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More on Boston Caritas Christi and abortion

Here's some follow-up to this post.

Boston's Catholic charity has apparently made a partnership with another company, CeltiCare. CeltiCare's representative Brian Delaney has definitely confirmed, as of May, that the program will provide "family planning services as appropriate." (Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a sub-link for this particular story on Catholic Action League's main page, so the only way to access it is to search for "CeltiCare" on the page, or, later, with the site name.)

As previously reported, the requirements of the contract are the provision of an 800 number to women seeking abortions and even, if necessary, transportation.

This March story from the Boston Globe (which just came to my attention) is particularly damning.

The vote [to approve the health-care contract for Caritas] followed several closed-door sessions in which officials from Centene and Caritas, the minority partner in the joint venture, assured regulators that women will have "ready access" to family planning and reproductive services, an issue that sparked concerns from abortion foes and reproductive rights activists.

Among the written assurances are a pledge that medical staff operating under the Centene-Caritas insurance plan, known as Commonwealth Family Health Plan, will inform women of their healthcare options, including abortion. The insurers will also provide a toll-free customer service line, available around the clock, to inform women about where they can get contraception, sterilization, and other family planning services not offered in the immediate setting. In an emergency, a service representative will arrange transportation to the nearest appropriate facility, officials said.

The regulators promised to watch closely. "We will certainly monitor their performance," said Jon Kingsdale, the authority's executive director. "We will not allow them to start up or continue if they are not in compliance."

As a measure of the underlying tensions, four board members emphasized the need for oversight.

"I remain somewhat concerned about implementation," said Nonnie Burnes, state commissioner of insurance and a former Planned Parenthood board member. "I am willing to support this as long as we have some way to monitor this" in doctor's offices and other healthcare facilities.


It doesn't get much clearer than that. The government board received written assurances that the plan will provide "ready access" to all these "services," including a round-the-clock number and transportation in an "emergency," however "emergency" is being defined. Moreover, a former Planned Parenthood board member will now be part of the oversight board to monitor their promised compliance.

Here is a NARAL press release from about the same time:

We are not privy to the details of the Centene-Caritas bid, but it does appear that the Connector has obtained affirmation from Centene-Caritas that low-income women and men of the Commonwealth will be “insulated” from the influence of Caritas in this system such that this joint venture will improve – not impede – access to basic care, including the reproductive and sexual health care required by law...
The Globe story came out on March 13, yet the contract is apparently still going forward, with a planned start-date of July 1.

This Catholic blogger, Carol McKinley, believes that she has solved some of the mystery. McKinley has apparently been bugging the Knights of Malta and has received a verbal statement to the effect that "Caritas will not be referring for abortions." Her theory, backed by some research of her own, is that the directors of Caritas are salving their consciences (and the consciences of their diocesan leaders?) by creating a separate business entity which will formally and legally be the entity doing the abortion referrals. She writes to Joseph Feitelberg of the Knights of Malta,

You responded to my last email by calling Bill Cousins on Friday and asking him to assure me that "Caritas" will not be making referrals for abortions" I phoned you later Friday evening to have a followup conversation. I must confess, there still seems to be a great deal of confusion.

Hopefully I can clear up the confusion in a more simplified manner in this email....

When you and the Cardinal are using the word "Caritas" in this context, I believe you mean to convey that the Cardinal and Caritas have created another business to carry out the abortions. In this business structure, the name "Caritas" is a substantial partner in the abortion business but the name "Caritas" will be on the back burner.

The confusion is arising because pro-lifers are speaking about the various people involved in this venture, the souls, the living people, not the name of the businesses that will execute the services that are binding in the contract....

If I understand the situation as it currently stands, when you say "Caritas will not be doing abortions or referring women for them", you don't mean Caritas isn't involved in the abortions business or the women won't be referred by a business Caritas is involved in or the abortions won't happen as a result of the contract "Caritas" has entered, you mean the abortion services "Caritas"has promised to perform on women will be done under a different business name. On face value, a soundbyte can be created that inoculates Caritas from what is happening on the ground inside of the hospitals to the people, "Caritas will not be doing abortion referrals". (Is the Bioethics Center giving an opinion on the spiritual obligations of a Cardinal hiring people to perform services that are obstacles to the salvation of those souls?)


I'm sorry to have to say it, but McKinley's analysis of the situation looks very plausible.

HT Mike Liccione

Comments (191)

Seen from the perspcetive of Hell's War Room, the strategy is brilliant; "turn their corporal works of mercy into a moral dilemna by forcing them to choose between the living or the unborn."

The "soft tyranny" on display here is the distinctive trait of the emerging dystopia forming against us. The prospect that O'Malley may have caved is sickening and frightening.

Tragic. I expected more of a fight. In my naivety, I thought even nominally Catholic institutions had more spine.

Lydia, I'm sure you read the New Atlantis article on the Catholic health care issue. The strategies outlined there for Catholic institutions wanting to keep their identity could have been adopted in Boston. So taking the government contract doesn't strike me as a last resort move. This smells more like willful cooperation than capitulation to me.

This smells more like willful cooperation than capitulation to me.

That is quite a charge. Care to elaborate?

No, I didn't see the New Atlantis article. I assume it was about how to resist attempts at coercion from the government. I have to say that it's pretty obvious here that Caritas Christi _sought_ the contract. That is a far worse thing even than their having become dependent on the govt. funds gradually over a period of years and then having the squeeze put on them to capitulate or lose the funds. They wanted a contract they did not previously have. These were the conditions for obtaining that contract. They formed a business arrangement with Centene Corp. and that joint entity--Caritas-Centene (CeltiCare evidently is a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene)--pursued and obtained the contract. They didn't have to do any of this. It doesn't even seem to me like it needed to be a dilemma. I can't even understand why they felt they "had to" do it. They didn't have to compete for the contract in the first place. Caritas would have gone on existing as it had all along.

If my perception here is incorrect, I'm happy to be corrected. But that's how it looks from what I've been able to read.

They didn't have to compete for the contract in the first place. Caritas would have gone on existing as it had all along.

There is no incentive to switch? They are in such financial shambles it sounds like they will soon be out of the Archdiocese control for that very reason; you preferential option for the poor types can't run a business.

Don't want to play defense attorney here, but need to know more before O'Malley is lumped in with a guy like Jenkins at ND. It flys in the face of the man's entire public record. And even at ND it was well-heeled lay members calling the shots, though I suffer no illusions about many in the Congregation of the Holy Cross.

If I understand you correctly, Kevin, you're suggesting that the whole Caritas system has been in financial dire straits and has sought this new government contract for that reason? That might be true. I wouldn't know. But it doesn't (I have to admit) sound like a very rousing defense anyway.

The really unfortunate thing is the lack of transparency. The fact remains, whatever the motive, there can be close to no doubt that they _have_ taken on this contract with these conditions, and yet apparently the Catholic officials are denying this even as the official representative for Centene is affirming it! And indeed, they couldn't possibly be slated to start up on July 1 if they hadn't agreed to the conditions. So there's a major honesty problem here with the diocese's attempt to say that this isn't happening when, manifestly, it's happening.

I'm not lumping O'Malley in with anybody else. I'm just trying to report the facts as far as I can find them out, and if these are the facts, then O'Malley is definitely doing something wrong. Hiding his head in the sand _at a minimum_. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. The business-association pea-shuffle game looks particularly bad.

Lydia,

Thank you for posting this important information.

Joe Feitelberg is also on the Board of Directors/Governors of Caritas Christi.

One correction - Caritas Christi is a substantial owner and shareholder of Celticare. In other words, Cardinal O'Malley created the business that will carry out the abortions and is trying to create the illusion that the abortion services provided by one of his own corporations, that in which he has purchased stock ownership interests and rights -- is something separate.

Further, I would also urge you to do some googles on Caritas and Landmark hospital in Rhode Island. Caritas not only sought this situation to perform medical evils upon the poor and obliterate Catholic conscience rights - Cardinal O'Malley and Caritas while stalling opposition - they were down in a Rhode Island Hospital adding it to their business arrangements.


Carol


Landmark Medical Center may soon announce a partnership | Health ...
Unionized employees received a letter a couple of months ago naming Caritas Christi Health Care as a potential partner for Landmark, according to Chris Callaci, staff representative with the United Nurses and Allied Professionals, ...

projo.com - News Health - http://www.projo.com/health/

Thanks for the added info, Carol. I had just recently found your blog through a link put up on Facebook. I hadn't understood that about Joe Feitelberg, and that explains your e-mails to him.

I'm not sure I understand the point about Landmark. Is the idea that Caritas can't itself be in such dire financial straits as to need this contract in Mass. if it's bailing out Landmark in Rhode Island?

By the way, if I may make a small suggestion: The posts on your page tend to be very long and visually complicated. It was sometimes hard to see why all the material that was in a single post was there and hard to find what one was looking for. It would help if you would break the posts up into shorter ones and give short introductions, explaining what is to follow and what the point is.

Kevin, you're suggesting that the whole Caritas system has been in financial dire straits and has sought this new government contract for that reason?

Lydia,
Yes, I am saying they will either find funding or be sold off.;

Boston (AP) -- The Catholic Archdiocese of Boston's six hospitals are laying off 160 workers at the same time a $100 million financing deal has fallen through.

Caritas Christi Health Care announced a deal in October in which Ascension Health of St. Louis would buy $100 million in a larger public bond offering.

Brian Carty, Caritas Christi's chief marketing officer, tells The Boston Globe that with credit markets frozen because of the nation's economic crisis, Caritas Christi is unable to sell bonds.

A deal for Ascension to acquire Caritas Christi earlier fell through, as did a tentative one with another Catholic health care system, and Caritas Christi decided to continue operating on its own.

The 160 layoffs represent 1.2 percent of the network's 13,000 member workforce.

In other words, Cardinal O'Malley created the business that will carry out the abortions and is trying to create the illusion that the abortion services provided by one of his own corporations, that in which he has purchased stock ownership interests and rights -- is something separate.

Carol, you have either broken the biggest scandal in New England since, well the last one which led to O'Malley's appointment in the first place or recklessly slandered the man.

Why isn't Dan Rea all over this? Or, MCFL. The Globe? O.k., maybe the latter will wait until the deal is completed before they go in for the kill and finish off the Church in Boston for good. And, maybe MCFL is too burned out to pick a fight with a Cardinal, and Rea has mellowed, but I'm finding no verification of your claims.

Let me repeat; Cardinal O'Malley created a corporation knowing it would provide abortions and is going to great lengths to conceal both his financial stake in that organization and it true nature. Not much room to fudge this one.

I think you need to provide more evidence, or apologize. I'll be the first to praise you for your courage if you are correct, but if you are wrong you should step away from the keyboards forever.

I second Lydia's comments; your blog postings are tough to follow. In a case so black and white, it shouldn't be too difficult to write an understandable narrative that includes hard facts, links and an outline of possible motives.


Kevin,

I'm honestly not very familiar with the case, or with the extent of Cardinal O'Malley's direct involvement with Catholic healthcare in the area. But I am a little familiar with the situation in general and the most common argument for Catholic institutions providing "basic reproductive health" is always akin to the one you are--maybe unintentionally--making.

wouldn't it be a shame if we had to stop helping everying just because of our stance on this one issue?

That's what the argument always comes down to for the Catholics trying to salve their consciences. It isn't valid. I can't accept it, however difficult the alternative may be. Maybe some others can; but to sacrifice the innocent to save the many isn't Catholic healthcare. It never could be.

I also have some serious doubts about the validity of the "we have to close because our stand on abortion is killing us" argument. There are considerable issues, too numerous to go into here, concerning negotiating with insurance companies that also pay for abortions. There can be no doubt that regulations and private lobbies make it unduly difficult to be a Catholic hospital. But that the abortion revenue these hospitals are missing out on, or that the indirect costs incurred by not performing them is driving these hospitals into the ground--I'm not buying. It smacks much more or "never let a crisis go to waste" coming from certain ambitious social catholics than a legitimate argument.

Lastly, I don't think that you can tie any statistical significance to 1.2% of the hospital workers being laid off given the economic times we are in. Let alone isolate it's cause to not performing abortions.

Unfortunately, if it comes to it I do say close the hospital. Perform the abortions or close the hospital--either way, they are out of the healthcare business.

Kevin,

I hold your same reservations about imputing Cardinal O'Malley.

From Lydia's original post it sounded only like another catholic "organization," or the board of a nominally Catholic hospital capitulating. I didn't realize the accusation was against the Cardinal and the entire diocese of Boston.

I think you need to provide more evidence, or apologize. I'll be the first to praise you for your courage if you are correct, but if you are wrong you should step away from the keyboards forever.

I completely agree.

the most common argument for Catholic institutions providing "basic reproductive health" is always akin to the one you are--maybe unintentionally--making.

Brett, no that is not the situation here.

The chain of Catholic hospitals run by the Boston Archdiocese must comply with this; "that medical staff operating under the Centene-Caritas insurance plan, known as Commonwealth Family Health Plan, will inform women of their healthcare options, including abortion." Bad, but not the same as performing abortions or providing contraceptives.

The Archdiocese is in financial ruins after the sex abuse settlements and its healthcare system is cracking. Are you really surprised that most would accept accept state-funding and the attached mandates than close?

Remember this arrangement allows them to say; " yeah, we had to give out the same 800 number to the abortion mill that is posted on every MTA rail car, bus stop and phone directory in the city, or stop practicing medicine."

It is an insidious form of economic coercion that incrementally erodes one's conscience until one day you are but a slave on Death's plantation. Let's be careful to recognize the diabolic genius of it all, as it subtly attacks the heart of Christian life; active and engaged charity.

Brett, the reason Cardinal O'Malley is being brought into this is that the hospital chain/health organization is run by the diocese. So he could--my understanding is--have stopped the contract from going through. The additional stuff about his ostensibly making some sort of profit here is not something I'm endorsing. As far as I know it's unsupported hearsay, and I have my doubts. But there seems to be no doubt at all that a) the healthcare organization run by the diocese (or a company formed that includes that organization) has agreed to these terms and b) there is a lot of stonewalling and obfuscatory talk going on from the Catholic representatives when people ask questions about this.

I have to add that the Globe article does _not_ seem to be implying that this is the "same 800 number on every bus." To the contrary, if you look at the quote again you will see that it implies that setting up and maintaining this number is one of the jobs *of the insurer*--in other words, of the healthcare agency getting the contract. A 24/7 800 number telling people where to get abortion, sterilization, contraception, and any other "family planning" services not offered by the Catholic hospitals. A number set up and maintained, apparently, by Caritas-Centene (or CeltiCare) itself. That's pretty astonishing.

Lydia, Ads for "Reproductive health clinics" are ubiquitous and anyone so inclined will have no problem finding a hired killer. I mean "provider". So if you can't see how someone dedicated to the healing arts could rationalize this agreement you haven’t adequately put yourself in their place, nor will you fully grasp the dynamics behind this kind of pin-striped thuggery .

Also, Carol not only claims Cardinal O'Malley will not only profit from this arrangement, but knowingly set-up a company that covers abortions. That is truly astonishing. We await further documentation of her charges.

Don't want to play defense attorney here, but need to know more before O'Malley is lumped in with a guy like Jenkins at ND

I live in the Diocese of Palm Beach County, Fl and the installation of O'Malley here as our Bishop was a welcome relief after we had two consecutive Homosexual Bishops outed and ousted after it was revealed they had committed sex crimes against adolescent males. Of course, they skated and remain free when they ought to be in the slammer - for decades, at a minimum.

In any event, he wasn't here long before he ended-up being installed in Boston. I have a lot of friends in the area and so I kept-up with news about him.

Sadly, his record ain't stellar. For instance, there is this indefensible evil he forced on the Parochial School System. Thankfully, Catholic Traditionalists opposed him:

Talking about Touching ; A controversial, mandatory child-abuse prevention program in Boston parochial schools has alienated parents who simply want to assert their rights

http://www.bettnet.com/blog/index.php/forums/viewthread/7/

The Catholic Medical Association said the program is crap (my word).

http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/1375/

Better link to Catholic Medical Association report

http://www.veilofinnocence.org/news/catholicmedical.html

Kevin, I think you're saying that the Caritas-Centene group could pay one of these 800 numbers that is already set up to be "their" number? Or that they could say they were "providing" it just by handing out such a number? They could try that. Can I see how they could rationalize the whole thing to themselves? Yes, I think I can. But it's pretty bad all the same, and all the more so *because they are not admitting it*. I mean, let's say this outright: Hasn't the diocese of Boston had enough trouble from covering things up and not telling inquirers openly what is really going on? I think, too, that Carol raises an important question at one point on her blog when she points out that given the "oversight" from pro-abortionists on the committee that awarded the contract, there are legitimate concerns that employees of the Caritas health-care facilities will change their modus operandi and will not counsel against abortion whereas before they did. It certainly seems plausible to me that if the "overseers" have anything to say about it, they will mandate a "non-judgmental" approach to all these "reproductive health services." They will try to make the non-participation of the Catholic hospitals as nominal and meaningless as possible--"No, we don't do that here, but that's just because we don't do it. Here, let me help you find a place that does."

Another article, from Catholic World Report, is pretty damning.

At this point the attorney general of Massachusetts, Martha Coakley, announced that she could no longer watch the archdiocesan health care system flounder. Citing her duty to supervise the affairs of non-profit groups, she announced an investigation of Caritas Christi. In March 2008 the attorney general released a highly critical report, and recommended major changes in the agency’s governance. She strongly recommended that the Boston archdiocese “relinquish direct and indirect control over strategic, operational, and financial matters, and focus only on moral and ethical issues."

The archdiocese quietly acceded to the proposed reforms. In a sweeping reorganization announced a few weeks later, the archbishop of Boston lost his traditional place as chairman, and the archdiocese was allotted only three seats on the 16-member board. The archdiocese announced that its control over the affairs of Caritas Christi would henceforth be “limited to matters pertaining to Catholic identity, mission, and the implementation of the religious and ethical directives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and any transaction that would involve the sale or transfer of the system.”
In a highly unusual policy for a non-profit organization, the reconstituted Caritas Christi has declined to identify the members of its board of directors. The latest official papers filed with state regulators do not reflect the organizational changes of May 2008. So when Caritas Christi became involved in the controversial bid for the state health care contract, Catholics hoping to influence the agency’s policies—or to express their concerns about the moral dimensions of the government contract bid—did not know where to address their concerns.

Just three members of the 16-member board of Caritas Christi have been publicly identified, and none of them has a background that would reassure pro-life activists. Dr. Ralph de la Torre, who as president is an ex officio board member, has been a forceful advocate for an independent hospital system, and the primary force behind the contract bid. James Karam, the chairman of the board, is a businessman whose political sympathies are evident in his generous contributions to liberal Democratic candidates such as Barack Obama. And the only identified cleric on the board, Father J. Bryan Hehir, has been the bête noire of conservative Catholics nationwide since the 1980s, when he emerged as a major architect of the US bishops’ pastoral letter on nuclear weaponry and an apologist for the “seamless garment” approach that saw abortion as only one among many critical issues in political campaigns. Father Hehir, Caritas Christi told inquiring Catholics, served on the board as Cardinal O’Malley’s representative, to ensure that the health care system protected its Catholic identity. If that message was intended to ease the concerns of pro-life activists, it failed badly.

It seems Caritas Christi is just a shell now. It's a bit too late to rush to it's defense; defenders should have done it years ago.

If the choice is to get involved in the abortion business or go out of business, you go out of business.

Lydia
You are missing several points here.

1)This is the brave new world of economic coercion, not O'Malley conspiring with Herod.

2) The whole point of the state-mandating the 800 number is a superflous, save one key aspect; it forces other to violate their conscience. There is no other practical consideration beyond that. As the ghouls at Planned Parenthood said above; women will be "insulated" from the Spirit. And as an aside, if you think many of those hardened Colleens from Southie will be cooperating you haven't met their sisters waiting on tabels at Durkin Park. Small consolation, but it's like Tocqueville once said; "A democracy is where everyone is heard, A bureaucracy is where no one listens."

3) The financial status of Caritas is being concealed for good reason.
Here is what the rating agencies said 2 years ago, in July 2007 before the credit markets seized up and the system went silent;
Caritas Christi is downgraded to negative from stable, reflecting weakened year-to-date financial performance, vacancies in key management positions, underperformance in its employed physician division, and uncertainties regarding the system's future strategic direction after recent affiliation talks with Ascension Health System terminated.

A speculative grade entity without access to the credit markets and no viable suitor is an excellent target for the Deathworks' technocrats in both the private and public sectors.

4) No one here is happy about this, but we need to learn more before we can issue accusations of cowardice and complicity. Talking to you Carol.

If the choice is to get involved in the abortion business or go out of business, you go out of business

Sounds like that is the endgame;The government contract will undoubtedly bring a critical infusion of revenue for the Caritas Christi system. The alliance with Centene Corporation in the CFHP may even lead to a successful sale of the troubled Caritas Christi system though it comes at horrible cost. Made none the better by reckless unfounded accusations.

Can I see how they could rationalize the whole thing to themselves?

You'd be amased at what putative Catholic Institutions can do.

Years ago I worked for The State of Maine as a Psychiatric Social Worker and we entered into a partnership with Catholic Charities in Portland, Maine http://www.ccmaine.org/info.php?info_id=85

One afternoon, during "Supervision," the then Director of Holy Innocents (I ended-up calling it "Holy Ignorance")told us we had to provide abortion information to any pregnant client who asked and that we were not to add any "personal" or "religious" information of our own.

I asked our Supervisor that if we discovered one our clients was suicidal were we required to provide that client with the telephone number to The Hemlock Society.

He was not amused and he accused me of being a committed Catholic (a rare example of accurate diagnosis for him) who wished to impose my personal religious beliefs on women who were pregnant.

I responded with statistics about the "Anniversary Dates" of women who had abortions etc etc and he warned me never to speak with pregnant women about this matter.

I received that instruction as though I were a candidate for a scholarship to Gallaudet College.

So, yeah - when I hear the "unbelievable" about Catholic Institutions I no longer reflexively strike back.

That's an important story, IANS.

So, yeah - when I hear the "unbelievable" about Catholic Institutions I no longer reflexively strike back.

No, but you have an obligation not too pile-on in a fit that is half-sanctimony and half-despair. The Chronicles of Catholic Compromise and Dissolution is 2000 years old. You can add to the upcoming edition, but The Wanderer has it covered already.

I asked our Supervisor that if we discovered one our clients was suicidal were we required to provide that client with the telephone number to The Hemlock Society.

Funny, however the response is lacking in some way, no?

14 years ago I joined my parish religious education program run by a nun who made clear she was in dissent and found JPII a reactionary embarrassment. I could have left in a huff as some have over the years, but then who teaches the kids? A cultural conformist most likely.

Last week this very same nun called me to excitedly tell me that next year our curriculum for middle and high-schoolers is

Theology of the Body
. Prayers answered. Patience rewarded. This past year we have had several outside orthodox speakers on contraception and all the bitter fruits that flow from it. Signs of a counter-deformation are in the works all around us.

We are called to fight the daily battle with patience, wisdom, charity, courage and yes the wit you employed above. The rest is in God's hands. Running around drawing the worst possible interpretation of events however will only render the person who does so spiritually infertile.

It is natural to be hurt by betrayal. Just don't nurse it, or worse, unwittingly replicate it.

Kevin,

I understand your reservations. I assure you, I have done my homework and diligence and I invite you to do yours. I would take care to be open to the information I am citing without attacking like a dog.

The Cardinal has created an entity that will carry out the abortions. He has invested in it. He has stock options. He is a shareholder in the business. The number given to women will be of a business the Cardinal himself created.

I'll cite references for you to track down and read a little bit later this evening. If you go to the Secretary of State's office of Massachusettes - you will see that Celtic Care is a business belonging to the Archdiocese. They are the minority partner in the business.

Anyone on the ground defending the sanctity of life has been made aware of the corruption during Cardinal O'Malley's tenure. He lost control of the See to Bryan Hehir severeal years ago. Hehir is operating everything. The Cardinal is a prop.

More later.

Kevin,

There are many people who still consider the Cardinal's business of the killing of children and the obliterations of medical vocations for Catholics in this country a serious enough offense to stand in the public square and speak the truth. Many sources and stories now are out in the public. The National Catholic Register, the Catholic ACtion League, Phil Lawler, the American Life League - catch up on the stories.

A contract to murder children advanced by a Cardinal so he can make money is an offense to rise against. For the record, I do consider this more scandalous than any complicit act of the rape of children.

I have done my homework and diligence and I invite you to do yours

Carol,
Uh, no. You made the charge and the burden is on you to make the case. Not for me to start dialing the 617 area code.

As for an Archbishop being surrounded by a chancery of graying dissidents, yawn.
But,

the Cardinal is a prop
- heavy stuff, minus of course anything but assertions. I was up there a couple of weeks ago for a Profession of Vows by a friend entering the O.V.M. at St. Clement's Shrine and not a word of this alleged crime.

