Brien.

- Board member John H. Garvey, Dean of Boston College Law School: $1,750 contribution to John Kerry

- Board member Ruben J. King-Shaw Jr.: $10,000 contribution to B. Odama

"It makes sad reading from these guys who are directors of a Catholic hospital chain," John O'Gorman of the Catholic Action League told LifeSiteNews.com today.

“This problem at Caritas goes to the very top," commented Shaun Kenney, executive director of American Life League, in a press release concerening the contributions.

"We have clearly seen that the majority of the Caritas Board of Governors supports abortion access, so why should we be surprised they’re allowing it in Caritas?”

A press release from the Boston Archdiocese last week said that Caritas Christi hospitals are in "active discussions with Celtic Group and CeltiCare with a view to making acceptable modifications to their arrangement." In the same statement, Caritas Christi president Ralph de la Torre said a patient seeking procedures contrary to Catholic teaching will be told that "the hospital does not perform them" and that "the patient must turn to his or her insurer for further guidance."

Catholics leading the charge against the Celticare venture were not comforted by the news.

"When the patient 'turns to his or her insurance company,' they are 'turning' to the 'HMO' which the Cardinal and Caritas are co-owners, Celtic Care," wrote Catholic commentator Carol McKinley. "Therefore, the Cardinal & Caritas are providing these services.

"With the exception of removing family planning, abortion, sterilization, embryonic stem cell research and other moral evils covered under the HMO the Cardinal has an ownership interest in, there is no conceivable modification to the arrangement that could ever be in compliance with Catholic moral teaching."

Judie Brown, president of American Life League, said on Friday that the archdiocese's latest statement "raises even more questions." While the archdiocese's admission that the agreement requires modification is "a positive step," said Brown, it is "certainly not acceptable as a final answer."

“What is disconcerting is that Cardinal O’Malley and the Boston archdiocese have thus far failed to clearly explain how abortion and ‘family planning services’ will not occur in Catholic healthcare facilities," said Brown. "The terms of CeltiCare’s contract with the state government specifically require coverage for abortions and other ‘reproductive health’ services.

"How then could Caritas Christi – which owns 49 percent of the for-profit CeltiCare – justify its involvement and direct connection with this business while adhering to the Catholic Church’s unequivocal teachings on abortion, contraception and sterilization?

“Even if patients seeking abortions or contraception will be outsourced to a third-party referral service, this does not remove the archdiocese’s culpability for involvement in procedures that violate the Church’s fundamental moral teachings," said Brown.

To Mr. de la Torre's statement that Caritas Christi patients seeking abortion will "turn to his or her insurance for further guidance," Brown responded: “Incrementally separating the Boston archdiocese from committing an abortion or from the provision of contraception, sterilization and other such ‘services’ does not negate the fact that, through this agreement, Catholic hospitals will ultimately be referring mothers to abortion and/or contraception facilities such as Planned Parenthood, if the deal between Caritas Christi and CeltiCare remains as it is now written.

“[Boston] Cardinal [Sean] O’Malley can stop this today with one word," said Brown. "We beg Cardinal O’Malley and the Boston archdiocese to prevent yet another scandal by providing a clear defense of Catholic moral teaching, rather than a pact driven far more by financial interests than fidelity to the Catholic faith.”

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Boston Archdiocese Reaffirms Hospitals' Commitment to Catholic Morals, ALL Responds http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09061105.html

Catholics Up in Arms over Boston Catholic Hospitals Abortion Coverage, Archdiocese Now Says Matter "Under Review" http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09061005.html

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Catholics Up in Arms over Boston Catholic Hospitals Abortion Coverage, Archdiocese Now Says Matter "Under Review"...

LifeSiteNews.com reported on June 10, 2009:

Catholic and pro-life groups are expressing outrage at the Boston Catholic hospitals' participation in state health care, after the jointly-owned plan's website confirmed it would provide abortion, contraception, and sterilization, and would ensure access to the services.

While the hospitals say the arrangement will not change their procedure for handling healthcare requests contrary to Catholic teaching, the American Life League is responding aggressively to the new venture, vowing not to "allow this scandal to go unnoticed."