I'm open to your case, but if what you're saying is true - The Cardinal has created an entity that will carry out the abortions - a delegation to Rome should have left by now, a Canon lawyer retained and a Dan Rea marathon begun.

No, but you have an obligation not too pile-on in a fit that is half-sanctimony and half-despair.

Kevin. I didn't. I responded to a question about Bishop O'Malley and I related what I knew and posted a link. That is not piling-on. It is merely informing others of what was already public knowledge.

Funny, however the response is lacking in some way, no?

Not really. It woke-up everybody else in the room that referrals to Planned Parenthood for counseling for abortions is as morally wrong as would be referrals to The Hemlock Society for counseling about suicide. Those I worked with had never before heard the society of death publicly confronted before I did it. Without negative consequences. And I refused to back down and he had not the, ah, courage to try and get me fired because he knew that if he tried that, I would have caused there to be a wave of feces that would have broken above his head. And, the issue was never raised again during the time I was there.

14 years ago I joined my parish religious education program...

Good for you. The Pastor of my Parish posted a notice for volunteers to teach Catechism Classes. I volunteered and was turned-down.

We are called to fight the daily battle with patience, wisdom, charity, courage and yes the wit you employed above. The rest is in God's hands. Running around drawing the worst possible interpretation of events however will only render the person who does so spiritually infertile.

I am a realist, I draw real conclusions from actual events happening in my presence and I do not pretend to do anything but that.

I lived in a dead Diocese. The Bishop allowed there to be published in the local Diocesan Paper, "The Church World," a column by Fr. O'Brien in which he claimed that Jesus "was ignorant, in error, and sexually tempted."

I badgered the paper and The Bishop to print an apology and retraction. They refused and I ended-up picketing my own Chancery and while I was picketing and praying the rosary, the Bishop's spokesman came out to tell me, "The Bishop agrees with the column."

The next day I spoke on the phone with The Chancellor (a priest)of the Diocese who told me, "We think you are an insane fool. Everyone over here laughs at you."

The Bishop is no longer Bishop there (He went back to The Academy)and The Chancellor is now just a Parish Priest in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and now, the few times I am back there, I get a sort of delight by being the only man in his line for Communion who receives Holy Eucharist on the tongue and after Mass I get to experience the great joy of hearing my daughter say, "Dad, it must drive him crazy to see you at Mass here.He hates you."

It is natural to be hurt by betrayal. Just don't nurse it, or worse, unwittingly replicate it.

Kevin. In addition to the above, you said my response was a fit of half-sanctimony and half-despair. Seriously, that sort of farcical imputation of my motives and mood just rolls right off my back.

We Irish-Algonquins are bred to fight and we love nothing more than a losing battle :)

Kevin, I do hope we are all agreed that even given the most charitable possible interpretation of the motives of Caritas or the stresses they were under in all of this, it was _wrong_ for them to agree to these conditions in order to get the contract. Agreed?

The whole series of comments here betray quite an alarming ignorance concerning the sorry state of affairs in the medical industry. It would've been nice if folks performed their due diligence prior to making such incredible assertions and, furthermore, generating remarkably infallible declarations concerning the supposed guilt of one party and ultimately condemn them wholly to utter damnation.

At any rate, have at it. Though, if you care to engage in more substantive dialogue, perhaps all the seeming "experts" on this thread concerning matters of both heart, soul and healthcare might, at the very least, read up on the facts.

The only sensible comment (albeit, admittedly superficial still) is this one here:

The Archdiocese is in financial ruins after the sex abuse settlements and its healthcare system is cracking. Are you really surprised that most would accept accept state-funding and the attached mandates than close?

Anyway, enjoy in putting each other to the rack.

IANS,

Why yes, the Bishop and his luminaries believe Christ was ignorant, in error and sexually tempted - and we are the fools.

These are the days aren't they?

Courage is contagious.

Who would have thought 80 Bishops would speak out against Notre Damn?

Every time we witness to truth, the spines of a dozen people are stiffened.

Kevin, I do hope we are all agreed that even given the most charitable possible interpretation of the motives of Caritas or the stresses they were under in all of this, it was _wrong_ for them to agree to these conditions in order to get the contract. Agreed?

Lydia,
From the beginning, you have portrayed this as an arrangement of choice, when even Lawlor's column suggests this is a prelude to the Archdiocese selling-off the chain as soon as it gets viable enough to find a buyer.

We do not know if there were other options beyond the doomsday one; close on principle. Have you been in Boston recently?

O'Malley would be lynched for turning his back on the city, especially its poor. The storyline; "first they abused our children and then they threw the ill and the infirm out on the streets. Thank God the State took over from this warped cult." And; "prolife, sure when we needed them most the fired staff, cut services and walked away"

You were wrong to suggest that NRTL was going to jettison opposition to ESRC if McCain won and my gut tells me you're jumping the gun here.

I'll wait before I judge. In the meantime, let's hope we all walk the walk when we're each called upon.

The Cardinal and Caritas on May 5th created Celtic Care Health Care Plan of Massachusetts, Inc. The Cardinal gave the go-ahead for Caritas Christi Health Care to invest in, become a partner in, be a substantial shareholder in, Celtic Care Health Plan of Massachusetts, Inc. The Articles of Organization can be viewed at the Massachusetts Secretary of State. In this arrangement, when the women and patients are "referred" out for abortions and other services - guess whose number they will be given? Celtic Care. Celtic Care Health Care Plan of Massachusetts, Inc., is a business venture of the Cardinal Archbishop and the Archdiocese of Boston.

I've entered a post with several links to read. Hopefully, Lydia will post those links.

Meanwhile, there is no time to waste. The Cardinal is about to enter a contract to murder children and has created the business to perform.

Kevin--so you are saying, definitely, that if they needed this state infusion of cash in order not to go bankrupt (for example), then it was _not wrong_ to seek this contract even with these conditions attached to it? Do I have this right? I definitely disagree with you, if so. And I'm curious: If that is your position, what conditions attached to a contract under those circumstances _would_ you consider to be so bad that one would have to refrain from seeking the cash infusion from Big Brother, even if that meant one would go bankrupt?

Carol, I would guess that the hardest part to document there would be that the number that will be given will be to Celtic care. Multiple links in a comment will cause the comment to be held for moderation, but if you have a single link to documentation on that point, feel free to post it in a comment. Or, if you want to put up a comment with more than one link, just understand that I will have to approve the comment, which should take only a short time.

Lydia,

I think it's worth waiting for a multiple link post to appear. I believe I submitted one with commentary and another without. Your choice.

I think you have your finger on the pulse. Caritas Christi actively sought a contract that included performing abortions on women. Caritas Christi has publicly admitted they will carry out the abortions or see to it that somebody else does. The Cardinal has made an awful lot of statements that contradict the facts.

There is one glaring one:

On March 5th, the Cardinal said:

“I want to confirm for the Catholic community and the wider interested public 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..."

See any problem with that statement and the others the Cardinal has made that says no abortion referrals will be done?

The Cardinal says there will be violations of the Church's moral teaching. He knows and has defended this contract. It says that Caritas is going to create relationships will carry out those procedures. Which is, of course, ludicrous. The whole purpose of bidding on the contract was because it is lucrative. The Cardinal does not seem to care that the babies are going to die and people will have to carry out the moral evils under a contract he is signing. There is a profound disregard for souls in such a conviction.

If this is new Catholic dogma, then certainly, we can all hire people to kill other people so long as we don't benefit by it. Of course, whenever anyone thinks about killing people, they think in one way or another, they're going to benefit from it, don't they?

“I want to confirm for the Catholic community and the wider interested public that Caritas Christi Health Care has assured me that it will not..... draw any benefits from any relationship which violate the Church’s moral teaching..."

what conditions attached to a contract under those circumstances _would_ you consider to be so bad that one would have to refrain from seeking the cash infusion from Big Brother

That the Catholic hospitals would have to perform abortions and provide contraceptives. That would mean bankruptcy and a firestorm of epic proportions.

The Cardinal is about to enter a contract to murder children and has created the business to perform.

Lydia, does your silence mean you have signed on to this charge? If so, maybe you can provide the evidence. If not, when do plan to speak up?

Kevin,

I'm surprised that you would believe the Cardinal can enter into a contract that kills people (and then subcontract people to carry the killings out) if the finances of a Chancery are in trouble. What other moral evils do you think the Cardinal can invest in because they are lucrative? In Nevada - how about prostitution?

Does the exploitation and killings and sins of commission and omission of the people who will have to carry the moral evils out bother you?

Do you believe Catholics in the pews facing economic challenges can hire people to kill off their offspring or elderly parents?

Theologically then, how do you feel about a man who accepted money from the Government to hand over the body to execute? He is not culpable in the acts? Christ addressed this. When standing in front of Pilate, He said something like those who handed Me over to you are guilty of the greater sin. (though there is no St. Pilate, Judas and the High Priests were guilty of even greater sins than the people carrying out the executions.

This is very grave matter of the soul of the Cardinal. His actions condemn him because all the souls will be condemned - unless they wake up to an epiphany and repent of their actions.

Every practicing Catholic in the hospital will have to either quit their job - or give women abortion propaganda that abortion is the cure for their economic woes and send them on their way. That is a requirement of the contract and the Cardinal has agreed to permit Catholic healthcare workers to be monitored by Planned Parenthood - if necessary inside of examination rooms.

There's a lot of reading in the links I gave Lydia - I'm sure she's busy educating herself.

read the below with citations

-----Original Message-----
From: cmmckinley@aol.com

+

IHS

Gentlemen:

I beg your indulgence, but I neglected to mention:

On March 5th, the Cardinal said:

“I want to confirm for the Catholic community and the wider interested public 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..." *(7a)

It appears the Cardinal knew on March 5th that the contract violated Church's moral teachings, but was assured that Caritas Christi would not draw benefits from the violations.

Caritas h as been in financial trouble and it's purpose in bidding on the contract was to draw financial benefits, the business Caritas and the Archdiocese created to carry out the contract that violates Church teachings, Celtic Care Health Care plan of Massachusetts, Inc., is a registered as a&nb sp; "for-profit". Since Caritas is a substantial partner in the "for-profit" that violates the teachings of the Church, they indeed draw benefits from the violations.

In the interests of transparency, Caritas and the Cardinal need to release the opinion of the National Catholic Bioethics Center. If the NCBC has given approval to this deal, it means that they believe if their corporation develops financial difficulties, Fr.Tad and Dr. Haas can=2 0become the minority partner in a for-profit corporation that performs embryonic stem cell research. If the NCBC declined to approve this deal, the Cardinal not only proceeded knowing that it was unethical and children would be harmed, he released statements undermining the credibility of Catholics warning the faithful in the public square.

In the interest of full disclosure, Catholics have a right to know what transpired. Please release the opinion.

In Christ, Carol McKinley


-----Original Message-----
From: cmmckinley@aol.com To: archbishopsean@rcab.org; joefeitelberg@maltaboston.org; catholic.conscience.protections@gmail.com
Cc: Beirne_Lovely@rcab.org; td onilon@vzw.blackberry.net; terrence_donilon@rcab.org; tad.grd.nsc@aya.yale.edu; DrJohnHaas@aol.com; CALMDOYLE@aol.com
Sent: Tue, 26 May 200 9 1:56 am
Subject: Caritas Update - May 27,2009

May 27, 2009

+
IHS

Dear Joe,

I wanted to memorialize our conversation on Friday evening, May 23rd.


You responded to my last email by calling Bill Cousins on Friday and asking him to assure me that "Caritas" will not be making referrals for abortions" I phoned you later Friday evening to have a followup conversation. I must confess, there still seems to be a great deal of confusion.

Hopefully I can clear up the confusion in a more simplified manner in this email.

"Caritas will not be making referrals for abortions"

When you and the Cardinal are using the word "Caritas" in this context, I believe you mean to convey that the Cardinal and Caritas have created another business to carry out the abortions. In this business structure, the name "Caritas" is a substantial partner in the abortion business but the name "Caritas" will be on the back burner.

The confusion is arising because pro-lifers are speaking about the various people involved in this venture, the souls, the living people, not the name of the businesses that will execute the services that are binding in the contract.

Pro-lifers have been deeply concerned because in the arrangement, the medical staff inside of the Caritas buildings, who are face-to-face with the patients, wil l now be compelled to hand out pro-abortion information. And, Catholics will no longer be free to to describe the spiritual problems with the unethical medical services, in accord with the teachings of the Church.

"Amo ng the written assurances are a pledge that medical staff operating under the Centene-Caritas insurance plan, known as Commonwealth Family Health Plan, will inform women of their healthcare options, including abortion." *(1)

Theologically speaking, these are sins of commission and omission.

In fact, some of the things this contract requires will impose a sentence of automatic excommunication. Before the contract, Catholic employees inside of the buildings of Caritas were able advise the patients that abortion is murder and such a grave offense it severs your relationship with God and His Church. With the contract "Caritas" has signed, Catholic employees inside of the buildings of Caritas are no longer free to advise women coming in requesting an abortion, because "Caritas" has not only promised that the Catholic staff will be compelled to violate their conscience, "Caritas" with the consent of the Cardinal is working out the details of how they will per mit state to monitor Catholic employees. *(1) *(2) *(3) *(8) *(9)

“How compliance will be monitored is just being worked out now,” Massachusetts hea lth authority spokesman Powers said March 16. *(11)

This will have a terrible impact upon evangelization,20conversion and the salvation of souls. It divests Catholics of the freedom to practice medicine.

You and the Cardinal seem concerned about the name of the business in all this. But, the real problem here Joe, is that Caritas bid on a contract that includes performing abortion services and other moral evils upon people. That's not something a Catholic Corporation can do for several reasons. First and foremost, abortion is murder. It is a business arrangement that invol ves murder and somebody is going to have to carry those killings out, somewhere and somehow. Catholic Cardinal's can't involve themselves in contracts like this one because all the people involved are injured physically and spiritually. *(2), *(3) *(9) *(10)

On February 27, 2008, "Caritas" said they would "contract with providers" to perform the moral evils. *(9) When you contract with somebody you tell them to do something and then you give them money. That is what a contract is. In this case, Caritas bid on a contract that involves contraception, sterilizations, in-vitro fertilization and other services including abortion. In this case, when " Caritas" said it would make "contracts with providers", it means they will invite people who commit murders to do business with them and then they will send the women their direction and pay them money to do it.


You also told Bill:

* "the contract ha d not yet been signed"
* the Cardinal will not sign the contract unless the contract excludes Caritas making abortion referrals".


This is consistent with your previous email to Bill. *(4)

Howe ver, according to the public records at the Secretary of State's Office, a contract has already been signed.

When the Cardinal and Caritas originally set the structure up, Caritas was the majority shareholder in "Centene-Caritas" structure. *(5)

Since that time, "Caritas" has entered a joint venture called CeltiCare, formal name is Celtic Health Care Plan of Massachusetts, Inc. *(6)

I reviewed the Articles of Organization at the Massachusett's Secretary of State's Office which were filed on May 5, 2009 for Celtic Care Health Care Plan of Massachusetts, Inc., and it appears that four people from Caritas Christi Health Care have been appointed to the Board of Directors of Celtic Health Care Plan of Massachusetts, Inc. While shareholders are not part of the public record, the By-Laws of a corporation flush out the rights each partner gets in appointing officers and directors. Therefore, Caritas is a partner and substantial shareholder in this corporation. Article V of the Orga nization documents discloses the contract between CeltiCare and its shareholders, including Caritas, has indeed been signed.

If I understand the situation as it currently stands, when you say "Caritas will not be doing abortions or referring women for them", you don't mean Caritas isn't involved in the abortions business or the women won't be referred by a business Caritas is involved in or the abortions won't happen as a result of the contract "Caritas" has entered, you mean the abortion services "Caritas"has promised to perform on women will be done under a different business name. On face value, a soundbyte can be created that inoculates Caritas from what is happening on the ground inside of the hospitals to the people, "Caritas will not be doing abortion referrals". (Is the Bioethics Center giving an opinion on the spiritual obligations of a Cardinal hiring people to perform services that are obstacles to the salvation of those souls?)

This latest development is bewildering and disconcerting. The concerns of Catholics in the Cardinal's consent for Caritas to involve itself in abortion business have been met with obfuscation and secrecy. The Cardinal gave the impression that the deal was on hold until the National Catholic Bioethics Center would examine it, give us the moral rationale and opine whether it was indeed sound and could stand up to proper moral standards. The Cardinal gave the impression that once he obtained the opinion from the National Catholic Bioethics Center, he would open the arrangement to public scrutiny and the deal would not be consummated before the scandal was addressed. *(7a) *(7b) *(7c)

This will have a devastating impact on the Cardinals reputation, credibility and trust. The Cardinal=2 0ceded control of the Catholic operation to Martha Coakey *(12) and then keeping the names of the Caritas Board of Directors secretive, contradicting Caritas and the Commonwealth about the fact that women would be referred for abortions, the secrecy surrounding the details of the arrangement, calling people who were trying to let pro-lifers know that women were indeed going to be referred for abortions under this contract and that Catholic conscience protections would be obliterated under it "people who are doing a great disservice to the Church", giving the impression the deal was on hold and he would publicly release the opinion of the National Catholic Bioethics Center who examined the arrangement - the Archdiocese of Boston is in a grave situation.

In your email to our friend Bill, you said:

"Be assured that with my 1950s HC (Holy Cross) background I will never support a development which would injure our Church. Having said this I will also tell you that while at HC I learned to use the full power of judgment to find new wa ys to improve things while living within the Church’s standards."

Perhaps you were relying upon Rev. Bryan Hehir, who was the Cardinal's representative and liaison to the Caritas Board to guide the full power of you r judgment. Rev. Hehir is deeply involved with a pocket of Catholic dissent operating out of the JFK School of Government - Mary Jo Bane and Marshall Ganz. (Ganz was a protege of Cesar Chavez and an integral player in the Obama campaign, with expertise in "mobilizing".) *(13) I'm afraid you may have been the recipient of some bum advice.

I hope this clarifies the confusion.


In Christ, Carol McKinley


*(1) The Connector Authority board, which oversees the Commonwealth Care program, voted unanimously in favor of the joint venture propose d by Centene Corp., a St. Louis-based health organization, and Caritas Christi Health Care Network.
The vote followed several closed-door sessions in which officials from Centene and Caritas , the minority partner in the joint venture, assured regulators that women will have "ready access" to family planning and reproductive services, an issue that sparked concerns from abortion foes and reproductive rights activists.
Among the written assurances are a pledge that medical staff operating under the Centene-Caritas insurance plan, known as Commonwealth Family Health Plan, will inform women of their healthcare options, including abortion. The insurers will also provide a toll-free customer service line, available around the clock, to inform women about where they can get contraception, sterilization, and other family planning services not offered in the immediate setting. In an emergency, a service representative will arrange transportation to the nearest appropriate facility, officials said.
The regulators promised to watch closely. "We will certainly monitor their performance ," said Jon Kingsdale, the authority's executive director. "We will not allow them to start up or continue if they are not in compliance."
As a measure of the underlying tensions, four board members emphasized the need for 0Aoversight.
"I remain somewhat concerned abou t implementation," said Nonnie Burnes, state comm issioner of insurance and a former Planned Parenthood board member. "I am willing to support this as long as we have some way to monitor this" in doctor's offices and other healthcare facilities (Boston Globe 03.13.2009 Massachusetts Regulators Approve Joint Caritas-Centene Healthcare Venture)


*(2) On Thursday, Sandy McBride, the director of corporate communications for Centene Coproration, e-mailed the Globe a statement declaring, "Commonwealth Family Health Plan will contract with providers, both in and out of the Caritas network, to ensure access to all services required by the Authority, including confidential family planning services." Commonwealth Family Health Plan is the proposed joint venture between Caritas and Centene; "the Authority" is the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority Board.(03.04.2009 "Archdiocese criticized on Caritas, abortion")

*(3) Andrea Miller NARAL
We are not privy to the details of the Centene-Caritas bid, but it does appear that the Connector has obtained affirmation from Centene-Caritas that low-income women and men of the Commonwealth will be “insulated” from the influence of Caritas in this system such that this join t venture will improve – not impede – access to basic care, including the reproductive and sexual health care required by law,and that clear, affirmative disclosures will be made. But, we know that it’s in the real world where the rubber meets the road, so we will be diligent in monitoring the roll out and implementation of this plan - and we appreciate that the Connector Board members have pledged to be a partner in ensuring full disclosure and timely provision of medical care. (prochoicemass press releast 03.12.2009)

*(4) From: Joe Feitelberg [mailto:jhfeit@comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 11:32 AM
To:
Subject: RE: from boston globe

XXX-Thank you for sending this along.
0A
Here are a few missing pieces:
· The Globe wrote this early on before all today’s facts were available
· There has been no execution of the Connector agreement at this time. There is a clear intent to try and be part of this resource which principally serves the poor
· In the Centene-Caritas proposed plan Caritas would be the majority, not the “minority” shareholder
· Cardinal Sean has this under ethical review by the Church’s highest talent20base
· Caritas now has had an outstanding Management team in place for one year which has a skill set that was missing
· FINALLY—none of us should let innuendo or inadequate information stampede us into assumed incompetency
Be assured that with my 1950s HC (Holy Cross) background I will never support a development which would injure our Church. Having said this I will also tell you that while at HC I learned to use the full power of judgment to find new ways to improve things while living within the Church’s standards.
See you in June,
Joe
Joe Feitelberg


* (5) "Commonwealth Family Health Plan, Inc. (CFHP) is pleased to announce that it has submitted a response to the Request for Proposal is sued by the Commonwealth Care Health Insurance Connector Authority (Connector Authority) to provide health insurance for Massachusetts residents enrolled in the Commonwealth Care Program. CFHP is a partnership between20Celtic Group, a subsidiary of Centene Corporation, and Caritas Christi Health Care. The partnership was created to offer a new form of local managed care that is tailored to the needs of Massachusetts’ progressive healthcare system(03.04.2009 "Archdiocese criticized on Caritas, abortion")

About CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts

*(6) CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts, Inc. is a managed care organization that will provide health insurance to Massachusetts residents enrolled in the Commonwealth Care Program. A partnership between Celtic Insurance Company and Caritas Christi Health Care, CeltiCare offers a new form of local managed care that is tailored to the needs of Massachusetts progressive healthcare system.Effective July 1, 2009, the plan will contract with the Commonwealth Care Health Insurance Connector Authority (Authority) to serve low-income, working adults who are not eligible for Medicaid.

*(7a) “I want to co nfirm for the Catholic community and the wider interested public 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. Caritas Christi has been consistently faithful to these standards in the past and will continue to do so in the future.” (Boston Pilot 03.05.2009 "Cardinal O'Malley Releases Statement on Caritas Christi Proposed Management")

*(7b)"While I appreciate the opportunity given to Caritas Christi to serve the poor through this agreement, I wish to reaffirm that this agreement can only be realized if the moral obligations for Catholic hospitals as articulated in the Ethical and Religious Directives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are fulfilled at all times and in all cases. In order to assure me that this agreement will provide for the integrity of the Catholic identity and practices of Caritas Christi Health Care System, I have asked the National Catholic Bioethics Center to review the agreement and to assure me that it is faithful to Catholic principles." (Cardinal's Blog 03.12.2009)

*(7c) "There has been a significant amount of public dialogue concerning my statement yesterday about the propose d arrangement involving Caritas Christi Health Care with the Commonwealth Care Program.
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. We are committed to the Gospel of Life and no arrangement will be entered into unless it is completely in accord with Church teaching.
Recognizing the complexity of the proposed arrangement, I will ask the National Catholic Bioethics Center to review the arrangement and to provide me their opinion." (Cardinal's blog 03.07.2009)

*(8) While state regulators presented th e proposed Caritas-Centene bid last week as a "joint venture," Caritas characterized its participation yesterday as a "minority investment." It also said the venture, to be called Commonwealth Family Health Plan, has filed for licensing by the state Department of Insurance. (Boston Globe 03.04.2009 Caritas Draws Fire on Abortion)

*(9) At least one board member expressed concerns about the proposed Caritas-linked venture, called Commonwealth Family Health Pla n, because Caritas, a six-hospital network affiliated with the Boston Archdiocese, does not perform abortions.
"How will our female members be provided these reproductive services?" said member Nancy Turnbull, an associate dean at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Those are not services Caritas provides." In response, Caritas and Centene issued a joint statement late yesterday that said the new venture "will contract with providers, both in and out of the Caritas network, to ensure access to all services required by the authority, including confidential family planning services."
A spokeswoman for the companies declined to elaborate. (Boston Globe 02.27.2009 "Caritas Bids to Join State Network of Health Insurers")

*(10)Connector Authority spokesman Dick Powers, asked about the issue by the Globe, today said "Health plans must provide covered services. Covered services specifically include abortion services." (03.04.2009 "Archdiocese criticized on Caritas, abortion")

*(11) “How compliance will be monitored is just being worked out now,” Massachusetts health authority spokesman Powers said March 16. (National Catholic Register 04.05.2009 "Did Catholic Hospit al System Compromise Ethics")

In March of 2008, Martha Coakley urged the Archdiocese to cede control of operations of Caritas Christi.

*(12) The report, based on a four-month study, also urges the archdiocese to cede control of the operation of Caritas Christi Health Care System so that an independent board with expertise in healthcare management can run it. The board now answers to Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley - Caritas Christi officials said they are already working on Coakley's top recommendation, creating an independent and professional board to run the system.. The new board will have 15 members, each serving a maximum of nine years, and a chair serving for a maximum of three years. The cardinal will appoint three members.(Boston Globe 03.07.2008 "AG urges change of course for Caritas")

(13)
April 2006
E-Newslette

The business created by the Cardinal, the "joint venture" is called "CeltiCare". The Cardinal has invested in the business. CeltiCare is the business that is going to carry out the abortions. The Cardinal is a substantial partner in that business. Caritas Christi, as a result of their investment in the venture - has been given four seats on the Board of Directors.

This is public information. Go to the Massachusetts Secretary of State's website, then go to their corporation division and look up Celtic Health Care Plan of Massachusetts, Inc. At the bottom you will see "All Filings". Click on it. It will bring you to a page that will say "Articles of Organization". On the right hand side will be a pdf of the Articles of Organization. Click on the pdf.

The Cardinal is investing in the abortion business for the purposes of obtaining money from the government.

The reason why few people will stand in the public square to tell the story, is because there is a propensity to make the whistleblowers the bad people in scenarios when a Cardinal is involving himself in rapes and murders of children. There is something profoundly wrong with this dynamic. Yet, people are scared and don't want other Catholics to start making them the blacksheep. Others think no matter what a Bishop does - even if it involves rapes and murders of children, if he has a nice blog and holds prayer services, we don't have to involve ourselves with stopping the victimizations of the bad things he is doing. Both of these dynamics are cult dynamics. They are not part of the Catholic religion.

As a Cardinal, you can't start looking for ways to make money and turn your hospital into an a place where your employees have to say "we don't do abortions here but here is information about what happens in an abortion and here is the number to call - which by the way, is another business venture of the Cardinal's. Do you need a taxi?

It is the same thing as saying "we don't have prostitutes on site here, but we have a joint venture with Madame Vicky's Parlor on Huntington Avenue, here's the number, let me call you a cab." If you did some diligence up at the Massachusetts Secretary of State Corporations Division to find Caritas Christi has four members on the Board of Directors of Madame Vicky's Parlor and is a substantial shareholder in her lucrative business - you'd know that it is a business of the Cardinal's - it's just about geography and what it looks like on it's face.

You can't commit moral evils upon people who are in the throws of a temptation because of their circumstances. We are supposed to guard them when they are in a crucible and want to commit abortion or visit a prostitution parlor. The Cardinal is dismantling the Church in the public arena, don't you see?

Everybody believed the Cardinal when he said abortions were not part of the arrangement - even though it's a requirement and Caritas and the Commonwealth contradicted the Cardinal in the public square. Who wants to believe that a Cardinal is lying. The guy has a swell blog and he puts on a good show. Sadly, he is not in charge of his See. Bryan Hehir is in charge of the See. Bryan Hehir dissents against Humanae Vitae.

Putting Hehir in charge of the sanctity of life is as silly as putting Richard McBrien to guard the teachings of the Church on priestly celibacy. It is a ruse.

Caritas is ready to sign an agreement with Landmark Hospital in Rhode Island. They are looking for the Cardinal's model to ignite in the country. In the end, there were a handful of people willing to stand up in the public square and be counted to oppose it.

Nothing has changed from when it was rape. Nothing has changed from when a government was killing Jews.

Carol, I would guess that the hardest part to document there would be that the number that will be given will be to Celtic care. Multiple links in a comment will cause the comment to be held for moderation, but if you have a single link to documentation on that point, feel free to post it in a comment. Or, if you want to put up a comment with more than one link, just understand that I will have to approve the comment, which should take only a short time.

Lydia,

The Articles of Organization of Celtic Care state the nature of the business as "HMO". If you look in the citations of my post from various media sources, specifically #6, Celticare is the insurance company who is going to provide the services to the patients. An insurance company is a business you go to when you have a problem and then they pay for the services so you don't have to.

When you have a car accident, you go to the insurance company and say "I have a dent that needs to be fixed". The insurance company says we don't fix the dents ourselves but they give you the money and send you to places they have approved to fix the dent. Then, they give the place that fixes the dent, the money. You pay a deductible.

In the case we are talking about - specifically my allegations that the Cardinal is in the abortion business and created the entity to carry them out --instead of "car insurance" - CeltiCare is the health insurance company in this dynamic. When the women has a pregnancy she wants to rid herself of, CeltiCare, though they don't do the abortions themselves, they are going to send the woman to the places they have contracted to do them and then pay for those services. The Cardinal is a partner in CeltiCare.

The pregnant distraught women, tempted to kill her child is going to go to her primary care physician at Caritas. Cardinal O'Malley has promised to force Catholic workers to hand out abortion information and resources and place monitors to be sure the Catholic healthcare workers are advising women to do terrible things to unborn children. The insurance company Caritas is part owner of is going to arrange the abortions and make sure they are paid for - just like your car insurance company. The Cardinal has promised the Commonwealth the abortions and other family planning services will happen. He is an investor a partner and a substantial shareholder in the insurance business that will send the women and pay for it.


About CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts

*(6) CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts, Inc. is a managed care organization that will provide health insurance to Massachusetts residents enrolled in the Commonwealth Care Program. A partnership between Celtic Insurance Company and Caritas Christi Health Care, CeltiCare offers a new form of local managed care that is tailored to the needs of Massachusetts progressive healthcare system.Effective July 1, 2009, the plan will contract with the Commonwealth Care Health Insurance Connector Authority (Authority) to serve low-income, working adults who are not eligible for Medicaid.

Hope this helps.

my allegations that the Cardinal is in the abortion business and created the entity to carry them out

Well, Lydia. Based on what Carol has provided, do you agree with her assessment? Is her conclusion a fair-minded one from what we've read? Or, is it as I said earlier a knee-jerk tendency to think the worst of a person or institution?

Kevin, my silence meant that I was in bed. Even bloggers do occasionally sleep.

My off-the-cuff response is that Carol is exaggerating the strength of her case and therefore should state it in a more moderate fashion. However, I had independently thought (after reading the Lawler article, wh. I believe you've read as well) of one of the arguments she is apparently making. As I understand what Lawler is saying, the contract Caritas-Centene has sought and obtained requires that they _provide_ the services, including "family planning"--aka abortion, sterilization, et. al. It seems to me that there must be a difference between their providing those services as an "insurer" and their sending a woman to a *completely different entity* which then puts in a claim directly to the state (not to Caritas-Centene) to pay. In other words, if the contract really requires that the insurer--Celticare or Caritas-Centene--provide the services, then it seems prima facie that at a minimum the "sending them elsewhere" can only mean sub-contracting, with the Caritas-owned entity paying for the services--including abortion--to whatever other hospital or clinic, etc., they send them to.

Now, this doesn't support very strongly the claim that the 800 number will itself be a number to some office owned by Caritas. And there will still need to be some _location_ where the services will be performed, and the Lawler article pointed out that all of Centene's owned hospitals are in another state. So presumably the locations would be some other, non-Catholic hospital, clinic, whatever, in the Boston area. And in that case, it seems to me that the 800 number could also be operated by someone else. But the more I think about it, the more it seems to me that the very terms of the contract must be requiring the Caritas-set-up company to be paying for the services, including the abortions.

That also doesn't mean that Caritas is going to be making some sort of profit directly off the abortions. After all, an insurance company doesn't make a profit by paying for services. The benefit to Caritas would obviously be, as you have pointed out Kevin, in the form of _having the contract_, which provides a much-needed "infusion of cash" from the state. And obviously O'Malley isn't personally profiting from any of this, as if he's salting it away for a vacation to Boca or something. I think Carol should revise her wording there. Insofar as he's holding the reins anymore, he's allowing them to get this contract because he thinks they need it and can do good with it.

However, if the way I'm reasoning this out is correct, would it bother you _more_, Kevin, that the ostensibly Catholic agency is, qua insurer, sub-contracting abortions in return for the money/contract from the government?

Lydia,

I think I've just explained, above, in detail, how the insurer is a business of the Cardinal's. He has created an HMO with a partner and all the services provided are his to execute.

Sadly, there is not the least bit of exaggeration.

My off-the-cuff response is that Carol is exaggerating the strength of her case and therefore should state it in a more moderate fashion.

Lydia, she is not exaggerating, she is willfully interpreting every detail in the darkest, most condemnatory way possible. It is impossible to moderate the accusations she has made, but if you have any suggestions or euphemisms she can use, feel free to pass them along.

The benefit to Caritas would obviously be, as you have pointed out Kevin, in the form of _having the contract_, which provides a much-needed "infusion of cash" from the state.

Right, an obvious case of coercion, not complicity. We know Ascension Healthcare passed on purchasing Caritas and can only imagine those conversations; Sean, Caritas will take us under too and who gains from that? Who else passed? Aren't these rather basic questions that should be asked? What other options did O'Malley have?

The only option I can see, is at the time it became clear the sex abuse settlement was going to make sustaining the hospital system impossible, was to close and/or consolidate some of the hospitals. The announcement at that time would have had the heathens raging and thousands of families loyal to the Church of Boston and employed by Caritas would have borne the brunt of the hardship, as well those folks dependent on the medical care of Caritas.

It seems more than likely O'Malley is doing the best he can under the worst possible situation and he appears to be transitioning from controlling the system to stabilizing it, then selling it off.

Nothing in any of these narratives have convinced me that O'Malley is an operative for the culture of death, or a moral coward. On the contrary, he appears to be serving God and man as best he can, in a culture that rejects the former and is turning on the latter.

The culture of death casts a wide-net, and if O'Malley has been captured, I'll admit I was wrong and take some small consolation in the fact that my first impulse was to resist his chorus of his accusers, who sadly seem to predisposed to believing the worst.

I see you prefer not to address my point about sub-contracting abortions, Kevin. I'm afraid the argument that such sub-contracting is required under the contract is quite strong. And I'm sorry to hear that you apparently think that referring for abortions is sometimes "necessary" for purely financial reasons. See my post on what abortion referrals mean. Is it the hope that this is merely "passing out an 800 number" that sustains you? Would you think differently if you were convinced that it were truly a _referral_ in the full medical sense of the word? What about the transportation? I recall that you were the one who used the phrase "taxi service for Moloch." Is that okay if the alternative is bankruptcy? Can one be full of moral courage and serving God and man in the best way possible while consenting to be part of the taxi service for Moloch? Perhaps only in an "emergency"?

I'm actually rather disappointed, here, Kevin. I had thought that if you were convinced that Caritas really is agreeing to the terms of the contract as they have been repeatedly reported in the news, you would agree that this is wrong. It turns out that you don't think it's wrong if they really were in dire financial straits and needed Moloch's money to keep the doors open long enough to sell. To me, that's very weird, and disappointing.

I've resisted the urge here to respond to your various assertions that I'm a person who is 'predisposed to thinking the worst' or 'willfully interpreting every detail in the darkest, most condemnatory way possible', etc., to point out that this is what you've spent the time in this thread doing to me.

As Lydia has discovered, no matter how one says it, there is a large pocket of men in the Catholic Church who will circle a Cardinal to protect him, even if it means he is collaborating in the rapes and now murders of children over money - and make wild assertions about the motives of people speaking the truth, instead of intellectually processing the facts.

Cardinal O'Malley proactively bid on a contract that included killing children and he himself has created, is a partner, invested in and is a substantial shareholder in the business of killing children - for money. Nobody wants to believe Cardinal O'Malley is lying. Sadly, it is what it is.

This is just more rotten fruit from the rotten tree of Vatican II.

Btw, today is Ember Saturday in the octave of Pentecost in the old Church-calendar. It is a day of fast and abstinence. In the new Church-calendar, today is just another day to eat, drink, and be merry -- which goes a long way toward explaining both why the Vatican II changes were so popular, and why they were so devastating to the general morality of society.

And I'm sorry to hear that you apparently think that referring for abortions is sometimes "necessary" for purely financial reasons.

Yeah, a very fair and reasonable representation of my stance and clearly the position of the evil Cardinal. "Abortions can subsidize our building expansion and retirement fund. Why didn't we think of this before?"

I had thought that if you were convinced that Caritas really is agreeing to the terms of the contract as they have been repeatedly reported in the news, you would agree that this is wrong.

It can't be a matter of reading comprehension, so I assume its bad faith on your part. Re-read what I've repeatedly said. I'm giving you a context as to why the Cardinal may have agreed to the 800# referrals and you, unburdened by the mantle of spiritual and ecclesiastical authority or the administrative demands of running a hospital system while presiding over one of the most devastated and hostile See's in North America can simply impugn the man. Far faster, it should be noted, than it took you to respond to Mike T's victory lap after Tiller's death.

I sincerely hope everything written here by you and Carol the past couple of days never comes to pass, but if it does, that it is for the endgame mentioned earlier - the liquidation of the Church's involvement in providing healthcare. Should there be any other reason, it will mean that those most vulnerable in our society will have lost a greater friend than anyone on this site, waterfalls of words notwithstanding, could ever hope to be.

Now let me find another rapist or murderer to defend, while you and Carol observe Ember Saturday together with George R.

Kevin,

Yeah, the poor Cardinal - coerced into the baby killing business and obliteration of conscience protections to bring in some cash.

Your response indicates there is something more going on than the willful ignorance, malice, conspiracies and motives you've conjured up are coming from ill will against a poor innocent Cardinal.


Kevin, I'm not misrepresenting you. I asked you above where you would draw the line, and you said you would draw it at having abortions actually _in_ Catholic hospitals. I asked you outright if you agree that it is wrong for Caritas to agree to give out the number and provide the transportation "if necessary," and you would not agree. I've expressly stated what seems to me reasonable in what Carol is saying and what doesn't. I've given you repeated chances to clarify your position vis a vis _not_ some sort of "Cardinal making personal cash off of abortions" conjecture but rather vis a vis the *actual terms of the contract* as discussed in repeated, public news stories. I am forced to conclude that you believe it justified for Caritas to accept the contract under these circumstance and given your _own_ extrapolation from news stories to the effect that they would go bankrupt if they didn't. I do not see how I'm misrepresenting you. Please state in your own words whether or not you think Caritas is right to accept the terms of this contract. If you want to make further distinctions, make them. Is it "real medical referrals" vs. "giving an 800 number" that is doing it for you? Would you in fact draw the line at what you viewed as full-scale medical referrals? I've asked you this before. You haven't answered, except to get annoyed with me. What about sub-contracting, which does seem mandated by the contract? If that is in fact going on, is _that_ wrong, even if (as you conjecture) the alternative is bankruptcy?

You are welcome to state your position more clearly. But "Lydia doesn't have a right to criticize the Cardinal, because he's in a difficult position" just isn't a clarification of your own position. I'm sorry, but it just isn't.

Why am I pushing on you? Because I thought you and I were on the same side on this one. Because you had been lauding previous posts of mine about the need for resistance and even civil disobedience if necessary. Now, I don't know what to think. It _looks_ like your position is that Catholic hospitals should resist _only_ when it's a matter of having the evil performed on their own property. But there are, as this very contract shows, other definite forms of cooperation. If you want to draw the line somewhere earlier, I'd be happy to hear it.

Or, is it as I said earlier a knee-jerk tendency to think the worst of a person or institution?

Kevin. After reading what Messrs Lawler and Doyle have concluded, I think what Carol has been doing/concluding is far from knee-jerkism. Just by reading her blog I could can see she has been industrious and studious and the reactions and public statements by Cardinal O'Malley cause me great anger and sadness I do not see how they could possibly be acceptable to you or any Christian of good will.

I want to personally praise Carol for her work, commitment, and passion. God Bless you, sister.

When I lived in Vt and Maine, I often found that when it came to pro-life issues, the women there were as tough and tenacious as wolverines and woe betide that Priest/Bishop/Catholic Agency that tried to compromise the purity of the Catholic Pro-life Doctrine for the putative political gain realised by throwing-in with the secular snakes in the society of death.

I can not think of an acceptable reason Cardinal O'Malley has not been forthright and frank and definitive in saying the Catholic Church will accept bankruptcy before it enters into any agreement that even hints it has made its peace with Moloch.

Right, an obvious case of coercion, not complicity. We know Ascension Healthcare passed on purchasing Caritas and can only imagine those conversations; Sean, Caritas will take us under too and who gains from that? Who else passed? Aren't these rather basic questions that should be asked? What other options did O'Malley have?

The only option I can see, is at the time it became clear the sex abuse settlement was going to make sustaining the hospital system impossible, was to close and/or consolidate some of the hospitals. The announcement at that time would have had the heathens raging and thousands of families loyal to the Church of Boston and employed by Caritas would have borne the brunt of the hardship, as well those folks dependent on the medical care of Caritas.

It seems more than likely O'Malley is doing the best he can under the worst possible situation and he appears to be transitioning from controlling the system to stabilizing it, then selling it off.

Nothing in any of these narratives have convinced me that O'Malley is an operative for the culture of death, or a moral coward. On the contrary, he appears to be serving God and man as best he can, in a culture that rejects the former and is turning on the latter.

Seems to me to be a lot of conjecture and imagined conversations in your conclusions Kevin. The Cardinal has, for the last two years, stated that the finances of the Archdiocese are in recovery. Do you have evidence Caritas was going bankrupt? What does the sex abuse crisis have to do with the hospital? Was the Cardinal co-mingling the Caritas finances with the operations budget of the diocese? Do you have evidence that the Cardinal is "stabilizing" Caritas and then selling it off?

You seem to be suggesting that when businesses run into financial instability, moral evils are an acceptable business practice. Do you practice this in your own life or are your recommendations strictly for the Cardinals?

Where is this precept located in the deposit of faith?

I'm very interested about your supposition in this sentence:

Nothing in any of these narratives have convinced me that O'Malley is an operative for the culture of death, or a moral coward. On the contrary, he appears to be serving God and man as best he can, in a culture that rejects the former and is turning on the latter.

What is your definition of a moral coward in a culture of death?

In China for instance, certainly a culture that rejects God and is turning on serving man - how would you feel about a Cardinal who was a partner in the abortion industry there? You think he would be doing the best he can in that culture to turn pregnant women over to the authorities to provide transportation to the abortionist?

What about a Cardinal having financial difficulties who made promises to refer the names of Jews in Nazi Germany in return for a government contract?

History has categorized these kinds of things as moral cowardice. Are you forging a new trail on this definition or is there something about the brainwashing by the government of poor women to abort their children that makes Cardinal O'Malley's actions heroic?

What kind of lessons is the Cardinal giving to the rest of us? If I lose my job - can I sin to make money to make up for it? Prostitution is ok under these circumstances? Is that too direct? Can I become a pimp? Is that far enough away from the moral evils?

You asked what other options the Cardinal had. Why, he had the same options the rest of us have when our businesses are struggling. We downsize, we cut staff we tighten up efficiency, we take salary cuts, we file chapter 11 and try to reorganize - we close doors of the hospital before we turn poor people over to be exploited and aborted.

I look forward to your explanations.


IANS,

Thanks very much for your encouragement to this weary soul. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. It seems you've taken on similar kinds of battles, so I'm sure you understand the added burdens. I have a lot to make up to Jesus and I have no right to complain - but there is so much that goes into bringing corruption of a Chancery forward that sometimes, I just want to give up. I won't, but the temptations are there every day.

Getting rational and responsible journalists like up to snuff on what is really going on, is painstaking. Then, trying to convince them it isn't naughty to reveal the facts is another arduous task.

Then, we have this:


The culture of death casts a wide-net, and if O'Malley has been captured, I'll admit I was wrong and take some small consolation in the fact that my first impulse was to resist his chorus of his accusers, who sadly seem to predisposed to believing the worst.

After the spouting of insults and crusade of undermining, at the end - individuals have no shame in saying even if everything I've said is true, they will take consolation in their attacks against people trying to bright to light the obstacles to salvation, the divesting of Catholic vocations in medicine, the exploitation of the poor and the killings of children at the hands of a Cardinal. What possesses people to do such things is beyond me. And, I would say 75% of Catholics operate this way.

These are the people on our side.

I want to point out, once again, one more thing that I believe is a critical aspect to this incredulous assault against life, our rights to practice medicine in this country and, most importantly, Christ.

Massachusetts pro-life advocates have been up in arms because an ostensibly Catholic health system appears to be the latest to deliquesce to a secular government and health care provider that has no problems with abortion.

In March, state officials told the Boston Herald that Caritas officials will refer women seeking abortions to a consumer hotline to find other insurance providers who will cover an abortion.

Since then, in response to an inquiry from the Catholic Action League, Brian Delaney, communications director for CeltiCare, owned by Centene, confirmed that the joint venture will be operational by July 1 and that it "will meet all the state’s requirements under the Commonwealth Care program, including providing family planning services as appropriate.”

Mr. Delaney has publicly stated that Celticare will meet all the state's requirements....including providing family planning services as appropriate.

Mr. Delaney states that Celticare is a "joint venture" Joint, meaning more than one owner. Mr. Delaney states that Celticare is "owned by Centene" but this is not the whole truth. Centene is one partner in the joint venture. Caritas Christi is the other partner in the joint venture. Caritas, in fact, was given four seats on the Board of Directors in the "joint venture". These facts are not in dispute. They are public records filed at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Therefore Caritas, being the other partner,"will meet all the state’s requirements under the Commonwealth Care program, including providing family planning services as appropriate.”

Spread the word.

Lydia, thank you for your openness to the truth - and making efforts to try to understand this complex situation.

When I lived in Vt and Maine, I often found that when it came to pro-life issues, the women there were as tough and tenacious as wolverines and woe betide that Priest/Bishop/Catholic Agency that tried to compromise the purity of the Catholic Pro-life Doctrine for the putative political gain realised by throwing-in with the secular snakes in the society of death.

This is very true. Most parents would be very proactive in protecting their own children or family from solicitation into moral evils. Some of us are built to feel those same instincts for one and all.

A poster above asks Kevin whether, in a financial crisis, she could prostitute or if that is too close, could she pimp.

The problem is, on it's face, pimping looks like it is at arms length but in reality, it is a worse sin because we are forcing people to do things. This is the grave situation of the Cardinal that many are not able to see, spiritually. He is asserting that he is able to deflect the culpability of carrying out the abortions required in the contract by getting others to do it. The reality is, the lesser sin, would be do the abortions himself.

This gravity upon the soul of the Cardinal will be insurmountable in his own salvation.

People speaking out are motivated because they care about the souls involved - something somebody telling people it's ok to contract with abortionists when the coffers get low lacks.

Because I thought you and I were on the same side on this one. Because you had been lauding previous posts of mine about the need for resistance and even civil disobedience if necessary

Wait a minute, Lydia, this thread isn't about Cardinal Kevin and what he would do. Personally, once the handwriting appeared on the wall 2 years ago, I would have delivered an ultimatum to the State to provide the funds without strings attached or we would close. Duval Patrick would, with the help of the media there, paint me as a loon; "you thought Bernie Law was bad, this fraud is risking the lives of thousands over an 800 number. I encourage families so affected to begin civil legal proceedings, while we pursue criminal charges. So much for the Sermon on the Mount from our "favorite son from Fall River. He just told all of us to drop dead."

Now, having a sense of theater I would have held my final press conference from Salem so as to draw the obvious parallels to the Witch Hunts, and gone down in a glorious ball of flames. You might have even written a moving post and considered converting, but does that make me a better man than O'Malley?

The Church getting involved with the State has been pretty much a disaster and I think we should seriously consider withdrawing Chaplains from the armed services too, pursue the Benedict Option of forming small creative communities and waiting until this whole sick onto death culture passes away. And then I read the two-minute hate that is most of this thread I get second thoughts about the catacombs as well. I mean an open admissions policy has its drawbacks.

Do I think Dolan in NY or Chaput in Denver could win a face-off like the one I mentioned? At least where a gradual retreat from the medical field could be pulled off without absorbing a horrific beating that impaired the Church's mission? Yes, but they aren't in Boston. O'Malley is.

Look, Lydia let's be honest, you have basically called NRTL sell-outs over ESRC. You've now jumped on O'Malley from afar and refuse to extend any charity his way, or even concede that he is considering the ramifications on people under his pastoral direction and the medical care of his hospitals from a pro-life perspective. Maybe I'm wrong, but he seems a far more decent man than what has been scrawled here.

I said repeatedly we can't expect the martyrdom to fall only on Bishops and hospital employees. Bloggers and commenters have to suffer too. Urging others to bear witness implies we do so too.

So, how about every week a post appears here at W4 where contributors and commenters get to talk about something they did that week to advance the cause of life. Sure we can still periodically argue with each other, but such a posting policy might spur greater involvement and save some lives and soften some hearts.

Just a thought.

Lydia, thank you for your openness to the truth - and making efforts to try to understand this complex situation.

Wait a minute. What is complex about the situation? You say the Cardinal set-up a company to carry out abortions as a means of generating revenue. You conclude; This gravity upon the soul of the Cardinal will be insurmountable in his own salvation.