CeltiCare, the joint venture of archdiocesan Caritas Christi Health Care network and Centene Corp., is expected to join Massachusetts' subsidized health program effective July 1. On their website, CeltiCare lists abortion, family planning and "reproductive services" as services provided - all of which are required by the Massachusetts Connector Authority.

LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) today asked CeltiCare communications director Brian Delaney what would happen to a CeltiCare member seeking an abortion at a Caritas Christi hospital.

Delaney answered: "They will be - if a service is not provided at any facility, whether it be one of the Catholic hospitals or one of the health clinics ... then the person would be referred back to the plan, we have a 24/7 call center and they would find an appropriate [facility] ... assuming that that's not an emergency situation. We have call centers of all languages to assist a person in getting the services that are covered under our plan at an appropriate facility."

When LSN asked whether the Caritas Christi hospital would refer a patient seeking abortion to the 24/7 call center, Delaney answered, "I believe so." "I'm not sure someone would necessarily walk into a Catholic hospital and ask for an abortion," he added with a laugh.

He concluded: "Whatever services are mandated by the state that we cover, we will assist that person appropriately in getting those services within or outside the network, either one."

Caritas Christi spokeswoman Teresa Prego claimed, however, that the referral arrangement is "the same as what we do now."

"[Patients] are referred back to their insurance provider," Prego told LSN today. "That's no different than what we do currently."

The Archdiocese of Boston told the Catholic News Agency yesterday that the matter was “under review.”

“At this juncture there is nothing new to report and no announcements have been made,” said Terrence Donilon, the Archdiocese’s Secretary for Communications and Public Affairs.

When the controversy first broke in early March, Boston's Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston issued a statement confirming that Caritas Christi Health Care "has assured me that it will not be engaged in any procedures nor draw any benefits from any relationship which violate the Church’s moral teaching as found in the Ethical and Religious Directives."

"To be perfectly clear, Caritas Christi will never do anything to promote abortions, to direct any patients to providers of abortion or in any way to participate in actions that are contrary to Catholic moral teaching and anyone who suggests otherwise is doing a great disservice to the Catholic Church," Cardinal O'Malley wrote on his blog the next day. "We are committed to the Gospel of Life and no arrangement will be entered into unless it is completely in accord with Church teaching."

O'Malley also said in March that he had requested a consultation by the National Catholic Bioethics Center to ensure that the arrangement is faithful to Catholic principles, though there has since been no word of the Center's opinion.

Massachusetts' Catholic Action League, who has been suspicious of the joint venture for several months, says that CeltiCare's website provides "final and conclusive proof" of a scandalous relationship between Caritas Christi and the state's abortion-providing health coverage.

“It is clear that the Caritas/Centene partnership is proceeding with all deliberate speed towards the July 1st start-up date of the Commonwealth Care contract, while the Archdiocese continues its efforts to suppress Catholic opposition to the arrangement," said Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle. "Catholics need to keep the pressure up on the Archdiocese to cancel the contract, and they need to keep Rome informed.”

The American Life League is also spearheading opposition to the arrangement.

"We will not allow this scandal to go unnoticed," said American Life League president Judie Brown. "The Catholic Church in Boston is set to become a partner in the abortion industry."

"Cardinal O'Malley must realize this situation requires his immediate and definitive action," Brown said. "The Cardinal must not permit this scandal to continue. It would be tragic for yet another debacle, caused by misinformation, contradictory statements and shameful cover-ups, to besmirch the reputation of the Archdiocese of Boston."

See related LifeSiteNews.com articles:

Commentary: Caritas Christi’s Deal with the Devil – Part II
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052712.html

Commentary: Will the New England Catholic Health Care System Participate in Abortion?
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052604.html

Tension Mounts over Possible Abortion Referral Venture at Boston Catholic Hospitals
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09052115.html

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"Our hearts are torn because of the wanton murder of the young by evil man. Abortion, My children, is murder, the most foulest of deeds, that is punishable by death! And what is worse than death of the soul?
"I say unto you, as your Mother, that any man or woman who performs or takes part of this abomination of the murder of the unborn shall be given a heavy penance upon earth, or if this penance is not given upon earth, that person found guilty in the eyes of his God shall suffer eternal damnation in the fires of hell." - Our Lady of the Roses, December 28, 1976