Where is the complexity all of a sudden? Can't be in the details. Since, you've sealed the deal here with some and they agree; only hell awaits O'Malley. Though to be fair, Lydia politely suggested you should "moderate" some aspect of your discourse.

I want to personally praise Carol for her work, commitment, and passion.

What exactly is her work? A blog? She has gone beyond lobbying against a reported compromise and alerting us to apply pressure . She has publicly damned the soul of another man. One whose life work, just months ago was hailed as exemplary. This is a peculiar form of evangelization, but maybe killing reputations has some spiritual benefit.

I do note the irony that Carol has a picture of Ronald Reagan on her blog. As Governor of California he signed the most liberal abortion law in the country at that time. A surprising sign of flexibility on her part, I must admit.

Let me make a prediction; if what Carol, Lydia and you are saying comes to pass, you will feel confirmed in your wisdom. And if it doesn't, you will say that it was your collective calling out of the Cardinal as a procurer of abortions that prevented his conspiracy from succeeding.

Pure & simple let's hear from the Cardinal. Numerous letters have been sent to him, most recently one with 4 pages of signatures with no reply. As Catholic Faithful we're due an answer. The Cardinal stated in March 2009, those Faithful questioning his decision as "doing a great disservice to the Catholic Church" yet he needed to ask the US Bioethics Center for advise? No good Catholic wants to cause scandal, yet there is a thing called "the sin of omission". If there is anyone out there that can answer for the Cardinal I wish they would. As it seems right now that, as of July 1st all Catholic Hospital Workers in the Archdiocese of Boston will be assisting in killing the unborn. God help & save us!

Let me make a prediction; if what Carol, Lydia and you are saying comes to pass, you will feel confirmed in your wisdom.

Kevin. Before I started working with a Catholic Agency that was more than anxious to send young pregnant women in crisis to Planned Parenthood for counseling, I always reflexively gainsaid such information when I heard it as hearsay and/or unsubstantiated rumors intended to harm Holy Mother Church.

I always sided with The Church and its institutions and I gave it/them more than the benefit of the doubt. Because of what I have learned over the past few decades, I no longer have that as my default position.

When he was Bishop of my Diocese, I thought O'Malley did an excellent job in re-establishing a sense of unity and trust after our experience with two consecutive homosexual Bishops. That really was a remarkable achievement in such a short period of time. He truly was an instrument of healing and rebirth for we Catholics down here.

Once he was installed in Boston, I began to hear from some family members (sister) and some soi disant Traditionalist Catholics who were less than pleased with what he was doing. Yet, that was not too surprising. We Catholics can be a cantankerous lot.

But, when he imposed the "Touching" sex ed program that is when alarm bells went off for me. That "educational program" is a flat-out abomination and there is no way I would have subjected my children to it had I been living in Mass. To this day I can't believe he did such a thing even though I know he did.

Once a Bishop has done ONE thing like that, he loses my reflexive respect and I become suspicious of any other controversial decisions he takes.

I learned about this controversy in here and I have to say that when Lydia takes-up a matter I pay attention. She really impresses me as one with a clear mind and a charitable heart and one truly deserving of the name, Christian.

I think her questions (which I think you have not been frank and forthcoming in responding to) are more than reasonable and I think our Cardinal's public statements leave many Christians of good will, Lawler, Doyle, Lydia, Carol etc etc dubious, at best.

To me, it is apparent that Carol has invested a lot of time and emotional energy in trying to root-out the truth embedded in the agreements/contracts. I think that is self-evident for anyone who is reading this site.

In the past, I have known women like Carol and I never tire of identifying them as models of courage and tenacity and speaking their praises publicly is, for me, more than a duty, it is a joy.

They are unsung and largely unappreciated heroes, especially in our Domestic Church.

I do hope that Carol takes the opportunity to retract her words about the soul of Cardinal O'Malley. I doubt she really means it because I too am a man of passion and I too have spoken in passion words I could not later justify.

When we get passionately involved in controversies that are, literally, matters of life and death, some of us tend to use florid rhetoric to wake-up other Christians. Too ofter, instead, we end-up harming ourselves and our cause.

In the past, I have always defended my own self by citing Flannery O'Connor who (in "Mystery & Manners" I think) describes her writing style as a way to (paraphrase) communicate to the hard of hearing (She "shouted") and to the nearly blind (she "painted" in vivid colors).

So, florid and incandescent rhetoric is never a problem for me but what Carol wrote about Cardinal O'Malley is and I think she will reconsider what she wrote and correct it.

And as for me and "wisdom" you ought to hear what my Mother and The Bride would say about that :)

Carol. Never lose you passion and keep your eagle-eyes always wide open. You are irreplaceable.

Look, Lydia let's be honest, you have basically called NRTL sell-outs over ESRC

So too did Zippy (and others) if I recall. They were right and the reality was well-documented in here.

Kevin, I think you think you're answering me. I think you're saying it _is_ wrong for Caritas to accept this money with these conditions, but you don't want to come out and say that in so many words, because then you'd be being too mean to Cardinal O'Malley, who is in a tough spot. But perhaps I am still misinterpreting you. You aren't answering short questions (like "is this wrong?" "would this other thing be wrong if this isn't wrong?") with short answers.

I don't know why the NRTL thing keeps coming up, but the fact remains that they did take ESCR off their candidate comparison chart. That was bad. They shouldn't have done that. What they would have done if McCain had been elected remains for both of us in the realm of conjecture. You don't like my conjecture, but since McCain wasn't elected, you can scarcely say it was refuted!

As it seems right now that, as of July 1st all Catholic Hospital Workers in the Archdiocese of Boston will be assisting in killing the unborn

Four pages of signatures regarding a charge as explosive as this is underwhelming to say the least. That is less than what we collect at 1 downtown parish in NYC during the 12noon and 1:05 daily masses. Could it be the overheated, before the fact rhetoric of The Cardinal Has Blood on His Hands and only men who protect rapists are skeptical of this, could be backfiring? Something is dirty up there and isn't just the Charles River, but have no idea what it is. Why is the US Bioethics Center silent? Are they in on it too, Good Lord?!

At any rate, I called the Archdiocese 617 746 5775 hit #8 then #3. Ask for the Cardinal and Pat Donlon. Obviously, only respectful calls should be made. IANS, feel free to sit this one out.

Kevin, I think you think you're answering me.

I know one thing, Lydia, you're not answering me. I pointed out your conjecture about NRTL as an example of being less than charitable towards your allies. I'd be careful about the tendency as it has, among other things, the whiff of despair about it and serves no one, certainly not the Truth. Holding feet to the fire is vastly different than burning someone at the stake and if the distinction can't be made, let's put down the matches.

CARITAS CHRISTI’S DEAL WITH THE DEVIL – II
Posted: Wednesday May 27, 2009 at 10:29 am EST by Judie Brown

The events in the Archdiocese of Boston that brought about the unbelievably bad news regarding the “joint venture” between Caritas Christi Health Care System and the Centene Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri, continue to unfold at a fast and furious pace. In view of public reports that Massachusetts regulators had approved a joint venture between the two entities in early March 2009, public expressions of alarm grew. Concerned Catholics could not help but say that this union would result in Caritas Christi being complicit in some way with providing or referring for surgical abortion, medical abortion, contraceptives or sterilization procedures – each of which are considered unacceptable according to Catholic teaching and Catholic healthcare ethics.

In early March 2009, headlines and subsequent expressions of serious concern finally led to Cardinal Seán O’Malley’s first statement on the announced business partnership. In response to the questions being asked, Cardinal O’Malley issued this statement:


While I appreciate the opportunity given to Caritas Christi to serve the poor through this agreement, I wish to reaffirm that this agreement can only be realized if the moral obligations for Catholic hospitals as articulated in the Ethical and Religious Directives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are fulfilled at all times and in all cases. In order to assure me that this agreement will provide for the integrity of the Catholic identity and practices of Caritas Christi Health Care System, I have asked the National Catholic Bioethics Center to review the agreement and to assure me that it is faithful to Catholic principles.


The cardinal’s words might have set aside concerns for most Catholics if the fear had not persisted that an acceptable compromise was being forged in the shadows without all of the facts being presented by the cardinal’s office and/or the National Catholic Bioethics Center.

One observer astutely told me that


the legalistic fig leafs floated by the [a]rchdiocese so far cannot, and do not, conceal the glaring fact that, by entering into a partnership with Centene, and by agreeing to the immoral requirements of the Massachusetts universal health-care insurance program, Caritas will necessarily be doing and profiting from immoral services that are directly contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church.


Another concerned Catholic wrote, in a letter addressed to officials at the NCBC,


You should know that in March of 2008, Attorney General Martha Coakley in her role of overseeing public charities, released a public report with the assertions that the Catholic Church was mismanaging the Caritas Christi Health Care System, and pressured the [a]rchdiocese to cede control of the operation of Caritas Christi Health Care System so that an independent board with expertise in healthcare management can run it.


This indicates the presence of serious financial problems, which might have led, at least in part, to the inauspicious announcement of the venture and backroom negotiations that were obviously ongoing.

It is apparent, from what we have been able to discern, that since the initial announcement of the joint venture between Caritas Christi and the Centene Corporation, details have been vague or simply do not exist. We have further learned that, as of this writing, the NCBC has not issued any type of definitive statement involving the acceptance or rejection of the agreement.

Catholic Action League said it best on May 19:


In the continuing controversy over the decision of Caritas Christi Health Care – a network of six Catholic hospitals affiliated with the Boston Archdiocese – to seek a state contract, which will require abortion referrals, there have been several new developments.

• On May 4, 2009, CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts announced that Richard D. Lynch had been appointed Plan President and Chief Executive Officer. Based in their new corporate office in Brighton, CeltiCare is a managed care organization that will provide health insurance to Massachusetts residents enrolled in the Commonwealth Care program. CeltiCare’s participation in the Commonwealth Care contract comes as a result of the partnership between Caritas Christi and the Centene Corporation, whose wholly owned subsidiary, the Celtic Insurance Company, is the parent organization of CeltiCare.

• In response to an inquiry from the Catholic Action League, Brian Delaney, Director of Communications for CeltiCare, stated on May 11 that, “CeltiCare’s program has been approved by the Massachusetts Connector Authority. Under the contract, CeltiCare will be operational July 1, 2009, and will meet all the [s]tate’s requirements under the Commonwealth Care program, including providing family planning services as appropriate.” Assertions to the contrary by Cardinal O’Malley notwithstanding, this is the third time since February 26 that a representative of the Caritas/Centene partnership has affirmed that the Commonwealth Care contract will include abortion and contraception.

• It has now been more than two months since Cardinal O'Malley requested an advisory opinion on the contract from the National Catholic Bioethics Center. On May 14, Fr. Tadeuscz Pacholczyk, [d]irector of [e]ducation for NCBC, stated that, “The NCBC is not able to comment regarding on-going, confidential consultations. Your best source of information would probably be the [a]rchdiocese or perhaps Caritas Christi.” Later, when asked if the opinion had been given to the [a]rchdiocese, another NCBC official told the League “I’m not at liberty to say.”

• On May 3, at the annual convention of the Massachusetts Knights of Columbus, the State Council repudiated a resolution by former District Deputy Joseph B. Craven Jr. opposing the Caritas contract with Commonwealth Care. The [s]tate [c]ouncil ruled the measure “rejected” and “out of order,” an impossibility under parliamentary procedure. State [o]fficers claimed that an unnamed [a]rchdiocesan official (reportedly one of the [c]ardinal’s two secretaries), stated that the resolution contained unspecified factual errors. Deacon John Baniukiewicz then told assembled delegates that “We can’t be more Catholic than the Church,” and “We can’t tell the [c]ardinal what to do.” The measure was defeated.

Catholic Action League Executive Director C.J. Doyle made the following comment: “It is clear that the Caritas/Centene partnership is proceeding with all deliberate speed towards the July 1 start-up date of the Commonwealth Care contract, while the [a]rchdiocese continues its efforts to suppress Catholic opposition to the arrangement. Given the prolonged uncertainty about the nature, or even the public availability of the NCBC advisory opinion, one might reasonably surmise that the [c]ardinal’s request for their involvement was a public relations tactic intended to buy time and diffuse pro-life opposition. Catholics need to keep the pressure up on the [a]rchdiocese to cancel the contract, and they need to keep Rome informed.”


Bill Cotter, head of Boston’s Operation Rescue and one of the heroic pro-life leaders of the state of Massachusetts, “believes the archdiocese was taken off guard by the Caritas move. ‘But,’ he said, ‘there’s been a terrible loss of credibility for the archdiocese. It must forgo the potential financial gain and refuse this pact with the devil.’”

As we mentioned yesterday, American Life League is well aware of the healthcare plans being orchestrated by the Obama administration. We are equally aware of President Barack Obama’s track record of using Catholics to his advantage and their willingness, for whatever reason, to be used. Obama’s relatively short history of appointments of totally pro-abortion Catholics, the Notre Dame scandal and other such events lead us to suspect that if the Archdiocese of Boston remains silent and does not demand immediate dissolution of the “joint venture” agreement, the death knell for genuine Catholic health care will have been sounded.

The evil that has gone unaddressed by Cardinal O’Malley, and persists in the context of unanswered questions and the absence of policies based on Catholic doctrine, is scripted by the devil himself. Of that there is no doubt. American Life League cannot be silent while such a dastardly plan moves forward with nary a whimper.

It should be obvious that the Archdiocese of Boston could, either knowingly or unknowingly, become the first Catholic casualty as it falls beneath the Obama nationalized health care bulldozer. Clearly if the Archdiocese of Boston succumbs to dollars over dogma, the end result could devastate Catholic health care nationwide.

As the wise director of Catholic Action League, C.J. Doyle, told Kathleen Gilbert of LifeSiteNews.com,


If Caritas actually intended to accept tax dollars while evading state demands for abortion coverage, every voice on the political left would be raised against it – in the media, in the [l]egislature, and among the advocacy groups. Instead, we have heard nothing but silence from the usual adversaries of the Church.

The only solution is for Caritas to withdraw from the contract.

If there is a morally acceptable justification for all of this, the archdiocese has not disclosed it, notwithstanding three months of raging public scandal. Not only that, but regardless of public opinion that there is little the archdiocese could do in this situation, our perspective is that there is plenty it could do, starting with revocation of the contract itself.

Want to voice your concern? Please do so, writing respectfully but firmly to Cardinal O’Malley. Remember: Time is of the essence.

Cardinal Seán O'Malley
66 Brooks Drive
Braintree, MA 02184
Telephone: 617-254-0100
e-mail form: http://www.bostoncatholic.org/ContactUs.aspx

IANS, feel free to sit this one out.

Kevin. That is a statement guaranteed to make me call.

I notice you detect the whiff of despair in others.Maybe it is just olfactory projection.

And now I read that Judie Brown is weighing-in and making sense.

I suppose she too is mean. uncharitable, unfair, too willing to surrender to despair etc.

P.S. I am glad I have free long distance calling. Thanks for posting the phone number, brother.

IANS,
When you respond to rhetoric calling the Cardinal a blood-stained wretch with a "you go girl" shoutout, can you blame me for being wary? And, please, you're not the first or only one who walked inside the sanctuary and suffered. Come on man, buck up, call and don't wind-up in tomorrow's Globe - "Man Claiming to be Kirk Douglas Threatens Archdiocese With A Slave Revolt". Geesh!

I know one thing, Lydia, you're not answering me.

What, in 25 words or much less, is your question for me? Not a bunch of questions. One. My question for you: If Caritas is taking the contract under the conditions stipulated in numerous public news sources, are they doing wrong?

I'm on my lunch hour and need to respond more substantively later.

If you google celticare - you will now find their website that states both that Caritas is a partner, that abortions are part of their services and that which lists the planned parenthood abortuaries as providers.

Judie Brown did three stories about this - I would urge you to find and read them.

IANS, I am so grateful for your input. I'd like you to prayerfully think about what I'm about to say and then respond - because I am interested in your feedback.

Kevin's premises about my work are based upon the notion that I'm spiteful. When you mentioned that women are zealous protectors of the unborn - I mentioned the reasons why we are inspired - - because we have a natural instinct to protect souls - some of us have that instinct for everyone. God instills this in some of us so that we will speak in the public square - for those souls whose mothers or family life may be too wounded or troubled to have the right kind of guidance.

While Kevin insists he knows what is going on and the motives for what I'm doing, I pointed out that caring about souls even extends to the Cardinal. This situation is very, very grave. As I said yesterday - when you know something is wrong and you won't do it yourself and you con other people into doing it and try to build distance between you and the moral evil - - this is a much worse sin than just going ahead and doing it yourself. You are enticing others to commit sins. You are setting traps and baiting them. But you are washing your hands of the evils. We are speaking about a Cardinal here who is not just a mother, or a lay person who is working towards conversion - - this is a man whose entire purpose is the culpability of the souls placed under his protection. What he is doing with his power will have a catastrophic effect upon his soul. In good conscience, I am saying that though people like Kevin are trying to drum up solace in an arms length transaction -- I am saying it would be better for the soul of a Cardinal to do the abortions himself than to bait hundreds of thousands of people into all the various sins that will be commmited under the contract he has solicited for the sake of money.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on what it is you think I am doing wrong in saying these things out loud. They must be said because people do not understand the spiritual realm and what is happening. It is a very complex spiritual entanglement. I am trying to unravel it.

When you respond to rhetoric calling the Cardinal a blood-stained wretch with a "you go girl" shoutout, can you blame me for being wary?

Wary of me? Hell no. I not only wouldn't blame you, I didn't blame you. I know me much better than you know me and I am wary of my own self. As for Carol, I think what she has been doing is admirable not impeccable.

Kevin. There is a growing number of well-known orthodox Catholics publicly opposing what Sean Cardinal O'Malley is doing in this matter. After a while, it ought begin to dawn on you that it might be you, not they, who are out of step.

And, please, you're not the first or only one who walked inside the sanctuary and suffered.

What can that possibly mean? I have not suggested any such thing.

Come on man, buck up

That encouragement is as superfluous as would be the exhortation, "Come on, Michael,swim fast" shouted to Michael Phelps during the Olympics.

While Kevin insists he knows what is going on and the motives for what I'm doing, I pointed out that caring about souls even extends to the Cardinal. This situation is very, very grave. As I said yesterday - when you know something is wrong and you won't do it yourself and you con other people into doing it and try to build distance between you and the moral evil..

Carol. I think you were right to note that Kevin had erred in imputing motives to you and yet, a few words later, you impute motives to Cardinal O'Malley.

Frankly, I don't even begin to pretend I know what his motivation was for imposing the "Touching.." sex ed program on Catholic Families. For me, citing the program as The Bishop's response to the sex crimes they and their Priests committed is not a legitimate justification and, more importantly, violates the rights of Catholic Parents.

When it comes to Caritas Christi, I do not see any legitimate justification for it nor do I see how it is not going to involve referrals for abortions and abortion counseling etc. I would like to see/hear a flat-out denial by The Caridnal that the agreements in question absolutely do not involve the Catholic Church or any of its agencies in abortion referrals etc but I do not pretend I know the motivation for what seems to me to be an indefensible action even if it is "necessary" to save the Catholic Hospitals.

One may never do evil that good may come of it.

Carol. I think what you are doing is admirable but not impeccable. I wish the Catholic Church had 10k more women like you but your statement...

This gravity upon the soul of the Cardinal will be insurmountable in his own salvation

... is simply not justifiable (unless you are gifted with an afflatus few souls ever have experienced).

I am 100% behind you working and arguing passionately but judging the soul of a particular Cardinal, or anyone else, can not be defended.

Initially, I thought that statement was not intended by you; that you really didn't mean to write that Sean Cardinal O'Malley can not obtain salvation even IF he is completely culpable of what even his worst critics accuse him of being guilty of.

I appreciate what you are doing, Carol, but that judgment is flat-out wrong and must be rescinded for the judgment with which you judge...

IANS,

I want to be sure I understand you correctly. To me, there is a difference between judging the Cardinal's soul and judging the actions and saying how they will affect the salvation of a soul.

I do not know if a man who compels hundreds of thousands of others to commit murder in any kind of a scenario can obtain salvation. There may be a Saint Hitler for all we know, this is true.


It is incumbent upon any Christian to stand and cry out the impacts of such actions so that, even on one's death bed, one can confess the sin, seek and obtain absolution. This is the duty of any Christain.
We can, call others conscience to the spiritual world and give them notice of how, if unrepentant, the actions planned will affect their salvation.

If the Cardinal is convinced by people like Kevin that what he is doing is not as grave as it actually is, this sooths the conscience, it moves somebody who is locked down into pride to reject the idea that what he is doing is wrong. This leads to a failure to confess. If this isn't an impediment to a person's salvation, I can't imagine what is.

What about if I took the personal reference out of it and said any person who sets others up to commit the multitude of sins this contract will bait others into doing and stands in the public square and says the contract does not violate Catholic teachings, women will not be referred for abortions and people who say it does are doing a disservice to the Church - this action done by a an unknown priest or bishop who is resonsible for the souls of those following his directives, put the salvation of that unknown person into a bleak category.

Is that acceptable?

IANS,

Ten years ago, I would have taken up a personal defensive in response to what you are saying. I want to make it clear that I'm completely open to your personal criticism and I value your attempt to right what you see is an error. I just want to be sure we are on the same page.

Being a person who is concerned about how things affect souls, I am instinctively "pinged" when situations arise. (Just like any parent who knows the effects of teaching kindergartners sexuality is violent and the employees of your local parish who dissent on sexual theology and humanae vitae be the people who tell your children what sexual touches to be responsive to).

I am "pinged" in the Caritas situation in a myriad of ways. One of them being the perilous path of people being told that because the Cardinal is setting up the situation to make contracts with other people who will kill the children, this is a lesser sin for a Cardinal than if he set up an abortuary in the Chancery and did the abortions himself. I'm saying theologically, this could not be any further from the truth. Lots of people are trying to drum up solace for the Cardinal by suggesting this - and I am saying we have got to counteract it.


A Cardinal cannot pursue a contract that he knows will result in performing moral evils upon poor and emotionally distraught pregnant women and then hire people to do it, tell Catholic employees to resist the urges of their conscience & advise patients to proceed with moral evils, give them the resources and materials they need to go on the next leg of their journey, agree to have Catholic employees monitored to be sure they are saying things against the teachings of the Church. The Cardinal cannot create the business to be invite people performing abortions to do business with to do it. will enter into a contract with Planned Parenthood to carry out the abortions and make sure they are paid for - and then tell people on every leg of the journey that nothing against the teachings of the Church is happening.

It is our duty to make a judgment about these actions.

If we can't say that a Cardinal making contracts with people to kill other people and the thousands of physical and spiritual deaths that will result will lead to Hell - then the Church must hold that NOTHING anyone ever did throughout all of history, including Hitler, is something we ought to think may lead us to Hell. The Church never makes those kinds of judgments. This is what it feels like you are saying to me. If that is what you are saying, then we disagree.

Some people may not be receptive to the words I'm using, but saying a Cardinal has blood on his hands in this situation is theologically correct. Help me put that theology into any kind of a soundbyte you want.

Does that make sense?

oops, teenagers coming and going and cooking dinner the above didn't make the final edit...which is often the case with me - - sorry about the sentence structure problems in a few places but I think you can get the gist....

Thanks for your support and zeal. I have no delusions that my delivery is without imperfection. Many is the day I have questioned God's wisdom. I think it was St. Theresa of Avila who said something to God like "are you so desperate that you had to resort to using me". Hopefully, I'm burning off some imperfections along the way. Saying the Church holds no judgments about these evil actions I don't think I can add to my index of flaws. But, I look forward to any input.

Carol, when you wrote This gravity upon the soul of the Cardinal will be insurmountable in his own salvation you were declaring that Sean Cardinal O'Malley is, ineluctably, going to hell.

You simply can't make that judgment as a Christian woman.

Instead of speculating about the condition of the Cardinal's soul, I think your energy, passion, and commitment is more wisely spent being directed against what you understand is evil. Only our government thinks it has inexhaustible resources. Me and thee know we have limited resources (intellectual, physical,spiritual) that must be actualised economically.

The aspects of our souls (will, intellect, memory) must be marshalled, economised, focused, and then directed against the evil threatening innocents.

And if we fail we can use that defeat for, among other things, salvific purposes for our own selves and others.

IOW, suffering is the coin of purchase in the economy of Divine Salvation.

Do your best and if you fail, your defeat can be offered, especially through the Mass, for redemptive and salvific purposes because your defeat will have been swept-up with the pluperfect sacrifice of Jesus (as priest and victim) offered at the altar making your offering acceptable to almighty God.

Work as though the lives of the innocents are at stake (they are) but don't bury your precious talents in the ground of judging souls. That is a grave mistake. And Jesus never rewards us for burying our talents in a grave.

It is the souls of the innocents in the womb that need your talent, energy, and focus.

IANS,

On lunch again. This contract will affect souls as well as victimize people. It is ok to say out loud what we know to be the entire purpose of our mission. We are instruments of salvation and we raise objection to things that affect salvation. My statement was contextual. Kevin was making false allegations against my motives and what is painfully obvious to anyone now - Cardinal's assertions are false. The context of my statement was that my inspirations come from the zeal we have for the immortal souls involved in this fiasco - including the Cardinals.

We don't have to pretend that we are flummoxed about what these kinds of actions would lead to unrepentant.

Kevin is a monument to the old school of good-old-boys that take pleasure in attacking people who are bringing forward credible allegations of the abuse of children. This dynamic has got to be eradicated from the men sitting in the pews to the men at the Roman Curia. The conduct of the Cardinal of Boston is much more important than a possey of examining what happened with "the Legion" years ago. What is going on in Boston is where the rubber hits the road in the kind of corruption that will advance to attack people bringing credible allegations about the abuse of children.

Thanks for your support, cm

I do plan to check out the Celticare web site. That's v. important information. Sharing a single computer for the next few days, though.

Kevin was making false allegations against my motives...

Speaking of false allegations against people's motives, I wonder if folks would pause in pointing out the speck in another's eye in order to bring attention into the log that blatantly is in their own -- or do some simply take tremendous pleasure in a sort of double-standard when it comes to maliciously characterizing folk's motives, however horrendous or unjustified?

Here is the Celticare web page:

http://www.celticarehealthplan.com/

If you do "search this site" and search "abortion," you find a list of covered benefits with "abortion services" listed with no co-pay. Under FAQs it states that Celticare is not "part of" Caritas but is a partner with Caritas. (I believe Carol's research has shown a definite partnership between the two in some of the above comments--a clear business partnership for purposes of fulfilling the state contract.) It says that Celticare will contract with providers both in Caritas hospitals and elsewhere for provided benefits.

Insofar as Celticare and Caritas are intermingled at this point so that Caritas can receive the "cash infusion" from the state contract, which requires the "insurer" to provide abortion services, I would call this something very close to a smoking gun.

Lydia: Did you in fact look over the specific details of the contract or do you merely base your assertions on a random search in order to come to what may very well be rather specious conclusion?

Kevin is a monument to the old school of good-old-boys that take pleasure in attacking people who are bringing forward credible allegations of the abuse of children.

Carol,
Just because I reject your red-hot, over the top assault and personal condemnation of Cardinal O'Malley's soul, doesn't mean I have ever circled the wagons around a corrupt prelate, excused sex abuse or engaged in clericalism.

For the record, I have not questioned your motives. It is instead your methods I find so appalling and destructive. Is it possible you could only muster 4 pages of signatures for your petition because people were repelled by the Cardinal is a Pimp for Murder rhetoric, and that your peculiar way of showing spiritual concern for others is ahem, an acquired taste?

The media has created a caricature of the pro-life activist. Why do you insist on living down to it? No where in your narrative do you acknowledge the plight of the poor or working class families impacted by the closure of Caritas. Did it ever occur to you the Cardinal might be trying to balance the needs of many people, which are now perversely set in conflict by a genuinely malign force? Moral suasion requires putting yourself in the shoes of others, trying to understand their world-view and their motives. Did you do that here, or did you play Madame Defarge and merely damn O'Malley with slogans usually found outside the sentencing hearings for convicted serial killers? Be honest.

Still, if I replace O'Malley as the subject for your pent-up vitriol, until you mature as a witness for Life and refine your form of advocacy, then some good will have come from these exchanges.

Kevin,

Your character assassintations aside, The Cardinal Archbishop of Boston is a contract killer of children and you are his protector. Children are not safe with you in any envirnoment that involves prelates.


I'll say it any way it pleases me to say it. It is what it is.

After reading through this page I'd like to ask Kevin a simple question, from a Pro-Life point of view is it okay to give a pregnant woman an 800# as to where she might obtain an abortion?

Thanks.
Kathy

Your character assassintations aside, The Cardinal Archbishop of Boston is a contract killer of children and you are his protector. Children are not safe with you in any envirnoment that involves prelates.

Look, if you're going to wave eye-catching posters, brush up on your spelling and avoid obvious irony. Its bad form and discredits an otherwise profound spiritual message.


At work and posting in a nanosecond in response to your posts.

I'm here to tell you that your attempts to intimdate whistleblowers will not stand. You gentelman had control of the safety of children for several decades and this is what you do. Step aside.

Suffice it to say I don't think the Cardinal shares your convictions about my ability to bring allegations into the light and get people to respond to them - I'm not at liberty to give you the details.

Do check out who and what is reporting on the story now and stay tuned.

You will not intimidate me under any circumstances and I will stand in the face of your trying to do so and point it out to the world. Your days of terrorizing under the veil of virtue are over.

Cheers!

Kevin

Could you please answer my question?

Lydia: Did you in fact look over the specific details of the contract or do you merely base your assertions on a random search in order to come to what may very well be rather specious conclusion?

Aristocles. "Catholic Culture," is covering this news story too

"Boston Catholic health agency in partnership providing abortion coverage"

June 08, 2009

Caritas Christi, the health-care system affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston, has entered into a partnership that will provide coverage for abortion, sterilization, and contraception under the terms of a state government contract. Celticare Health Plan-- a new offering, which describes itself as “a partnership between Celtic Group, a subsidiary of Centene Corporation, and Caritas Christi Health Care”-- is now offering several options for health-care coverage, with all of the available plans advertising abortion coverage.

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, noting the coverage of abortion and other services in the Celticare plans, charged: "The question of Caritas Christi’s involvement in practices which violate fundamental Catholic moral teaching has now been answered repeatedly and definitively." C. J. Doyle, the executive director of the Catholic Action League, urged Boston's Cardinal Sean O'Malley to apologize for his March 6 statement that anyone suggesting Caritas Christi involvement with abortion would be "doing a great disservice to the Catholic Church."

Cardinal O'Malley's statement had conveyed an assurance that Caritas Christi would never be involved with abortions or abortion referrals. The cardinal made that statement in response to concerns that the Celticare health plans-- formed in order to win a state contract to provide health coverage for low-income Massachusetts residents-- would require the Caritas Christi system to become involved in morally unacceptable services. The state contract-- and with it, the involvement of Caritas Christi in the Celticare plans-- goes into effect on July 1.

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=3145


Is there a magic number of orthodox Catholic sources (NCR, Philip Lawler, C.J. Doyle, Catholic Culture already numbered amongst them), that must be achieved before you abandon your skepticism that this is prolly just a nasty rumor or an unsubstantiated scandal created by those who hate The Catholic Church?

To me, if the left ain't screaming bloody "No Abortions Covered" murder about the details of the contract, then what many orthodox Catholics are charging is likely accurate and true (and that is without even acknowledging the agreements that have been sourced and explained by those closest to the action, such as The Catholic Action League and Carol).

Unless you think that The Catholic Action League and Mr. Doyle's bailiwick is trashing The Magisterium and Authentic Catholicism, I don't see why their conclusions aren't persuasive.

Kathleen,
Go to the first comment posted on this thread, which you claimed to have read and this time; read it.

Then, could you help Carol prepare for her press conference? Planned Parenthood would much rather she be the face of the prolife movement than someone like Eve Lindquist.

Kevin

Sounds to me like you are more upset at Carol than the killing of the unborn, also sounds like there's a strong hint of the heresy of antinomianism in your comments. I will leave it there & leave this space. Lord have Mercy & Please pray for the Priests of Boston as they meet tomorrow with the Shepherd of the Archdiocese of Boston.

Sounds to me like you are more upset at Carol than the killing of the unborn

Hardly, though her spirit-killing rhetoric serves the interests of the culture of death.

Kevin,

How's that phone call coming you put into the Cardinal and Terry Donilon? Did you get an answer?

Don't feel bad, you're in good company. Thousands of people tried to have rational conversations with the Cardinal about the material facts - including some high level prolife lay people, priests, Bishops and even Cardinals. They got the same response you did.

You seem to be out of touch with the last ten years of protecting children so let me clarify what corruption inside of Chanceries responds to - vitriol and lawsuits. When they see things like "the Cardinal has blood on his hands", when there is an all out army filled with anger raised against them, when there are lawyers filing lawsuits - then, they respond. Civil conversations - not so much. Ask any mother whose child was being raped. Read up on Maciel. Sexual abuse victims had to use megaphones, Mass disruptions, lawyers, and lots of lots of vitriol before they finally took a good look at the facts.

I didn't believe sexual abuse victims when they said the good-old boys network that is a danger to children is still in place. Sadly, this is proof that absolutely nothing was gained by the whole debacle.

I'll do whatever it takes to raise that army. Some day, when they respond to civil conversations - we'll all be happy to lower the volume. We are not there yet.

You're not happy this is the face of exposing the Cardinal's contract to kill children and his lying and obfuscating about it? Join the club. I'm not happy either. Maybe some day, you can be the face - Kevin...Kevin...what did you say your name was? Oh yeah, you're anonymous.

You've been kind to give out advice so let me return the favor. Mosey on over to Wikipedia and look up righteousness and self-righteousness. Further, your "gentleman" credentials, given your conduct here, are not all that convincing.

We're going to bust the shtick of protecting corruption and attacking whistleblowers. If I were you, I'd get some rest. You're going to need it.

Peace
+
cm


The National Catholic Register, Lifenews, LifeSite, Catholic News Agency and others are reporting the scandal.

Looks like Judie Brown is about to step up her campaign. Today's below

Clock Ticking In Boston Archdiocese Abortion Scandal

American Life League logo.

WASHINGTON, DC UNITED STATES


WASHINGTON, June 9 -The Archdiocese of Boston is on track to provide abortion "services" and American Life League is rolling out an aggressive campaign to expose the scandal.


Celticare, the joint venture of archdiocesan Caritas Christi Health Care network and Centene Corp., will join Massachusetts' subsidized health program effective July 1.

Celticare lists abortion, family planning and "reproductive services" on their Web site. Centene and Caritas Christi both said they would ensure access to all services required by the Massachusetts Connector Authority, including "confidential family planning services."

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

Catholic Action League of Massachusetts reports new information on abortion services on Celticare's Web site is "final and conclusive proof" Caritas Christi will participate in abortions.

While the Archdiocese of Boston continues to assert that the matter is under review, Centene Corp. has and continues to state the current plan will become effective July 1.

"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."

American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Catholic News Agency: Archdiocese reviewing Catholic network's alleged role in providing abortions (09 June 2009)


Catholic Culture: Boston Catholic Health Care Agency in Partnership Providing Abortion Coverage (08 June 2009)


When they see things like "the Cardinal has blood on his hands", when there is an all out army filled with anger raised against them... megaphones, Mass disruptions, lawyers, and lots of lots of vitriol...I'll do whatever it takes to raise that army.

So doing the Lord's work includes disrupting Mass.

How's that phone call coming you put into the Cardinal and Terry Donilon?

Slowly, but coming along;
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16232

You're a little out of the loop. That "investigation" was started three months ago. It was a stalling tactic. It's a review all right. The same 40 year review it took to find out whether kids were being raped or Maciel was a sex offender and sociopath. Settle down and in 50 years, you'll find out whether the Cardinal was in the abortion business.

You had nothing whatsoever to do with that "review". That came from local Boston Catholics raising a huge stink three months ago. Pretending you had something to do with that - or that you had anyone at the diocese returned your phone calls and gave you information is actually quite deceptive. It must be contagious. Blech. Makes my skin crawl.

The contract has been signed. There is no review. It is a done deal and Caritas has moved onto Landmark Hospital for their next addition to Obamacare and obliterations of Catholic vocations in medicine.

By the way, you better read that CNA article more carefully. It doesn't bode well for the Cardinal.


I said the sex abuse victims disrupted Mass, among other things. For you to suggest I would ever disrupt a liturgy is beneath contempt.

Do stay tuned though - I'm going to put together a chronicle of the Cardinal's conduct - which includes refusing to name his Board of Directors at Caritas - refusing to even file his annual report that names his Directors, refusing to answer the dynamics of what will happen to the patient when she comes in and asks for an abortion, pretending he was soliciting an option from the NCBC to "assure him" that contracting killers of children was perfectly ethical for a Cardinal, being contradicted by Caritas when he tried to claim abortion referrals would not happen as a result of the arrangement and other dishonorable and dishonest conduct that will leave no room to the imagination.

The jig is up.


Boy - the way you took clips out of my post to make an accusation that I would disrupt a Mass and then pretend you had some kind of conversation with somebody that inspired "the review" is actually creepy. Every predator inside of the Church has a friend in you.

I don't know what Aristocles is complaining about or asking me about. (Then again, half the time I don't understand Aristocles anyway, and one of these days I'm going to learn not to respond to him.) "Random search." Um, I _found that abortion services are covered on Celticare's own site_. What more do you want? Yeah, I used a "search this site" function. And this means what, exactly, that undermines their own clear statement in a benefits list that they cover abortion services? You ever look at a chart of benefits from an insurance company? It's got a list of benefits in a chart with co-pays. It's not like there's some heavy "context" here or something that is undermined by using "search this site" to find the relevant chart! And Celticare is a joint business venture with Caritas. That's been documented by, among other things, Carol's reading their articles of incorporation right there in Massachusetts. As IANS says, this is now public news, and other news outlets are covering it. It sounds like a done deal. I've no doubt the Cardinal's motive was to keep Caritas going financially. Okay, little doubt. But to my mind, that just plain doesn't make it right. At this point, the "referrals" thing is actually overshadowed by the plain fact that Celticare, a business entity involving Caritas, is *covering abortions*.

It seems _awfully_ disingenuous for the representatives to say, "Caritas won't refer for abortions." No, Caritas is a partner in Celticare, which _provides coverage_ for abortions. This is better?

This is bad news. If there are some _facts_ I'm misunderstanding here, I'm happy to be corrected, but this is not looking good _at all_.

Lydia,

You're exactly right.

You know, Celticare is being disingenuous too. Though says they are not a "part" of Caritas but a partner with Caritas - what it really means is Caritas is a part of Celticare. They are part owner.

The most important aspect of this entire debacle is the Cardinal's conduct during this entire debacle. When Caritas was forthright about the fact that the Cardinal signed off on and agreed to arranging the abortions, having Catholic employees compelled to give out information that is against their conscience and be monitored by planned parenthood, if necessary inside of examination rooms, the Cardinal was deliberately giving out false information to the prolife community to stall opposition. This cannot be accepted by prolifers. He deliberately splintered the prolife community - who wants to believe that the Cardinal is lying? Prolifers assumed that the deal would be kiboshed. He made it seem as though it was on hold. He actually said that people saying abortion referrals would be done were "doing a disservice to the Church". Meanwhile, they were all signing the paperwork. It's time to chronicle it, put it in writing with citations from the public record.

This man is dishonest and deceptive and given the last ten years, I think it's fair to say that if children are being raped, we are not going to know about it.

For you to suggest I would ever disrupt a liturgy is beneath contempt.

Did you criticize the behavior? It sounded like one of the many tactics you endorsed as part of "raising up your army" and your contempt for "civil conversations". You have rationalized slander.

Look, the term internet activist is an oxymoron and the tiny following you are gathering does not mean you are giving Christian witness. There will always be an audience for I think it's fair to say that if children are being raped type of accusations on the web. But on the ground where you live? Prolifers have already refused to be associated with an end justifies the means demagogue. You are reaping what you sow. Sadly, others will pay hte price.


You are a sick puppy.

Did I ever criticize it? You've got to be kidding me. I spent three years criticizing the disruption of our liturgies in the public square and anyone paying attention to the sex abuse scandal in Boston knows it.

Anyone who knows me knows what that the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord in our precious Liturgy.

You are a sleeze and a know-nothing one at that. You've got to try to protect the Capuchin Abortion Services with this kind of slander and intimidation practices.

The rapes our children were covered up with the "end justifies the means" lackies in our Church like you. Why would killing children be any different.

This whistleblower is not intimidated. You better run back to the Chancery for more talking points. The lies circling the prolife community have just imploded the Cardinal's reputation.

I spent three years criticizing the disruption of our liturgies in the public square

Are there any other tactics you are willing to disavow? Where do you draw the line? You've already called Cardinal O'Malley an accessory to murder even before this agreement is in effect. Assuming the worst, which is the default option for some around here, what won't you say or do after?

Do you think the Spirit is the true source for your unbridled rage, brutal rhetorical formulations and indifference to those who would be impacted by the closing of Caritas? Do you have a spiritual director who would read this thread and say; fine display of fraternal correction and Chrsitian social advocacy?


Kevin, Just stopped by to check on you & your on-going schism. Perhaps you've read, "The Faithful Departed"? You would have plenty to criticize there too I imagine. There is no hope for the Archdiocese of Boston as long as you & those like you continue to attack the messenger. Actually, as the author of the book states, there is no hope for the Archdiocese of Boston at all. Not until God Himself renews it. So in the meantime all we can do is stop further outrages & scandals against the Catholic Faith. Make known to those who are being led down the dirty road that what the priest says is not always in line with the Vatican or the Catholic Faith. I have respect for all priests as they bring to us The Body & Blood of Christ, do not misquote here. You defend his Eminence Cardinal O’Malley; well it's very difficult to look to a Spiritual leader who has said; goes to bed at night hoping he doesn't wake up. I don't know what school you went to but I was raised a Catholic & taught no one should ever wish himself dead. Your sympathy for the poor is commendable but the end does not justify the means. Hmm sounds like there may be another schism in your thoughts, that of Modernism. As for anyone finding a Spiritual Director in Boston hahahahahahahahah. HUGS to You!

Actually, as the author of the book states, there is no hope for the Archdiocese of Boston at all.

Please Kathleen, that only confirms what I've said from the beginning about the discourse that is on display here; it is born of despair and a loss of Hope.

My Archdiocese recently had the most vocations in the country this spring and if anyone said that the Immaculate Conception seminary in Newark would be place for sound, priestly formation and a home of othordoxy 10 years ago, they'd be laughed out of the room. And yes, the same spiritual disease of Jungian-isnpired disorders ran rampant throughout the Church here as it did there, though I concede your crisis is more pronounced. Still, Christ is present, isn't He? You've met him, right. Make some intros and go to Worcester if you have to and meet some apostles at Assumption College a small but faithful vessel of the spirit. Visitation House? Just a building?

As for anyone finding a Spiritual Director in Boston

St Clement Eucharistic Shrine on Boylston Street. 617 266 5999. Calll them today.

And Kathleen, last time I looked; despair is a sin. So let's purge it from our interior lives and keep it from swelling within our ranks.

I understand the hurt you our feeling. It is a white martyrdom. Use it to your spiritual advantage. Prayers for the good people of Boston. May they arise from the devastation and not succumb to it.

Give me a break.

Outing the raping and killing of children is succumbing to despair?

Come now.

What kind of voices and communications victims should we scratch from the victims of rape who are trying to chase down the culprits and are being protected?

That's a conversation for another day. Right now, we're talking about what kinds of communication methods work when killing and raping of children are being fostered by Cardinals and Chancery lackies. They respond to rational conversations with lies and obsfucations. Ergo, you have to pump up the drama. This is what they respond to and I certainly do believe that the Holy Spirit is the force behind me. You've got a long list of false accusations and obsfucations. Those aren't the markings of the Holy Spirit last I checked.

You don't know the finances of Caritas anymore than you know your faith so stop saying this is the only action he could take to avoid bankruptcy. It is nonsense.

What would I stop at? If the Cardinal wants to set up an abortuary in underneath the Chapel at the "Pastoral Center" and learn how to use the vaccuum to rip children apart alive himself - I'd certainly cry out a warning but would not raise an army against it because that would be somebody who had the testosterone to do it himself and take ownership of it. Hiring other people to do it for him, like a moral coward that he is and then compelling every Catholic to sin for him, as he Marches in the prolife parade all weapy and teary-eyed over abortions - that is on my list of things to disavow. Vehemently. The Cardinal has no right to con other people into doing his dirty deeds. He can't turn the mission of the Catholic Church into a abortion patnership anymore than he can resort to pimping children for cash flow. In fact, pimping children would be a lesser sin.

Kevin must have been called back to the bunker.

Anyone rational can see that the Cardinal has been lying.

my latest post with comments -

BOSTON, June 10, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - 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.

The story lines given by Brian Delaney of Celticare contains glaring omissions:

(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."

The first omission is that Caritas has agreed to compel Catholic employees to speak about the options of abortion in ways that oppose the teachings of the Church (they will no longer be able to state that abortion is murder and more importantly, the employees are compelled to speak about abortions in ways that oppose their conscience and Caritas has agreed to permit planned parenthood to monitor employees - if necessary inside of the examination rooms)

The second omission - 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,

Mr. Delaney is speaking about "the plan" without identifying it as the joint venture which Caritas owns. "the plan" is Celticare and Celticare is owned by Centene and Caritas. The woman is being given the abortion information by the Archdiocese.

The Articles of Organization on the Massachusetts Secretary of State's Office demonstrate that CeltiCare has listed their business as an "HMO".

The Archdiocese has invested in this "HMO", which will be providing the moral evils and, paying for them. The Archdiocese is providing abortions and paying for abortions.

I'd say that's a bit different than they're doing now, wouldn't you?

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.

That is exactly what the plan compels the hospital to do as primary care physicians.

I've added "Caritas" where appropriate:

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

Caritas is assisting the patient getting in obtaining the abortions. And, as the "insurance", they will pay for it.

Let's stop the intellectual dishonesty.

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."

Also in the news - Caritas is spending 70 million on IT technology and hiring 150 physicians.

A Catholic integrated delivery system that owns six New England hospitals is spending $70 million on information technology so it can better compete for patients against the major teaching hospitals in Boston.

Caritas Christi Health System is paying startup costs for implementing electronic health records software for 1,300 physicians, with area payers picking up the tab for basic hardware. In addition, the system is gearing up its clinical automation efforts at all its hospitals.

“In order to be competitive, we need to spend money on I.T.,” says Todd Rothenhaus, M.D., senior vice president and CIO. The Boston-based delivery system hopes to use information technology to generate clinical data that demonstrates it offers high-quality care at a low cost, or what Rothenhaus calls “value for the health care consumer.”

As the owner of community hospitals, Caritas Christi must take on powerhouses, such as Partners HealthCare System Inc., as it competes for patient loyalty in an intensively competitive market.


To help defray some of the enormous I.T. costs it faces, the delivery system will aggressively pursue Medicare and Medicaid financial incentives under the federal economic stimulus program, Rothenhaus acknowledges.

Since launching its effort to bring electronic health records to physicians’ offices in 2006, the delivery system has implemented software for 150 physicians. This year, it will add another 150 doctors. And it has set an ambitious goal of adding another 1,000 in 2010, Rothenhaus says.
Posted by Carol McKinley at 4:50 PM 0 comments

Delaney officially confirms that the 24/7 800 number is maintained by Celticare. Celticare's own number. Carol said this above, but at the time I didn't know of independent confirmation thereof. Kevin hypothesized that this is "the same 800 number they see on the side of any bus." In other words, that it was not maintained by Caritas itself or a business entity in which Caritas is a substantial partner. Or so I took him to be conjecturing. That is now falsified. As I suggested early in the thread (and this was a better interpretation of the language in teh Globe article) the 800 number itself is maintained by *the insurer*, namely, Caritas-Centene, aka Celticare. Confirmed now by their own representative. However, as I said above, the hybrid entity Caritas-Centene, aka Celticare, is actually paying for the abortions. This is by far the bigger story, and is also now confirmed.

Kevin, I'm pretty astonished that you are falling back on "is not yet in effect" as though somehow we have to wait for July 1 to point out what is now unambiguously reported in public news stories about what has been set up as a real financial arrangement. What the heck, according to you, are people of good will obligated to wait for? To see how it works out, maybe? To try to get some sort of later data about *how many* women's abortions Caritas-Centene (aka Celticare) has actually paid for? To see if on June 30 there is an 11th hour announcement that the whole deal is off? (If that is even now legally possible.) I just can't understand you. If you consider Carol somehow an unreliable source by herself, then--if truth-knowing is your goal--you're in luck. These facts are now independently confirmed!



Caritas insurance deal faces changes
Provider's link to abortion criticized
By Michael Paulson and Kay Lazar, Globe Staff | June 11, 2009

Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, concerned about the relationship between Caritas Christi Health Care and an insurance plan that covers abortions, is seeking modifications to the joint venture that the beleaguered Catholic hospital chain has entered into with a St. Louis-based healthcare company to provide insurance to low-income Massachusetts residents.

O'Malley, who has been criticized by several conservative Catholic and antiabortion activists for his handling of the Caritas venture, issued a statement yesterday declaring that "under no circumstances" will Caritas provide or refer patients for procedures prohibited by Catholic teaching, which include abortion, contraception, and sterilization.

And the Archdiocese of Boston said publicly for the first time yesterday that Caritas would not be permitted to profit from the provision of abortion services by others.

The archdiocese would not specify the changes it is seeking to the joint venture, called CeltiCare, which is 49 percent owned by Caritas Christi.