The awesome Bayside Prophecies... https://www.tldm.org/Bayside/default.htm
These prophecies came from Jesus, Mary, and the saints to Veronica Lueken at Bayside, NY, from 1968 to 1995:

SIN OF OMISSION
"The sin of omission shall condemn many to hell, be they layman or Hierarchy. I repeat: not the sin of commission, but the sin of omission will commit many to hell. Among them there will be also mitres." - Our Lady, October 6, 1980

U.S. SHALL BE FIRST STRUCK
"One of the reasons the Eternal Father chose your city and your state for My appearance was because of abortion, the murder of the holy innocents. Your nation, without repentance, shall be the first struck." - Our Lady, March 15, 1978

THE UNITED STATES SHALL FALL
"How can a great country like the United States fall, you say, My child? You ask Me in your heart. I read your heart. I will tell you why. Because they have given themselves over to satan. When a country has lost its morality and seeks the pleasures of the flesh, giving over, themselves over, to all manner of abominations, like homosexuality, and condoning this up the highest courts of the land, then that country shall fall." - Our Lady of the Roses, November 1, 1985

DOCTORS
"Doctors now are profaning their profession, those who have given themselves over to destroying human life in abortions." - Jesus, June 6, 1987

FOULEST OF DEEDS
"Our hearts are torn because of the wanton murder of the young by evil man. Abortion, My children, is murder, the most foulest of deeds, that is punishable by death! And what is worse than death of the soul?
"I say unto you, as your Mother, that any man or woman who performs or takes part of this abomination of the murder of the unborn shall be given a heavy penance upon earth, or if this penance is not given upon earth, that person found guilty in the eyes of his God shall suffer eternal damnation in the fires of hell." - Our Lady, December 28, 1976

DESTROYED
"All who become part of or condone abortion, the murder of the young, shall be destroyed!" - Jesus, June 2, 1979

HUMAN LIFE IS SACRED
"The Eternal Father command that you stop these murders at once! You will not destroy the lives of the unborn. Human life is sacred in the eyes of your God. No man has the right to destroy a life. The Father, He sends this life to you, and only He will decide when it will return back to the Kingdom.
"Do not, My children, be deceived by the words of the evil ones about you who cry to you of no space left for man. There is space, for My Father has a plan for every life He sends." - Our Lady, August 5, 1971

WILL NEVER BE CONDONED
"You will remember, My children and My child, to guard the young. Your clergy have fallen into darkness. Abortion will never be condoned. But We must have others who fervently will go forward and bring out to the minds of those who have actually seduced the country and the children--bring them the knowledge of Heaven, hell and purgatory. Then they will not have free license to sin." - Our Lady, May 28, 1983

GOVERNMENT
"For that one reason among many, the United States will suffer unless there is placed into your government a group that fears the Lord if they cannot love the Lord. They will fear Him and find measures to stop the slaughter of the unborn." - Our Lady, April 14, 1984

NUNS
"That is what makes My heart ache, My child. That is one of the reasons Theresa is crying constantly when she looks into the convents and sees what is going on. Many now believe in abortion, the murders of the children; and many have committed this act upon themselves." - Jesus, October 1, 1988

SIXTY MILLION
"I say this for this reason: the Eternal Father is much disturbed at the numbers of abortions being committed throughout your country and the world. These numbers go upwards to fifty to sixty million in one year throughout the world." - Our Lady, June 18, 1986

TREATED AS GARBAGE
"O My child, My tears fall upon you all when I see all of the innocent little babies being slaughtered . . . cast into garbage pails like nothing but dirt and scum. They are living human beings! And all murderers shall get their just recompense." - Our Lady, March 18, 1983

BOMBS IN THE UNITED STATES
"These interlopers upon the serenity of the United States have dark skins.... With their plans there will be bombs placed in strategic places and many shall die at the hands of these ruffians....
"One big reason for permitting this disaster in New York would be the abortion mills throughout the city and the country." - Jesus, October 1, 1988