But the church sought to clarify its requirements for the deal after a number of conservative bloggers and interest groups had recently criticized the venture, accusing O'Malley, often in quite angry language, of abandoning the church's commitment to protecting the unborn.

This week, many of the activists have seized upon, as evidence of the problematic nature of the venture, the new website of CeltiCare. The website specifies the copayments for abortions (from 0 to $100, depending on the plan), and lists family planning and reproductive service providers, including Planned Parenthood facilities in Boston, Somerville, and Worcester.

The president of Caritas Christi, Dr. Ralph de la Torre, issued a statement yesterday saying that individuals covered under the new venture will be told to talk to their insurance company if they seek abortions or other services prohibited by Catholic teaching.

"When a patient seeks such a procedure, Caritas healthcare professionals will be clear that (a) the hospital does not perform them and (b) the patient must turn to his or her insurer for further guidance," de la Torre said. "This, in fact, is the practice currently in place in the Caritas system as we work with other insurance companies under state laws that mandate access to procedures not provided within the Caritas system."

The joint venture, with Centene Corp. of St. Louis, will provide health insurance to thousands of low-income residents of Massachusetts under the Commonwealth Care program, a state-subsidized health insurance program for the working poor. The companies have said that CeltiCare is 51 percent owned by a subsidiary of Centene and 49 percent owned by Caritas Christi, which is incorporated independently from the archdiocese but has a Catholic identity overseen by the archbishop of Boston.

The hospitals are facing time pressure to resolve the cardinal's concerns, because CeltiCare has already begun enrolling low-income people and is supposed to begin providing them with health insurance coverage July 1. Neither the state Connector Authority, which oversees Commonwealth Care, nor CeltiCare would say how many residents have signed up for coverage.

The archdiocese said it is optimistic that Caritas will be able to renegotiate its arrangement with Centene in a way that will be acceptable to the cardinal, who is obligated under church law to ensure that Catholic hospitals in the archdiocese comply with Catholic healthcare ethics.

The cardinal is eager to find a way to make the venture work, because it will serve the poor, which is a priority of the church, and because it will help the Caritas chain, which has had financial problems. But the archdiocese said that the cardinal cannot compromise on the church's ethical directives for Catholic hospitals and that if the final deal does not comply with his understanding of those directives, he will be obligated to block the venture.

The archdiocese would not say yesterday whether the ownership structure of CeltiCare would change, but a statement from the archdiocese and Caritas said, "Caritas is in active discussions with Celtic Group [a Centene subsidiary] and CeltiCare with a view to making acceptable modifications to their arrangement." Centene referred questions to CeltiCare, and its spokesman said he had no comment.

Some of the cardinal's critics are applying a tougher standard to the deal than are many moral theologians and Catholic healthcare officials, who have said that the issue here is whether Caritas is "cooperating with the evil of abortion."

Judie Brown, president of the American Life League, an antiabortion organization, said she does not believe there is any way to modify the arrangement that would make it acceptable.

"Caritas Christi has been put in a position of having to align itself with a provider that does provide abortions, contraception, and sterilization, and it would be crippling to the Catholic identity of Caritas Christi, and therefore the credibility of the archdiocese, if this agreement were to go forward in any way," Brown said.

Brown said she believes the Caritas arrangement is not unusual among Catholic hospitals, and said, "This is a scandal throughout the church."

Brian Delaney, a spokesman for CeltiCare, said an abortion rights group, NARAL Pro-Choice of Massachusetts, will serve on an advisory group for the health plan but he did not know whether any Catholic groups would be on the panel.

Andrea Miller, NARAL executive director, said of the possible modifications to the venture: "The real question is how this plays out in the real world. If it turns out this process of refusing to provide even referrals and sending patients back to health plans creates a barrier to low- or lower-income people obtaining care that they need and have a right to, we will have to . . . ask some hard questions."

Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com; Lazar at klazar@globe.com.



Kevin, I'm pretty astonished that you are falling back on "is not yet in effect" as though somehow we have to wait for July 1 to point out what is now unambiguously reported in public news stories

Really, Lydia you unambiguously know the truth here?

Both KD's post and Sean O'Malley's track record contradict your assertions.
Again, too quick to condemn, too indifferent on the plight of those dependent on Caritas and too dismissive of legitimate attempts to mainatain the operations of Caritas.

Perhaps we are witnessing the end of Catholic healthcare in this country, but if so, we should acknowledge such an occurence to be a tragedy. Andrea Miller above, can't wait for that day to come and undoubtedly hopes O'Malley forces a Gingrich-like public showdown that would further alienate the Church from the people of Boston and terminate any alternative to the institutions she already controls.

I must say that your infinite patience (silent assent?) for the churlish, malicious rhetoric employed here against the Cardinal does not speak well of your own purported zeal for the truth. Maybe you should have read today's Globe before rendering your verdict.

Goaded by vicious hominterns like Carol, it is probably understandable (though hardly forgivable) that Linda would have been so easily duped into such malicious mob mentality as that which went on here. Although, I'm rather disappointed that a fairly reasonable person like Lydia would have actually committed such an undeniably knavish thing as that.

Lydia knows (or should know) better.

It appears to me that Sean Cardinal O'Malley is saying something VERY different than what he has said publicly in the past. For that, he is to be credited.

Maybe he had been mislead by his advisers, who knows?

That he is publicly saying something different,is, for me (unless I am told otherwise), evidence that women like Carol deserve credit for the tenacious work they have done.

Kudos, Carol.

Messrs Lawler and Doyle also deserve credit, as does Judie Brown.

Lydia. Thanks for all of your calm, clear-headed thinking re the controversy. You have been quite fair, as usual. The main reason I lurk here is that y'all (The Authors) are exemplary examples of how to confront controversies.

I hope a bit of your example rubs off.

That he is publicly saying something different,is, for me (unless I am told otherwise), evidence that women like Carol deserve credit for the tenacious work they have done.

Indeed, it's nice having the innocent declared guilty and, once more, the raper and murderer of children just prior to any actual due diligence, thorough examination and subsequent deliberation.

Luckily, O'Malley wasn't immediately burnt at the stake by the likes of such folks.

It appears to me that Sean Cardinal O'Malley is saying something VERY different than what he has said publicly in the past.

Untrue. But, at least it is consistently untrue.

This is what he said in March;

I wish to reaffirm that this agreement can only be realized if the moral obligations for Catholic hospitals as articulated in the Ethical and Religious Directives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are fulfilled at all times and in all cases.

Ari, you are right on. Not even Richard McBrien could develop a moral theology of preemptive slander.

It never occurred (and never will) to those predisposed to snipe from the sidelines that the Cardinal is in the middle of negotiations with both internal and external hostile forces and is seeking a solution that is in the best interests of Life.

Instead, they will in the best tradition of Jacobin jurisprudence and heads we win, tails the Cardinal loses bet-hedging, claim it was their uncharitable vehemence that saved the day (nothing brings a man over to your side like falsely accusing him of being a murderer), or their worst fears are being realized under the cover of darkness, and it is the rest of us who need to wake-up and join the posse.

Assertions to the contrary by Cardinal O’Malley notwithstanding, this is the third time since February 26 that a representative of the Caritas/Centene partnership has affirmed that the Commonwealth Care contract will include abortion and contraception.


June 11 But the archdiocese said that the cardinal cannot compromise on the church's ethical directives for Catholic hospitals and that if the final deal does not comply with his understanding of those directives, he will be obligated to block the venture.

It appears to me that Sean Cardinal O'Malley is saying something VERY different than what he has said publicly in the past.

Kevin;"Untrue. But, at least it is consistently untrue."

Kevin. You are simply wrong. As John Adams used to say, facts are stubborn things. And the facts are documented all over this thread.

All of the rest of the malarkey you and aristocles are spouting is, as far as I am concerned, doing far more damage to you two than those you seek to cast as dupes and Jacobins.

IANS,
Good Lord, is it too nuanced to acknowledge the fundamental difference in both the identities and interests of Cardinal O’Malley and a representative of Caritas/Centene, or is this your funny way of alerting us to the need for literacy tests to be administered to prospective jurors?


Kevin. You are now putting mustard on your malarkey.

It is crystal clear Sean Cardinal O'Malley is now saying something VERY different from what he had been saying the past several months.

It is well documented.

I really do not care if you acknowledge that reality or not. It exists even absent your admission that it does exist.

I do think that in the future I will not likely be responding to you because, for me at least,you seem to have the nettlesome propensity to ignore the forest while criticising the perceived imperfection on the bark of every single tree before you.

It is well documented.

So much so Ians, that you can't provide any. Unless, you count your comedic, if Orwellian attempt to ascribe a quote from a spokesman for Caritas/Centene contradicting the Cardinal as actually belonging to the Cardinal.

Absent a retraction of the specualtive and unforgiving accusations made here, a vow of silence is the next best course for O'Malley's relentless and hopelessly confused critics.

Boys, don't look now, but nobody is saluting. Better hurry back to the Chancery for more talking points.


CARDINAL O’MALLEY, CARITAS CHRISTI, AND ABORTION

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today took issue with the statements released yesterday by Sean Cardinal O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, and Dr. Ralph de la Torre, President of Caritas Christi Health Care, regarding the Commonwealth Care contract awarded to the Caritas Christi/Centene Corporation partnership, now known as CeltiCare. This contract, offering health insurance to low-income Bay State adults, due to take effect on July 1, includes abortion coverage.

The Archdiocese stated that “Caritas is in active discussions with Celtic Group and CeltiCare with a view to making acceptable modifications to their arrangement.” The Cardinal went on to say that “...under no circumstances will Caritas either perform procedures prohibited by [Catholic teaching] or refer any patient to other providers who perform or procure such procedures.” Dr. de la Torre said “when the patients seek such a procedure, Caritas...will be clear that (a) the hospital does not perform them and (b) the patient must turn to his or her insurer for further guidance.”

Ironically, these statements came just one day after Brian Delaney, CeltiCare’s Director of Communications, when asked whether the Caritas hospitals would refer a patient seeking an abortion to the Caritas/Centene call center, answered “I believe so.” Meanwhile, The Boston Globe reports that Caritas Christi now owns a 49% share of CeltiCare, and that NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts will serve on CeltiCare’s advisory board.

The Catholic Action League described the statements as “yet more unpersuasive denials intended to obscure the fact that as of July 1, Caritas Christi will be in the abortion business.”

Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: “The Archdiocese has known for at least 3 1/2 months that this contract requires abortion coverage. Now with less than three weeks to the startup date, the cardinal is suddenly seeking modifications, having previously castigated others who questioned the contract. This reversal begs the questions of why Caritas sought this contract in the first place; why they signed it knowing it was problematic; and why they failed to raise these issues when they testified before the awarding agency on March 12. This last minute call for revisions is either a desperate public relations ploy aimed at diffusing opposition from pro-life Catholics, or a stunning admission of institutional incompetence, or both.”

“The Cardinal’s statement is contradicted by that of Dr. de la Torre. In sending a patient seeking an abortion back to her insurer, Caritas will be sending Commonwealth Care members to the Caritas/Centene partnership, which will not only procure the abortion but lists Planned Parenthood as a reproductive services provider. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2009 will allow no exemption for Caritas Christi in the matter of abortion. Caritas must withdraw from this contract.”


From the American Life League

Caritas Christi Abortion Scandal: More Questions, No Answers from Boston's Cardinal by Katie Walker Released June 12, 2009

Washington, DC (12 June 2009) – Judie Brown, president of American Life League, issued the following reply to Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s June 10 statement regarding the Caritas Christi scandal in Boston.

“While Catholics and pro-lifers around the country await a definitive statement from the Archdiocese of Boston indicating that it will not participate in or facilitate abortions or other procedures contrary to Catholic teaching, Cardinal O’Malley’s latest statement raises even more questions.

“The archdiocese has acknowledged that an agreement has been reached with Celtic Group, Inc. – a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Centene Corporation – for a joint healthcare venture. We know that CeltiCare includes abortion and ‘family planning services’ in its coverage and has promised to continue this policy after July 1.

“The archdiocese’s statement also acknowledged that the agreement requires modification. This is a positive step, but 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. 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.

“Most concerning of all is the following quote from Mr. Ralph de la Torre, president of Caritas Christi: ‘When a patient seeks such a procedure, Caritas health care professionals will be clear that (a) the hospital does not perform them and (b) the patient must turn to his or her insurance for further guidance’ [emphasis added].

“Boston Catholic commentator Carol McKinley responded well to this statement:

When the patient “turns to his or her insurance company,” they are “turning” to the “HMO” [of] which the Cardinal and Caritas are co-owners, [CeltiCare]. Therefore, the Cardinal and 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.

“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.

“Cardinal O’Malley can stop this today with one word. 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.”

American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.

Kevin, Can you guess who released this one?


The Cardinal's Dishonorable Press Release

On June 10th, 2009,Cardinal O'Malley circulated a press release stating he believes that Caritas wants to be consistent with Catholic moral teaching and that Caritas and CeltiCare are in "active talks", "with a view to make acceptable modifications to their arrangement"

Caritas signed a contract that included providing abortions. Caritas has publicly stated on numerous occasions that they will provide abortions and family planning services. This was a requirement of being awarded the contract. Because the Cardinal and Caritas have promised to provide abortions, they have to hire somebody to carry out the abortions. The foregone conclusion then, is that the theology of the Catholic Church now includes an affirmation that Catholics may take out contracts to hire people to kill other people and be "completely consist with the Catholic identity".

There is a glaring omission in the dishonorable joint statement that needs some transparency:

Mr. Ralph de la Torre states the following: "When a patient seeks such a procedure, Caritas healthcare professionals will be clear that (a) the hospital does not perform them and (b) the patient must turn to his or her insurance for further guidance."
0A

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. The Cardinal & Caritas are therefore providing these services.

The Cardinal and Caritas must hire somebody to carry out the abortions and refer the women to the persons they have hired. The list of persons they have hired has been published on their joint venture website and includes many well-known abortionists and family-planning centers. These abortionists and family planning centers are direct business arrangements with the Cardinal, Caritas and Centene. It is their joint venture which was formed to carry out the contract that includes abortions.

With the exception of removing family planning, abortion, sterilization, embryonic stem cell research and other moral evils covered under the 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.

The deceptions inherent in this Joint Statement are willful and deliberate and represent an unsafe environment for children, for Catholic healthcare workers and the poor - who unwittingly will be shuffled into moral evil for the sake of the infusion of cash from the Commonwealth.

Keep on advising the Cardinal to lie about this arrangement. it's doing wonders for his reputation and vocation.

Lydia,


It's really important that we cast the right light on the Joint Statement. It has been three months and the reality is, they need to hire people to do the abortions and they needed an entity to flow that money and contracts through in order to disguise what they are doing. This latest missive from the Chancery changes nothing. They are pretending Celticare isn't Caritas when it is.

My distinct impression of the latest developments is that the Archdiocese -- finally forced to do something in light of the huge pressure brought to bear over the past couple of weeks -- is once more attempting to deflect and delay criticism while the deal goes forward as scheduled. In my view, yesterday's announcements are nothing more than temporizing. What is absolutely clear from the information reported yesterday and today is that the deal, as it exists on paper right now and as it was structured to function once operations commence on July 1, is unquestionably (and now admitted by the Archdiocese to be) contrary to the teaching of the Church. What is also clear is that no amount of "renegotiating" the contract can cure the immorality, because (a) the new entity will be performing immoral services and (b) Caritas owns 49% of the new entity and therefore will benefit from the immoral services, no matter how much Caritas distances itself from the actual performance of those services. Nevertheless, it is evident that the Archdiocese intends to proceed with this deal, after making some cosmetic changes to disguise what is really going on.

Spread the word.


Amy Wellborn is posting on the scandal. Check back in with the post later as it looks like she's going to update it.


http://blog.beliefnet.com/viamedia/2009/06/diagnosis-critical.html

You can fool some of the people, some of the time - but you can't fool other people who will scratch the surface to find out if people really are being raped or, in this instance, morally and spiritually corrupted, exploited and killed and impose the beginning of the abolition of Catholics in healthcare.

History, you see, demonstrates that the character assassinations executed by Chancery lackeys actually compound the depths of the corrupt.

There is no tool to expose rapes going on inside of a diocese. If you bring a legitimate complaint about a Cardinal in this country - there is not a single priest nor bishop who will advance the facts and stop the evil.

It was all a ruse.

Even when murders are involved, there are coverups and lies and no mechanism to stop them all the way to the top.

It is up to lay people.

Sadly, you see, the Cardinal is using the word "Caritas" to create a fata morgana. He bid on a contract that included abortions and created another entity to flow the abortion subcontracts, money and women through. We now need to know, need to talk about the Cardinal's business "CeltiCare". What are they doing with that business (he owns a 49% ownership interest in) and how does it comport with Humanae Vitae and Evangelium Vitae?

Can a Catholic Cardinal bid on a contract that includes performing abortions, give written assurances they will either perform them or contract with people outside of their network to perform them, create an entity to send the women to the abortionists and take 49% ownership in that entity who then hires subcontractors to perform abortions, hires bilingual phone operators who will give the woman the number of the abortionists they've subcontracted, tell their employees at the hospital to give the number out of their 49% owned corporation?

What level of ownership interest they can take in the set up that would make the arrangement consistent with the Gospel of Life and Catholic theology?

After they have set this all up, can they then submit a revision of a partnership agreement to reduce their interests to 3% ownership in the arrangement?

1% ownership in the arrangement?

After you bid on a contract that compels you to promise to perform abortions and you promise in writing to perform them - what is the structure in a corporation that the Cardinal can claim his arrangement meets compliance with Catholic ethics?

What kind of advice is a Cardinal hoping to get when he places NARAL on his advisory Board in his partnership? After bidding on abortions, promising to contract with people to perform them and creating the corporate structure to flow the contracts, women and money through?


As most people know by now, I have been out of the country for the past week and am just back as of last night. This is the only thread I've been following much at all. I would like to put up a post later today about the conference I was attending. Let me just say here that I am not at all satisfied by this recent statement by the Cardinal's office as reported in the Globe, though I do think that to the extent it is _at all_ a positive sign, it has occurred only _because of_ the pressure from bloggers (the article indicates as much in almost so many words). Therefore, it would be silly for anyone to imply that bloggers (including me, for what small bit my contribution has been worth) have "jumped the gun." On the contrary: All evidence is that the unacceptable aspects of the contract were put in place by Caritas and Centene (with the development of the joint Celticare and its contract), were brought to light _by_ bloggers and news sources and that, if any reconsideration is occurring, it is only because of this sunlight treatment. The statement in the Globe implies to my mind that the Cardinal is continuing to be concerned only with what happens at Catholic hospitals per se (as I'm afraid Kevin has seemed to be as well in this thread), including anything that could be considered abortion referrals, rather than with what is done by Caritas, including done through its 49 percent ownership interest (an important piece of information) in Celticare. So far, I have seen nothing from the Cardinal's representatives that indicates even an admission of this public fact or of the fact that Celticare--half-owned by Caritas--will actually be _providing_ abortions, even though not at Catholic hospitals. Moreover, the statement about referring them to their insurer and the statement that this is already what the Catholic hospitals do is positively misleading, since the insurer is Caritas-half-owned Celticare. That is pure sleight of hand, and if that is the way they are going to justify the situation, it clearly changes nothing.

Finally, I have real questions about what legal options are open at this 11th hour to Caritas. Can they sell their 49 percent in Celticare and give up the contract? They certainly should try, but "seeking modifications" hardly sounds like any move so radical.

Thank you, Carol, for the info. Thank you to whoever (Martin?) put up the Globe article above (I haven't time to check who put it up). And thank you, if you are still reading, to IANS for your supportive comments to me.

it has occurred only _because of_ the pressure from bloggers

Oh please spare us the; "call the man an murderer loud enough and we'll win him over" rationalization. No one near the Cardinal is reading this site. And lets hope that remains the case, since much of what had been written here is reveals a complete lack of empathy for the people dependent on Caritas, and ignorance of both the facts and various camps engaged in this tug of war.

The prolife community including MCFL and the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal are making sure their concerns and proposals are not associated with either the tone or content written on blogs in the name of a perverse form of Christian witness.

Any honorable resolution to this situation will come through prayer and moral suasion of those close to the center of gravity in Boston, not anathemas and scurrilous accusations made from afar.

Lydia,

You're welcome - and thank you for sorting through the leads on your own, for reading, for seeking the truth and coming to, what is now, indisputable. The Cardinal is in the abortion business - something it appears even Kevin, no longer denies. He is reduced to character assassinations alone. Anyone who knows Fr. Groeschel - has ever heard the man or held a conversation with him about the various characters in the assault against life - - well, it's laughable to portray him as an orator of gentility. LOL.

Yes, there is lots going on under the radar. The rats are in the corners and sooner rather than later, pest control is going to capture them and show off their big long tails. Stay tuned as there is, sadly, more revelations of corruption forthcoming.

Caritas has no intention of "selling". They are in fact in the "buying" mode. From the preliminary capital examinations that are public, it appears that large amounts of cash have already been infused into diocesan accounts.

ps - Kevin, that you keep pretending you are in the midst of the confidences about what is really going on inside of the Boston Chancery Bunker or Fr. Groeschel's group or any other group fighting this under the radar, when you are so utterly ill and uninformed, is, well, entertaining.

Cheers and Blessed Feast of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ!

Allelluia, our Lord God Almighty Reigns.

ps - Kevin, that you keep pretending you are in the midst of the confidences

No, you've accused me of being in the bunker, I don't claim to be in it. But, I do know the following;pro-lifers in Boston have been and are working for a better outcome and none want any part of you or your rhetoric. And yes, Carol I do work with the Friars in the Bronx and your behavior is contrary to everything that they counsel and encourage.

Amy Wellborn has credibility. She has labored in the vineyards, knows the many stress points and fractures within the institutional Church and has a result, is more charitable in her outlook and comportment. You are no Amy Wellborn.

p.p.s. - Kev, when you're sitting around the table with the Cardinal and Bryan Hehir trying to find a way out of web of lies, tell him Carol says nice pictures of both of them on the blog sitting around at the Shaughnessey's. Tell him the Shaugnessey's and many others with deep pockets are on my list of people to educate about their lies.

He better start worrying about how much lies cost in the long run. It seems he didn't learn the lesson from the first round.

He's got one card left - block the contract. For the sake of you folks worrying about how much money is in the bank accounts belonging to the Cardinal - I hope he takes it. What will transpire if he doesn't will parallel the financial fallout from the lies about sex abuse.

Take the message to the boys - if they think we are at all bluffing about educating people with the money about the lies if they don't withdraw from this contract - they are more foolish than even I can imagine.

Oh please spare us the; "call the man an murderer loud enough and we'll win him over" rationalization. No one near the Cardinal is reading this site. And lets hope that remains the case, since much of what had been written here is reveals a complete lack of empathy for the people dependent on Caritas, and ignorance of both the facts and various camps engaged in this tug of war.

Actually, I didn't mean my own post at all. The Globe article referred, as I recall, to Catholic bloggers, and I'm a Protestant anyway. And I am chiefly reading and re-reporting for anyone who happens to read me but not others. I am no original source investigator but a collator. But I think the article made it pretty clear that pressure, not defense, is what has brought about any move to reconsider. And why has it come so late? Because Celticare put up its list of services, including abortion, on the Web, and when it came out that Caritas half-owns Celticare, that was enough of a scandal that there were a few noises made about addressing the scandal.

pro-lifers in Boston have been and are working for a better outcome

What kind of better outcome??? I really, seriously, want to know, in clear words, without any euphemisms or evasions. And if it still involves Caritas's owning half of Celticare and Celticare providing abortions, this is plain wrong. Plain speaking really is called for here.

No actually, you've been on here pretending to be in the know with the boys in the bunker. Now that what I've been saying is absolutely undeniable - you've run to a new bunker. Next thing you know, you'll be reporting what people are supposedly saying at Congregations at the Vatican pouring over the evidence.

I guess you've never run into Fr. Groeshel in your "work" with the Friars.

It appears you are now reduced to trying to provoke some kind of reaction by implying I should not get credit for the exposition of the corruption and lies - or that I am somehow, to be deflated by your observations that I am "no Amy Welborn".

I assure you that I absolutely could not care less who wants to take the crown for this, or if I am ever associated with who outed the Cardinal's empire of moral evils and cover ups and various wizards he's deployed to try to silence whistleblowers. I am compltely and utterly and devotedly serving the Lord. When you have this kind of relationship with the Lord and you are serving Him - whatever infusion you need of anything, you get directly from Him. Thereby making who gets credit for what in the public square not only immaterial to anything interior - I actually enjoy seeing people infused with momentum and lauded for their work. Gives me great pleasure.

And, I have no disagreement with you that I am "no Amy Welborn". She's wonderful and talented and I'm pleased that she has taken up the subject matter. However, though you say I'm "no Amy Welborn" like it's a bad thing, I actually am not affected by your malice. So put that in your crack pipe and smoke it. Pass that too, around the bunker.

Lydia,

I am very tapped into the prolife community in Boston. Many were convinced that the Cardinal was a man of word and good faith. I know of one person left who is at MCFL that the Cardinal is able to use and exploit to send out his soundbytes. She is a good woman but she is being used. All the rest have gotten off the Cardinal's bus.