HOLY SPIRIT
"At the time of conception, the Holy Spirit makes the child, and the breath of the Almighty gives it life." - Our Lady, June 18, 1991

LIMBO
"And what, My children, are We going to do with all the aborted babies? O My child, I know you feel as I do, for I can see the great distress on your face. What are We going to do, My child? Do you understand when they come to Us, they must go to Limbo? They are in Heaven, a happy place, but they cannot see God." - Our Lady, October 2, 1987

SORROWFULLY
"Sorrowfully, the penance that is to come upon the world for the murders of the unborn shall be a chastisement far greater in severity than man has ever witnessed in the past nor ever shall pass through again. Your world is plunging into a deep chasm of suffering and destruction." - Our Lady, May 20, 1978

OATH
"Your once loyal to the oath of a doctor, your once loyal doctors are now butchers! For money they kill the young!" - Our Lady, February 10, 1978

WOE TO THE WOMAN
"Know, My child, this simple lesson, that in these days of the latter times, women will seek to cast off their role as mother and a woman. Women will cast it off under the direction of satan, and murder her children. Woe to the woman who does not repent of this vile abomination! She has walked the road to eternal damnation and hell. Repent, O woman, or forever be lost!" - Our Lady, March 18, 1975

Directives from Heaven... https://www.tldm.org/directives/directives.htm

D23 - Abortion PDF
D142 - Sin of Omission PDF
D196 - Life Begins at Conception PDF

Articles...

Pope Benedict to bishops: Make everyone understand the "evil of the crime of abortion"
https://www.tldm.org/News8/PopeBenedictCrimeOfAbortion.htm

Pope Benedict: Abortion, divorce, homosexual unions "are evident signs of de-Christianization"
https://www.tldm.org/News9/PopeSignsOfDe-Christianization.htm

Sleep disorders increase after abortion, says new study
https://www.tldm.org/News9/AbortionSleepDisorders.htm

Pro-abortion scientist finds abortion causes, rather than prevents, serious mental disorders
https://www.tldm.org/News9/AbortionMentalDisorders.htm

Abortion: the ultimate exploitation of women
https://www.tldm.org/news6/exploitation.htm

Abortion and the contraceptive mentality
https://www.tldm.org/news4/contraception_abortion.htm

'Non-persons' in U.S. history
https://www.tldm.org/News9/AbortionNonPerson.htm

Archbishop Chaput says abortion is "central social issue of this moment" in U.S. history
https://www.tldm.org/news6/Chaput3.htm

Archbishop Chaput says those who support abortion "rights" cannot be Catholic
https://www.tldm.org/News7/Chaput.htm

Catholics who vote pro-abortion commit a mortal sin
https://www.tldm.org/News6/VotingPro-ChoiceJohnKerry.htm

Separation of Church and State: "a fatal theory"
https://www.tldm.org/News6/separation.htm

Full text of Cardinal Ratzinger's letter to U.S. bishops, that they must refuse Communion to pro-abort politicians
https://www.tldm.org/News7/Ratzinger.htm

Cardinal Ratzinger says that refusing Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians is a "doctrine of the Church"
https://www.tldm.org/News7/Ratzinger3.htm

Your names have been written in Heaven… "It is not by accident that you are called by My Mother, for your names have been written in Heaven.... But with this great grace you have great responsibility to send this Message from Heaven throughout the world, for if you are able to recover just one more for Heaven, an additional star shall be placed in your crown." - Jesus, August 5, 1975

A great obligation to go forward... "It is not by accident that you are called by My Mother, for it is by merit and the prayers that have risen to Heaven for your salvation. For those who have received the grace to hear the Message from Heaven, you have a great obligation to go forward and bring this Message to your brothers and sisters. Do not expect a rest upon your earth, for you will have eternal rest very soon." - Jesus, June 12, 1976

The sin of omission... "The sin of omission shall condemn many to hell, be they layman or Hierarchy. I repeat: not the sin of commission, but the sin of omission will commit many to hell." Our Lady of the Roses, October 6, 1980

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Abortion: the ultimate exploitation of women https://www.tldm.org/news6/exploitation.htm

Abortion: the ultimate exploitation of women
https://www.tldm.org/news6/exploitation.htm