Kevin is talking about how the Cardinal has tried to hijack the National Catholic Bioethics Center to come up with some kind of a partnership to make their abortion business Capuchin. By outing their plans as they went along - they have had to make "modifications" which now, even in the eleventh hour, they realize the prolife community will vigorously reject. They're all up the creek without a paddle.

Kevin, we've seen a lot of entertainment in Boston. We've had the voice of the faithful - people who hear voices inside of their heads, trying to recreate those three days in Woodstock in every conceivable venture. As far as entertainment goes, you my dear, are worth your weight in blood money.

And I am chiefly reading and re-reporting for anyone who happens to read me but not others

Actually, you've given Carol another cyber platform to call the Cardinal a murderer and managed to emit a muffled, "let's moderate this a little bit".Funny there are threads here on this site about "Libel in the Air", but none refer to the commentary over here. I wonder why.


Kevin is talking about how the Cardinal has tried to hijack the National Catholic Bioethics Center to come up with some kind of a partnership to make their abortion business Capuchin.

You'll have to translate that, Carol. Is the "partnership" you mean Celticare itself? What's this "hijacking" thing? You mean the request for some sort of opinion on the ethics of this? But as far as I know, that opinion hasn't been made public. And Kevin seems to be referring to some new behind-the-scenes plan. I just can't imagine what it is.

Actually, you've given Carol another cyber platform to call the Cardinal a murderer and managed to emit a muffled, "let's moderate this a little bit".Funny there are threads here on this site about "Libel in the Air", but none refer to the commentary over here. I wonder why
.

I'd say people who take out contracts to kill other people in secular law actually wind up in jail. Theologically, the Cardinal is no different. There's no libel involved in what you now have to admit to be true.

There is one tiny little difference from mafiosos and people who hire people to kill their wives and so forth -- as I've mentioned before, this is a man who is supposed to lead souls towards salvation. That is his sole purpose. I don't want to bring up a sore subject again - but, let us just say that Cardinals making contracts with killers and people who perform moral evils upon the poor and emotionally distraught is in and of itself, a spiritual predicament we hope to inure when other Cardinals watching the reaction. Whoever is left standing on the field when the Cardinals scamper whimpering, can make progress. Didn't you watch how much the "Voice of the Faithful" are respected here in Boston? This is the kind of talk they love. Nobody making rational arguments to this Cardinal has had any affect whatsoever - as you can plainly see. He was lying right up to a few days ago. Counseled, no doubt by you fellas left over from the Cardinal Law Administration. Poor Cardinal Law and now this poor Cardinal. Doomed by bum advice.

Lydia,

Kevin is blowing smoke. He's not in the know.

The "partnership" is the "partnership" that was made by and between Caritas and Centene "Celticare". When you create a partnership, your agreement is flushed out in the "partnership agreement" and the bylaws of the corporations you create. Legal documents that bind the partners, describe their benefits and duties, the financial structure.

The corporation that Centene and Caritas made is on file at the Secretary of States office. It's business is characterized as an "HMO". What this means is, Caritas is now in the health insurance industry business. In fact, their business and partnership is flushed out in Celtic Care Health Insurance, Inc. (I believe that is the formal name - you may go look it up in google).

The Cardinal is on the Board of Directors at the National Catholic Bioethics Center. The Archdiocese financially and materially supports the NCBC. They are a very reputable and reliable ethics center that has worked hard to advance truth. The Cardinal has been behind the scenes in a despicable act of trying get the NCBC to "assure him" that the structure they built was in compliance with Catholic ethics. Though the Cardinal has refused to release or make public the opinions of the NCBC - there was already one modification to the structure. Caritas was, at first, the "majority" partner - meaning they held 51% or more of the ownership. When prolifers in March made enough of a stink, they "modified" the partnership to make "Caritas" the "minority" shareholder. You'll remember that a mamber of the Board of Governors of Caritas (fietelberg) revealed this to my friend and there my communications with him discuss it.

When we raised more stink, the Cardinal told the associated press that he has sent, once again, a "revised partnership agreement" to the NCBC for "assurances" that this time, they've mapped out the names correctly and paperwork involved to absolve what is really going on - Caritas and the Cardinal are in the abortion business.

Does that make sense?

Kevin has no problem with this and he and a few cronies that would like to "save" the poor people and Catholic doctors by catapolting them into the arms of the devil are working towards that compromise. When he says "prolifers" are involved in this venture, you can imagine what kind of "prolifers" would go along with it.

I have no doubts that the NCBC will reject this new structure and we will never see their opinions. This is why when the press asked what the possible modifications were - they refused to say. They will refuse to release the opinion. It is possible now that they are taking government money though - that the opinion of the bioethics center will be open to a FOIA - which is something the lawyers are looking into once this goes into affect - and believe me when I say there is almost no chance of it not going into affect. The Cardinal is stalling and there will be more lying and obfuscations.

In other words Lydia, now that the people the Cardinal deployed were not able to intimidate or silence or undermine credibility of prolifers bringing the sunshine onto the abortion business the Cardinal has been "assured" is in compliance with Catholic ethics - they are, once again, back with Kevin his "prolife" cronies making, yet, another "modification" to the partnership agreement - now that their abortion business is all set up.

What we now must do is reveal the fact that when the Cardinal made the statements last week that "Caritas" was not involved in the abortion business, he was misleading people because "Caritas" is not the archdiocesan business venture that is carrying out the abortion contracts.

Sort of like showing the business checkbook from the clergy fund and saying the diocese has never been involved in writing checks to sexual abuse victims and anyone saying so is doing a disservice to the Church. The deceptions should frighten anyone and everyone and this is what we absolutely must be vigilant in uprooting. They are lying through their teeth hoping people will not scratch below the Boston Globe article who are now acting as allies of the Boston Chancery.

This is what questions we must now get into the public square in the next week:

Sadly, you see, the Cardinal is using the word "Caritas" to create a fata morgana. He bid on a contract that included abortions and created another entity to flow the abortion subcontracts, money and women through. We now need to know, need to talk about the Cardinal's business "CeltiCare". What are they doing with that business (he owns a 49% ownership interest in) and how does it comport with Humanae Vitae and Evangelium Vitae?

Can a Catholic Cardinal bid on a contract that includes performing abortions, give written assurances they will either perform them or contract with people outside of their network to perform them, create an entity to send the women to the abortionists and take 49% ownership in that entity who then hires subcontractors to perform abortions, hires bilingual phone operators who will give the woman the number of the abortionists they've subcontracted, tell their employees at the hospital to give the number out of their 49% owned corporation?

What level of ownership interest they can take in the set up that would make the arrangement consistent with the Gospel of Life and Catholic theology?

After they have set this all up, can they then submit a revision of a partnership agreement to reduce their interests to 3% ownership in the arrangement?

1% ownership in the arrangement?

After you bid on a contract that compels you to promise to perform abortions and you promise in writing to perform them - what is the structure in a corporation that the Cardinal can claim his arrangement meets compliance with Catholic ethics?

What kind of advice is a Cardinal hoping to get when he places NARAL on his advisory Board in his partnership? After bidding on abortions, promising to contract with people to perform them and creating the corporate structure to flow the contracts, women and money through?

anything you can do to help expose these questions into the light of day would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all your help.

oops, I meant this whole list of questions...

Sadly, you see, the Cardinal is using the word "Caritas" to create a fata morgana. He bid on a contract that included abortions and created another entity to flow the abortion subcontracts, money and women through. We now need to know, need to talk about the Cardinal's business "CeltiCare". What are they doing with that business (he owns a 49% ownership interest in) and how does it comport with Humanae Vitae and Evangelium Vitae?

Can a Catholic Cardinal bid on a contract that includes performing abortions, give written assurances they will either perform them or contract with people outside of their network to perform them, create an entity to send the women to the abortionists and take 49% ownership in that entity who then hires subcontractors to perform abortions, hires bilingual phone operators who will give the woman the number of the abortionists they've subcontracted, tell their employees at the hospital to give the number out of their 49% owned corporation?

What level of ownership interest they can take in the set up that would make the arrangement consistent with the Gospel of Life and Catholic theology?

After they have set this all up, can they then submit a revision of a partnership agreement to reduce their interests to 3% ownership in the arrangement?

1% ownership in the arrangement?

After you bid on a contract that compels you to promise to perform abortions and you promise in writing to perform them - what is the structure in a corporation that the Cardinal can claim his arrangement meets compliance with Catholic ethics?

What kind of advice is a Cardinal hoping to get when he places NARAL on his advisory Board in his partnership? After bidding on abortions, promising to contract with people to perform them and creating the corporate structure to flow the contracts, women and money through?

perhaps you can do a followup article?

Great job, by the way, withstanding the pressure from the Chancery mongers. My compliments

In other words, the Cardinal is seeking to create a Capuchin Abortion Service and receive the stamp of approval from the National Catholic Bioethics Center, an entity which he secretly controls. Meanwhile, the rest of the prolifers in Mass. have either thrown in with the conspiracy, been intimidated into silence, or labor behind the scenes (yeah Knights of Columbus, Carol is talking about you) as dupes in the Cardinals stalling campaign.

Who could quarrel with such a clear-eyed assessment but the kind of man who protects child molesters when not engaged in rape himself.

Who knew philosophizing, preening and condemning could be so much fun?


Kevin,

Is there a reading comprehension problem involved with your translations or, like above, are we dealing with deliberate misleading as when you clipped words out of context to imply I would trample the Blessed Sacrament, to whom I have devoted my life.

Read again.

I said there were a great many prolifers who, at first, believed the Cardinal was acting in good faith and had good intentions. Thanks to the advice you and the Chancery cronies are giving him, I said above, all but one prolife woman that I know of, was still on board believing the Cardinal is telling the truth.

I have just learned that the woman I spoke about, now, no longer believes the Cardinal. If you come across the name of a real person in the Boston prolife community - instead of these craven posts here blithering on about things you know nothing about, please do cite the name. If you do not cite names of people who are in the Cardinal's corner believing the Caritas is not in the abortion business and is being defended by the Cardinal, who is trying to get the NCBC to lie with him in the public square - the absence of those names indicates we can add this your long list above of what is now known to be false assertions.

In other words, in terms of not having a handle on the facts, anyone reading your litanies above who make it this far into the comments - your anonymous and false assertions rule out your credibility.

Now your grasping at straws. But I love hanging in there with the schoolyard bullies.

Do us all a favor - stay away from our Cardinals. When it comes to giving out counsel based upon your convictions and handle on the facts - as the last two Cardinals in Boston could attest, if you were trying to sabotage, you couldn't have done a worse job.

...and, oh, by the way,

In other words, the Cardinal is seeking to create a Capuchin Abortion Service and receive the stamp of approval from the National Catholic Bioethics Center, an entity which he secretly controls.

At least you're catching onto something.

Caritas "sought" out the contract. There were seeking the contract that included doing abortions and they fought to be awarded that contract. The Cardinal put his stamp of approval on it - and, because he sits on the Board of Directors of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, he used his influence with them to drag them into the web of lies to join him publicly by putting their stamp of approval on it. The Cardinal, you see, controls what is Catholic at Caritas.

Now that he is up to his neck in the quicksand, I sure hope he leaves you fellas who told him this arrangement would "save" the heave-ho you should have received in 2002 and listens to the people who remind him that his job in this mess, when it comes to "saving" is about the souls baited into the moral evils if he does not block the venture.

There were seeking the contract that included doing abortions and they fought to be awarded that contract.

So he stipulated that any potential partner had to be one that provided abortions. Sure.

If you do not cite names of people who are in the Cardinal's corner

Look, if you were well-regarded up there you you'd be more involved and able to quote all the favorable responses your tactics have garnered. You're locked out.

Do us all a favor - stay away from our Cardinals.

Again, if I replace the Cardinal as the subject for your hate fests, all the better.

Kevin,

LOL.

If only I were well-regarded with the crew who is feeding you facts, I'd be more involved in the fact finding missions. Yes indeed, you're in with the people who are clearly in the know on this, as evidenced by all the false assertions above.

Who are they again? You're not citing names. You don't even cite your own name.

You were in the bunker with the Cardinal and when it was politically incorrect to continue to assert the Cardinal didn't create the abortion business, you moved to pretending you were in the bunker with Fr. Groschel. Now, you're in the imaginary bunker with the Cardinal bearing fruit in his corner. Name the names. Produce the links up to the stampede behind the Cardinal?

If you only knew what went on under the radar and continues to go on under the radar - what little is left of your testosterone would shrivel.

Hey, whatever makes you sleep better at night Kevin, all the power to you. Meanwhile, the Cardinal is on his third round of "acceptable modifications" that I've got to go fisk.

I'm off to confer with prolifers that your prolifers are "locked out" of (or is that locked up with?) and put the finishing touches on an open letter to the Cardinal that will demonstrate the latest round of his deliberate deception.

Ta ta!

Get some sleep now. Your anonymous courage misquoting truth and your invisible prolife force needs replenishing.

Tomorrow is a new day!

p.s.

Hey Kev, would you ask your peeps if they're interested in taking a job answering my emails? I have 3971 of them from across the globe that are in support of my work that need to be responded to. I just hate not answering them.

The people I'm working with are very busy getting out emails and networking. I don't want to take any of them off the "case" - as they all have other full-time jobs.

If any of your peeps want to take on the job - have them email me.

Good night dear!

If only I were well-regarded with the crew who is feeding you facts

I'm feeding them, remember? And, as you alluded to earlier, you have to raise up your own army (how's that going?)because the pro-life community is composed of compromised and credulous souls. Your form of witness, isn't. In the end the only name you will have destroyed is yours.

pps - I think I have some very informative emails you may be interested from your peeps in Massachusetts with respect to things they said you. I think it would blow your hooded cape right off your shoulders and crack your walking stick right in half. They think your a wackaddo.

Well Kev, I don't think anyone who really knows what is going on shares your assertions. But - you've got a long list of credibility problems in your own history that I assume is keeping you from typing your name.

As you can clearly see, the army is going quite well.

Anyway - you're quite a "man". It is a pleasure debunking your nonsense. You are neither in the bunker giving advice or the recipient of anything real going on under the radar.

Put your cape on and run along to another debacle. This one is above you.

I think I have some very informative emails you may be interested from your peeps in Massachusetts with respect to things they said you.

Emails? Anyone willing to stand physically next to you and repeat your charges in public? Didn't think so.

3000 emails? Scandal porn has it's rewards I guess, but neither the flesh and blood Church, the unborn, or the people dependent on Caritas will benefit from your on-line performances.

Kevin,

I think you're getting tired. I said I have 3900+ emails from around the globe where this story has now been dispersed to - - and I've yet to come across one that isn't supportive and thankful for my work.

The other reference about "emails" was in relation to you. I now realize who you are and the people you claim are in a whisper campaign with you against me because they believe the Cardinal is falsely accused. I am saying I know the people of which you speak and they, including Fr. T., are very much appalled at the Cardinal. Further, they've had some very interesting things to say about you over the years. They think you're a whackadoo. So do lots of folks you went to school with. You're a mean little twerp. Grow up. This is a game you have no place in. Move along.

I've got enough support to bring have brought about a rebellion of the Cardinal. As anyone knowing the facts under the radar would know. You are in over your head in this battle and you are resorting to assertions that are bizarre.

From here forward, I'm not going to hijack Lydia's comments section to give you the kick in the pants your schoolyard bully tactics deserve. We've got a 15 day battle ahead of us and we have no time for a kid in diapers to be creating a side circus that sucks up our valuable resources.

More facts about the situation are coming out. Stop making an ass of yourself.

"Cheers and Blessed Feast of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ!
Allelluia, our Lord God Almighty Reigns."


To the Tune of Neil Sedaka's "Oh Carol!":

Oh Carol! You are such a fool
God doesn't love you,
Satan thinks you're cruel.

You've hurt him
and you made him cry
Your libellous conduct
outdoes him every time!

Darling, there will never be another
Cause you're worse than Saul
Crucifying Jesus
in every friend & foe
Though God tries to warn you
No matter, you still do
Oh Carol! There's no love in you!

Okay, ladies and gents. Break it up and can the personal stuff.

Carol: Thank you for everything you've done and continue to do. Not only did you persevere through the adversities of the enemies of life like Kevin and Aristocles (a fine example of the kind of persons advocating for the Cardinal), you've done a great job at getting this out across the country.


Mine is one of those 3900+ emails thanking you for all you've done. God Bless you and protect you.

greg,

I take it you're also an avid fan of Carol's most cherished piece:

"Rack'em/Burn'em: Who Gives a Damn About Innocence Anyway?"

aristocoles, Three Hail Mary's just came your way.

by the way, when I said above I didn't care who got credit, I neglected to say that the prolifers I'm working with are petitioning Pope John Paul II. Many times, he it has been clear in the people connecting that he is very present and behind us. For anyone inclined to petition in prayer, we'd be very grateful if you asked for JPII's intercession and support for all concerned.

Wow. Lydia a commenter calls a Cardinal a contractor for murder, mobster, and an abortion profiteer for a week and you now finaly pipe up about "personal stuff"? Wow. Surely the call for a more elevated tone could have come earlier.
Oh and Carol, maybe you can tell Greg where I went to school, who the enigmatic Father T is and explain the financial incentives for joining the Cardinal's black ops team.


BOSTON'S HOUR OF ACCOUNTABILITY DRAWS NEAR

By Judie Brown
June 15, 2009

The furor over the July 1 deadline facing Sean Cardinal O'Malley, of the Archdiocese of Boston, has been newsworthy for many weeks. Meanwhile, however, the clock is ticking and the fear is that Caritas Christi's agreement with CeltiCare will go into effect with nary a whimper from the decision makers at the chancery. That would indeed be a tragedy of no small proportions.

As we said in our statement of this past Friday,

While Catholics and pro-lifers around the country await a definitive statement from the Archdiocese of Boston indicating that it will not participate in or facilitate abortions or other procedures contrary to Catholic teaching, Cardinal O'Malley's latest statement raises even more questions.

The archdiocese has acknowledged that an agreement has been reached with Celtic Group, Inc. – a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Centene Corporation – for a joint healthcare venture. We know that CeltiCare includes abortion and "family planning services" in its coverage and has promised to continue this policy after July 1.

The archdiocese's statement also acknowledged that the agreement requires modification. This is a positive step, but 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. 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.

Most concerning of all is the following quote from Mr. Ralph de la Torre, president of Caritas Christi: "When a patient seeks such a procedure, Caritas health care professionals will be clear that (a) the hospital does not perform them and (b) the patient must turn to his or her insurance for further guidance" [emphasis added].

Boston Catholic commentator Carol McKinley responded well to this statement: When the patient "turns to his or her insurance company," they are "turning" to the "HMO" [of] which the Cardinal and Caritas are co-owners, [CeltiCare]. Therefore, the Cardinal and 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.

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.

Cardinal O'Malley can stop this today with one word. 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.

Further, McKinley, who is no stranger to controversy or making sure all the facts add up, wrote this last Saturday:

Can a Catholic Cardinal bid on a contract that includes performing abortions, give written assurances they will either perform them or contract with people outside of their network to perform them, create an entity to send the women to the abortionists and take 49% ownership in that entity who then hires subcontractors to perform abortions, hires bilingual phone operators who will give the woman the number of the abortionists they've subcontracted, tell their employees at the hospital to give the number out of their 49% owned corporation?

What level of ownership interest can they take in the set up that would make the arrangement consistent with the Gospel of Life and Catholic theology?

After they have set this all up, can they then submit a revision of a partnership agreement to reduce their interests to 3% ownership in the arrangement? 1% ownership in the arrangement?

After you bid on a contract that compels you to promise to perform abortions and you promise in writing to perform them - what is the structure in a corporation that the Cardinal can claim his arrangement meets compliance with Catholic ethics?

When the Cardinal placed members of NARAL as his Advisory Board Members in his new business venture, what kind of advice to you suppose he is seeking? What are the ramifications of such advice?


McKinley and the majority of those concerned about this grave situation in the Boston archdiocese have asked how, in God's name, this agreement with the secular corporate structure of CeltiCare could possibly concur with the teachings of the Catholic Church, as set forth in Humanae Vitae and Evangelium Vitae. Try as we might, we cannot find a statement in either encyclical letter that justifies accepting a little bit of evil in exchange for an allegedly greater good. As a matter of fact, Pope John Paul II taught,

The moral conscience, both individual and social, is today subjected, also as a result of the penetrating influence of the media, to an extremely serious and mortal danger: that of confusion between good and evil, precisely in relation to the fundamental right to life.

The condition the Holy Father described is so evident in so many corners of the culture today that we have to ask ourselves if perhaps, in his quest to aid the poor and needy in his archdiocese, the cardinal and his advisors felt pressured into making this deal for altruistic reasons. Perhaps they feel compelled to act without seriously considering the questions we and so many others have raised. While serving the poor is indeed a noble goal, this plan's consequences are so serious that we have adamantly called for a reexamination of the agreement and dissolution of the contract before July 1.

Phil Lawler, a well-known Catholic commentator and reporter, examined the matter and wrote,

While pro-life activists in Boston have pleaded for Caritas Christi to withdraw from the CeltiCare initiative, abortion advocates have also been watching the situation closely and demanding reassurance that the new state-funded agency will impose no restrictions on access to abortion. The efforts of abortion advocates -- unlike those of pro-life activists -- have been successful. The Boston Globe reported:

Brian Delaney, a spokesman for CeltiCare, said an abortion rights group, NARAL Pro-Choice of Massachusetts, will serve on an advisory group for the health plan but he did not know whether any Catholic groups would be on the panel.

Boston archdiocesan officials have stressed that no abortions will be performed at the hospitals of the Caritas Christi chain. That claim is not in dispute. The question is whether Caritas Christi, through its partnership in CelticCare, will provide -- and perhaps even profit from -- abortions performed at other facilities. CeltiCare advertisements indicate that Planned Parenthood will be enlisted to provide "reproductive services."

The bottom line is that NARAL and Planned Parenthood's involvement is the proverbial straw that has finally broken the camel's back and thus the Archdiocese of Boston is officially ending the charade. But, as of this moment, neither the word "abortion" nor the abortion cartel's involvement have been mentioned in a single archdiocesan document or statement. How can that be?

What is it going to take for the Archdiocese of Boston's officials to take definitive action? Please keep them in your prayers and continue to communicate your concerns to them. The clock is ticking; the hour is late; the Boston Massacre of 2009 could be just around the corner ...

CONTACT:

Cardinal Sean O'Malley, OFM, Cap.
Cardinal Archbishop of Boston
Office of the Cardinal
66 Brooks Drive
Braintree, MA 02184-3839
617-782-2544


Judie Brown is president of American Life League and a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

calls a Cardinal a contractor for murder

Kevin, he isn't making personal bucks out of it to go to Maui with, but the company of which Caritas owns almost exactly half _is_ set up and contractually obligated to contract out for murder. The company is called Celticare, and I would go blind if I read through again all of the places in which this has now been shown to you to be true beyond reasonable doubt. This is not "personal stuff" but news that needs to be reported.

Saying that you are a whackadoo, on the other hand, or that everybody in Boston thinks you are a whackadoo, is profitless and pointless personal stuff and is something up with which I will not put, and I ask Carol to stop doing it.

Kevin, you can thank me later.

Wow. Lydia a commenter calls a Cardinal a contractor for murder, mobster, and an abortion profiteer for a week and you now finaly pipe up about "personal stuff"? Wow. Surely the call for a more elevated tone could have come earlier. Oh and Carol, maybe you can tell Greg where I went to school, who the enigmatic Father T is and explain the financial incentives for joining the Cardinal's black ops team.

I don't know Kev. There is some momentum in cyberspace to "out" anonymous attackers. I do have several links passed along to me from people you went to school with and spoke with several prolifers in Boston with whom we are both acquainted and who had written me things about you over the years. It's highly unlikely I'd want to wade into those waters but I'll give it some prayer.

Let me say again that the Cardinal and Caritas are involved in a contract that murders people and performs moral evils upon the poor - and, they have deliberately and willfully misrepresented what they are doing with twisted presentation of facts. They have tried to sully the reputation of the NCBC by using the Cardinal's influence as a member of the Board of Directors to get them to say it passes the muster of Catholic ethics. The Cardinal also, like a fox, incited animosity against people telling the truth by posting the worst kind of slander on his blog - that we were "doing a disservice to the Church"

I think you've characterized exactly the kind of adjectives that it all adds up to nicely Kevin.

Lydia - I shouldn't have called him a mean twerp and such - I apologize. Admittedly, I get carried away when I see an abuser - and what these two characters are doing is abusive. There is no skin of my nose - and you seem like a strong woman, but there's an element of enabling this kind of abuse that gives them courage to do it to weaker people - and, they get away with silencing and intimidating. Anyhow - sorry! I've got two overseas conference calls and I've got to finish up some things and get some rest before them.

oops, yeah - forgot the whackadoo! Sorry!

pps - didn't mean to imply that "you" are enabling. I was simply describing why I react the way I do - because if I don't, I feel as though the next person - who is much weaker will be crushed by it.

You are gracious and I wasn't questioning your response.

The terms of CeltiCare's contract with the state government specifically require coverage for abortions and other "reproductive health" services.

Since 1981 insurance coverage of abortions is mandated by the state, so is there any alternative organization Caritas could turn to besides the Knights of Columbus - who are not in the medical healthcare insurance line?

If the option is falling into the state regulatory web, partial or complete closure, how come that is not a point of discussion here? Ultimately, the Church is going to be forced into offering only at home and hospice care, so shouldn't that be talked about now? Wouldn't that be more honest and productive in the long-term? And yes, I know such an argument now in Boston would not gain much traction.

we have to ask ourselves if perhaps, in his quest to aid the poor and needy in his archdiocese, the cardinal and his advisors felt pressured into making this deal for altruistic reasons

Finally, some framing of the issue. Amazing how much more receptive people can be when approached on a good faith basis free of venom. May those who call in keep that in mind and not resort to the histrionics and vitriol we've endured for a week by a "Catholic commentator."

Please keep them in your prayers

Amen. Any actions taken in His name should reflect some form of spiritual communion and not the inner secularization that leads to reckless rage.

I do have several links passed along to me from people you went to school with and spoke with several prolifers in Boston with whom we are both acquainted and who had written me things about you over the years.

O.K., where did I go to school? Sincere question, since one "campus" wasn't your typical academic environment, but a lot was learned there.

It's highly unlikely I'd want to wade into those waters but I'll give it some prayer.

Oh go ahead, Carol, you have my permission.


Kevin, you can thank me later.

Much later. The issue is Carol's malicious attacks on the Cardinal, not the name-calling directed at me, which comes with such a nice pious inflection that I'm both charmed and flattered.


The terms of CeltiCare's contract with the state government specifically require coverage for abortions and other "reproductive health" services.

Since 1981 insurance coverage of abortions is mandated by the state, so is there any alternative organization Caritas could turn to besides the Knights of Columbus - who are not in the medical healthcare insurance line?

If the option is falling into the state regulatory web, partial or complete closure, how come that is not a point of discussion here? Ultimately, the Church is going to be forced into offering only at home and hospice care, so shouldn't that be talked about now? Wouldn't that be more honest and productive in the long-term? And yes, I know such an argument now in Boston would not gain much traction.

we have to ask ourselves if perhaps, in his quest to aid the poor and needy in his archdiocese, the cardinal and his advisors felt pressured into making this deal for altruistic reasons

Finally, some framing of the issue. Amazing how much more receptive people can be when approached on a good faith basis free of venom

Oh,oh....I get it. Kevin may be onto something here. Let's think about this..

Abortion is legal and mandated, there are, after all, health insurance companies who have call centers to send women to the abortionists they've hired to perform them - so, why shouldn't the Catholic Cardinal open up his own insurance company to cover abortions. Out of compassion and kindness.

Since gay marriage is legal and mandated, out of compassion and kindness and concern, that would mean he should open up a business with Catholic Chapels to the Sacrament - out of compassion and kindness and concern. It would put piano players, musicians, florists, Church rental income and a whole host of other people money.

Hmmm....

No, that actually doesn't work either.

Anything else left in your bag of tricks? It may be time to create another verse in the song about me and Satan on your breaks in working with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, of course.

There's nobody left in Christendom asserting that the people advancing the truth about the Cardinals charade about this contract and what it really means to the people who will die in the performance of it, the people who will be scandalized, victimized, spiritually abused - for billions of dollars that will flow in and out of the bank accounts - are performing malicious attacks upon the innocent Cardinal.

It's one thing for a Cardinal to cover up rapes and murders - and have that empty out the pews. The other conduct - performed here, attacking people bringing evils perpetrated against children is conduct that drove millions out of the Catholic Church and will continue to do so. It is an act of insanity to slander, misrepresent intentions, intimidate, etc., in the ways above,when the evidence that salacious crimes against children and the poor are being planned and executed by Chancery officials. It means that the environment in the Catholic Church is one that will launch campaigns against fellow Catholics when somebody is trying to report a dangerous situation.

This is not conduct anybody is going to put up with this time around.

(pppsst, Kevin....If I think it's time to out who you are and what you do in order to stop you from victimizing whistleblowers, why dont you and Aristocoles ask Our Lady of LaSallette if she thinks I'd actually do it.)


;o)

by the bye, I've asked my friends at the Franciscan Friars if they know you - so far, bubkis.

pppsst, Kevin....If I think it's time to out who you are and what you do...

Why?

Who is this 'Kevin' and what exactly would be his occupation such that it would be deemed so strikingly horrifying if ultimately divulged? Furthermore, how could you be entirely sure that it is actually 'our' Kevin? For all you know, this certain interlocutor might not really be a Kevin; for all you know, it could be a Joan.


Aristocoles,

I think you know that I know, don't you. I've been blogging and working the prolife community for years. People have a tendency to repeat their memes and give out enough information that you recognize the shtick and you know who it is. It's a small world. The most important thing right now is to make sure neither one of you are anywhere near the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal or any other religious community. This kind of conduct is the kind of conduct that is a character flaw that prohibits being in a community where children or women might have to "tell". This thread is the memorial.


I've lost track actually of where you both are and what you are both doing. I do intend to find out as soon as this debacle is over.


This kind of conduct is the kind of conduct that is a character flaw...

This coming from the same person who would gladly crucify her victims with such remarkable hatred prior to conducting a thorough investigation of the facts.

I'm remain yet unimpressed.

Although, I suppose dragging the innocent all through Tyburn is a tradition that's best kept preserved and undoubtedly the sheer Cromwellian joy of giving those papists what's for must be a pleasure that, ironically, supposed fellow Romanists take certain distinct pleasure: why kill an innocent stranger when you can murder your fellow brother/sister in Christ? Oh, what joy!

For what shame that the Body & Blood of Christ is wasted on those whose utter hatred towers so magnificently, the fact that they persecute even the innocent and that what they do is actually malicious wrong becomes thoroughly lost on them.

Too bad Pius XII is dead; maybe you could have also had fun with that bloody fiend as well and made his journey to your Tyburn even more profound with but delicate, surgical persecution that would make even the most malevolent abortionist doctor squirm!

Okay, ladies and gents: If we can't stick to content directly related to the main post, preferably _new_ content, I am going to shut down comments. This is your final warning. Heaven knows the thread is long enough already.

March 2009 – Cardinal O’Malley flat out denies this and states any one thinking contrary is doing a GREAT DISSERVICE to the Church. The Cardinal states in the Public Media he has asked the NCBC for their opinion. (June 17 the Cardinal has yet to divulge the answer IF there in fact was one).
April 2009 – the contract between Centene & Caritas is signed.
May 2009 - Caritas’s Health Plan is revealed as Celticare & their website launched to be effective July 1, 2009. Benefits show that under all plans, A, B and C abortion is covered.
During this whole period the Cardinal is deluged with questions from the Pro-Life Media, the Catholic Faithful, letter’s, phone calls but he remains silent and calls prove fruitless. Parishioners bring the evidence to their Pastors. June 10, 2009 the Presbyteral Convocation for the Inauguration of the Year for Priests is held with the Cardinal and over 400 in attendance, many of which are those Pastors armed with questions from their parishioners regarding this debacle. June 11, 2009 Cardinal O’Malley issues a Press Release admitting problems with the Centene/Caritas Contract and stating “Active Talks” would resolve those issues.
June 17, 2009, Continued silence from the Cardinal, TEN Business Days remain before July 1, 2009, the Effective date of the Implementation of Caritas/Celticare and the assisting of the killing of the unborn. Question for the Pope, should the Catholic Faithful remain silent on this issue?

The Facts are above, just the FACTS........

NINE Business Days & Counting...

FYI - 8 Business Days left............

June 19th - The Feast of The Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Beginning of "The Year of The Priest" (4:33pm E.S.T.) 7(Seven) Business Days left..still counting..

Saturday, June 20, 2009 Caritas Abortions: Eleventh Hour Appeal -----Original Message----- From: cmmckinley@aol.com To: DrJohnHaas@aol.com; tad.grd.nsc@aya.yale.edu Cc: archbishopsean@rcab.org; Beirne_Lovely@rcab.org; terrence_donilon@rcab.org; thoopes@ncregister.com; jburger@ncregister.com; granny@all.org; editor@cwnews.com; bermudez@aciprensa.com; mpaulson@globe.com; klazar@globe.com; granny@all.org; joefeitelberg@maltaboston.org; jimk@firstbristol.com; ralph.delatorre@caritaschristi.org; CALMDOYLE@aol.com; lifejohn@aol.com; glendon@law.harvard.edu; rgbesse@comcast.net; catholic.conscience.protections@gmail.com Sent: Sat, Jun 20, 2009 12:30 pm Subject: Eleventh Hour Appeal

June 20, 2009

+
IHS

Dr. Haas, Fr. Tad,

In light of the National Catholic Register's story this week, I wanted to make an eleventh hour appeal to both of you. What is absolutely clear from the information reported is that the deal, as it exists on paper right now and as it was structured to function once operations commence on July 1, is unquestionably (and now admitted by the Archdiocese to be) contrary to the teaching of the Church. What is also clear is that no amount of "renegotiating" the contract can cure the immorality, because (a) the new entity will be performing immoral services and (b) Caritas owns 49% of the new entity and therefore will benefit from the immoral services, no matter how much Caritas distances itself from the actual performance of those services. Nevertheless, it is evident that the Archdiocese intends to proceed with this deal, after making some cosmetic changes to disguise what is really going on.

"Caritas" has taken a partner to infuse cash, taken a 49% interest in the new corporation, disguised themselves under the name CeltiCare, hired the abortionists, hired bilingual people to man the phone lines to give out the number of the abortionists they've hired, compeled employees of Caritas to stop guiding patients with Catholic doctrine and instead give out the phone numbers of their CeltiCare employees, placed Planned Parenthood and NARAL as their advisory board in this arrangement whom they've promised to give spying priveleges of Catholic employees (if necessary inside of examination rooms) to ensure "compliance".

It appears from the story, that Rev. Hehir is assisting in the theological interpretation of the Caritas Contract. I wanted to state, once again, for the public record that Rev. J. Bryan Hehir is a dissenter of Humanae Vitae and Evangelium Vitae and that he is working with several colleagues at the Kennedy School of Government who are notorious avengers of Catholic teachings and the Catholic Church. If you perform due diligence, you will find this group worked to elect Oama and are now using their various appointments to assist in carrying out the attack against the Catholic Church in America - all while wearing the virtuous veil of "helping the poor". "Helping the poor" was used by their political predecessors throughout history in every other country that has fallen to communism, socialism and every other imprisonment and oppression against the final frontier of religious freedoms now rapidly deteriorating in the United States.

"Caritas" has bid on a contract that compels carrying out moral evils upon the unchatechized, the unsuspecting, the economically depressed and women emotionally distraught by their unplanned20pregnancy and having irrational thoughts about "what to do". "Caritas" has promised, in writing, that they will either find somebody within the "Caritas" network who agrees to carry the moral evils out or they will hire subcontractors to carry out the moral evils, send the patients there to have them performed and complete those transactions by paying for them from the pot of money this lucrative contract brings to "Caritas".

We initially hoped the National Catholic Bioethics Center was tapped, in good faith, to theologically index the list of reasons why the Cardinal must block the venture. Least among these reasons, the realiztion that the Catholic Cardinal has got to find "somebody" to do the abortions, he's got to find a way to paper the trail so that he can send the women there and then pay for those services (less the patient's co-pay) - - and how he cannot spiritually exploit all these people because their birth certificates don't have the name "Caritas" on them. We had fervently hoped that any opinion coming from the NCBC legally defines "what" and "who" are "Caritas"? (The papers at the Secretary of State's Office? The Cardinal? The Board of Directors?)

We also hoped that the NCBC will not dishonestly leave out of their evaluation the out most important "Caritas" corporation in this "venture" - the one carrying out this contract, "CeltiCare" -- whether what actually happen s to all the "people" involved, i.e., whether "CeltiCare's" contracts with abortionists violates ‘Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services’, whether "CeltiCare's" phone lines where operators give out the numbers to the people are "referrals" and whether a Catholic Cardinal (or any other Catholic in the United States) can enter into a contract that includes moral evils and then hire people to perform those moral evils when they don't want to sin themselves.

This, theologically, is the question you are answering - Can Catholics, when we are faced with economic hardships, accept contracts that bind us to perform moral evilas and then hire people to perform those moral evils? Can we invest in the abortion industry, embryonic stem-cell industry or prostitution in Nevada?

We know that you know the answers to these questions. Why are we three months later without the answers?

Finally, in Mr. de la Torre's open letter to Obama published in Business Week in January of 2009 (http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jan2009/ca20090123_798447.htm?chan=careers_managing+index+page_top+stories), he positing questions about "defining access" in a "complete overhaul of our healthcare model", he asks the following questions:
0A
-"Should the elderly and the very poor continue to have access that others do not? Does "access" define all medical care without reservation?"

-"Do we want to shoulder the tremendous costs of medicine that meet the very highest standards?"

-"What should be the goals for infant mortality, cancer survival rates, and other such metrics?"

Sadly, these questions and others in the thesis leave the discinct impression that the interests in "serving the poor" will end should any of them become old enough or sick enough to be in the negative columns in the Caritas cash cow financials. I'm underwhelmed by the virtues of the servitudes to the poor implied therein.

Fr. Tad, Dr. Haas, I feel it is my baptismal duty to plead with you in this eleventh hour: Walk away from the table before you scramble and confuse the teachings of the Church to give Rev. Hehir the paper to cover up the spiritual and physical atrocities inherent in this contract. The scandal it will create (and has created) to the Cardinal, to the Church, to the trust of Catholics who know that20you know that there is no conceivable arrangement that will comport this contract with Catholic teachings and the Cardinal must block the venture.

From the ashes of the systemic flaw that responded to salacious crimes against children by getting opinions that swept what was really happening under the carpets, you cannot be the vehicle for this arrangement. I implore you, in the Name of Jesus Christ, to walk away - no matter what the personal and professional cost. Dust your sandals and get out of town and let those actions speak for themselves.

In the service of Christ,
Carol M. McKinley

Posted by Carol McKinley at 12:31 PM 0 comments
Labels: Abortions at Caritas Christi, National Catholic Bioethics Center
Friday, June 19, 2009
One Only Wishes One Had a Tomato
For several months, Boston Catholics have been on a tour of Malebolge.

Malebolge, is the eighth circle of hell in Dante's Inferno, reserved for frauds and deceivers. It's comprised of ten ditches that are divided to inflict punishments according to the severity of the sin. The ditches run the gambit from the run of the mill seducers and panderers to the most severe, people who con other people through lies. Those who try to pass off false things as real things. We've spent a great deal of time, in particular, in bolgias (ditches) three and eight.

Bolgia Three: Simonists (sinners guilty of selling church offices for personal gain) are punished here. They are turned upside down in large baptismal fonts cut into the rock, with their feet set ablaze by oily fires. The heat of the flames burns according to the guilt of the sinner.

Bolgia Eight: In this trench, the souls of Deceivers who gave false or corrupted advice to others for personal benefit are punished. They are constantly ablaze, appearing as nothing so much as living, speaking tongues of flame.


In this week's National Catholic Register Article updating the scandal, Cardinal O'Malley's abortion contract architect, J. Byran Hehir, has tipped the hand on "who" has been guiding the "opinion" of the National Catholic Bioethics Center and I fancy, the "conclusion" of that "opinion".

ed elli avea del cul fatto trombetta (and of his ass he had made a trumpet 21.139)

Speaking to the Register June 17, Father J. Bryan Hehir, secretary for Health Care and Social Services with the Archdiocese of Boston, recognized that there was a problem that needed to be solved by July 1.

“We tried to solve the first part of it last week,” he said. “Caritas Christi will not do procedures that violate the ‘Ethical and Religious Directives’ and will not refer anyone for such procedures.”

“The second part is the larger framework Caritas Christi has entered into,” Father Hehir said. “That needs to change so that it will accord with Catholic identity.”


The article summarizes the various reactions of Catholics to "the first part" with CJ Doyle's unraveling of the falsehoods inherent in the "solutions" ~ Caritas has cloaked itself with a new name (CeltiCare),has lined up abortionists, hired bilingual phone operators to man the phone lines 24/7 to hand out the numbers of their abortionists and with the hundreds of millions of dollars that will flow through their bank accounts, they are even going to pay for the abortions. They are claiming to be virtuous in this arrangement because they are not going to "mark up" the services, add extra fees to the abortions, like they do other services and medications.

Some pro-life activists continued to be skeptical, especially in reaction to the other part of the joint statement, contributed by Dr. Ralph de la Torre, president of Caritas Christi. When a patient seeks an abortion, de la Torre said, “Caritas health-care professionals will be clear that (a) the hospital does not perform them and (b) the patient must turn to his or her insurer for further guidance.”

“The cardinal’s statement is contradicted by that of Dr. de la Torre,” said C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League in Roslindale, Mass. “In sending a patient seeking an abortion back to her insurer, Caritas will be sending Commonwealth Care members to the Caritas/Centene partnership, which will not only procure the abortion, but lists Planned Parenthood as a reproductive services provider.”


Perhaps Fr. Tad's comments have been taken out of context, but they too certainly appear as if the charade of doing abortions under a different name is going to be sanctified, even by him:


Asked to comment on the wisdom of mergers in general, Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, director of education for the bioethics center, advised: “Such mergers can be pursued as long as the Catholic health-care provider is clear about the meaning of its Catholic identity and remains intent on upholding that identity in all the negotiations and arrangements leading to the merger and subsequent to its realization.

“This means that the Catholic institution (and the merged institution later) will be bound by the provisions of the ‘Ethical and Religious Directives,’” he said. “The possibility of scandal must be meticulously avoided.”

Fabricating and twisting the teachings of the Church to make it all appear as if the Caritas abortion business arrangement is a "meticulous" avoidance of scandal?

This isn't going to fly in Christendom.

For those acutely aware of the people who will die in the performance of the contract the Cardinal is blessing, the souls conned and baited into hell - the scandal train left the station four months ago.

Meanwhile, the Bishops, not a peep from any of them on this scandal, have assembled in a bunker in Texas.


I'm reminded of a piece Fr. Wilson wrote about six years ago -


I watched Bishop Wilton Gregory catechizing that press conference about the National Review Board’s sexual abuse report and how it’s about "the children, the children, the children," whereas it is really about the bishops, the bishops, the bishops. This episcopate will never do anything but spin the problems; won’t ever settle down to address the hard work of renewal.

Watching the bishops’ conference in action is like viewing the film of a train wreck over and over again. With bright-colored clowns hanging out the train windows, waving and blowing kisses. One only wishes one had a tomato.

6 (SIX) Business Days & counting....

FIVE, that's it, FIVE Business days left for Cardinal O'Malley to get out of the abortion business - 5 .......................

and we are still praying for a Miracle - 4 Business Days to go.........

3 THREE Days & still praying................

Silence is golden right? 2 BUSINESS DAYS LEFT PRAY PRAY PRAY!

BOOM!

You can stop your Dick Clark countdown Kathy;

Caritas Christi Health Care, the financially challenged Catholic hospital system founded by the Archdiocese of Boston, is abruptly ending its joint venture with a Missouri-based health insurer at the insistence of Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, who has decided that the relationship represented too much of an entanglement between Catholic hospitals and abortion providers.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2009/06/caritas_ends_ve.html

Sean O'Malley kept his word. Maybe others can retract theirs.

Kevin - Glad to see you've been keeping an eye on things!

All Thanks & Praise to JOHN PAUL II He's the one who has kept HIS word !!!

We'll not discuss who should retract what for the benefit of the Cardinal..

Kathy,
Praise to JPII indeed, he knew what he had in O'Malley. And, the retractions would not be for the Cardinal's benefit. It would be for those who issued them.

Let's continue to pray for your Shepherd as powerful forces are aligned against him and is no accident that he waited until late Friday while folks were heading off to the Cape and the Berkshires to make the announcement. He'll need active witnesses standing by his side to resist the many pressures around him, while he acts to restore the Church in New England. Hope not despair, support not detraction are always in season.

Well, I think this rates an update. He waited until the very last minute, but O'Malley finally did the right thing. I suppose Kevin should now expect Caritas to go bankrupt. If it doesn't, perhaps a retraction there would be in order??

Lydia,

Yes, this indeed rates an update. The pressure was so intense and coming from every conceivable angle that he finally had to withdraw from the partnership. Not before undergoing at least three attempts to put the spin on the partnerships.

What this means is anyone's guess at this point in terms of what happens to the patients.

What I believe means is, the insurance company venture has been dismantled. While this is huge, before we have the victory parade, he diocese needs to open up the contract to public scrutiny. If you note, Caritas is saying that there will be no changes in how the patient's are treated - women will still be referred back to the insurance company for the abortions instead of being referred to the prolife network that supports the life of the child.

We, need more details.

Were the written assurances Caritas gave withdrawn? What are the stipulations in Centene's contract with the diocese? We will be submitting a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act)to obtain a copy of the contract if they do not give it to us voluntarily.

Kevin, when they finally ran out of legal and theological punts, and they got pressured from every source, he had to finally admit there was no conceivable way he was going to pull this off.

Don't worry - we won't make the Cardinal eat crow and take back his blog post calling people enemies of the Church.

However, he's not quite done with us yet! We want the contract and we want to see the recommendation of NCBC. We're going to get the contract into our hands and see what the contract with Centene/Celticare is all about - whether it's more smoke and mirrors or whether it's something that we can work with.

Cheers!

Saturday, June 27, 2009
The Phone is off the hook at the Archdiocese
We have plenty of Monday Morning Questions for the Quarterbacks

In taking an inventory of what it's like on the ground in the prolife community here in Boston, I would describe it as hopeful that the Cardinal can be taken at his word about the new arrangement. However, because the Cardinal and Caritas deliberately misrepresented what was happening in the arrangement until they actually got caught on the CeltiCare website with links to the abortionists they hired and their spokesperson admitted to NARAL being the Advisory Board for CeltiCare and that they had hired phone operators to answer the calls when they referred the women back to themselves to carry out and pay for the abortions, the overall consensus is disgust and a complete lack of trust that they are being forthright now about a situation they have been lying about all along.

I think a situation that uses the network of hospitals as a list of providers covered by the insurance plan could potentially allow prolife physicians to practice without violating their conscience. If we can trust the arrangement to be what they are trying to make it out to be on its face, it also opens the door for the poor to receive ethical and moral healthcare. It's a win/win situation that is very hopeful.

What we don't know is whether Caritas has withdrawn their promises and assurances they made to the Commonwealth to provide immoral services to the poor. It seems to me that while the corporation they created to take an ownership interest in the abortion arrangements, we don't know if the original contract that was awarded to Caritas is still in effect. We don't know if this is the same contract or similar contract with the same assurances, only they are now promising to send women forward to CeltiCare -- and NARAL is policing and monitoring this arrangement.

If this is the case they've rearranged the chairs on the Titanic.

After the secrecy and lies that have tainted this arrangement, we all believe it is critical to get our hands on the contract and the recommendation from the National Catholic Bioethics Center.

from the Globe article...

On the other side of the abortion debate, Andrea Miller, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, said that she had been concerned about Caritas’s involvement in the joint venture because of the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion, but that she remains concerned about whether Caritas’s role as a provider will make it more difficult for poor people to get services opposed by the church but supported by NARAL.

“The questions remains: Will the involvement of Caritas Christi health providers negatively affect women’s ability to get timely access to reproductive services, including birth control?’’ Miller said.

“We will continue to monitor the involvement of Caritas providers in any of the Commonwealth Care plans and hope that the [state regulators] will continue due diligence to ensure that referrals and services are provided in a manner that does not delay or deny access to reproductive health services.’’


Washington Post

O'Malley has been criticized for allowing Caritas Christi Health Care to partner with Centene Corp., which covers abortion services.

With the decision, Caritas will still provide health care to patients, including those covered by Centene - though it won't provide services that violate Catholic teachings.


WBUR

“By withdrawing from the joint venture and serving the poor as a provider in the Connector, upholding Catholic moral teaching at all times, (Caritas Christi is) able to carry forward the critical mission of Catholic health care,” Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley said in a statement.

The insurance plan, CeltiCare, will go ahead and enroll new members. Those members will be able to use Caritas hospitals."

“By withdrawing from the joint venture and serving the poor as a provider in the Connector, upholding Catholic moral teaching at all times, (Caritas Christi is) able to carry forward the critical mission of Catholic health care,” Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley said in a statement.

The insurance plan, CeltiCare, will go ahead and enroll new members. Those members will be able to use Caritas hospitals.

Most anti-abortion advocates hailed the eleventh-hour change, but some were skeptical of the move and said the Archdiocese still had to answer some questions.

“It appears that the reaction of the Archdiocese has less to do with fidelity to Catholic teaching and more to do with the fact that CeltiCare had become a toxic public relations for them,” C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts said.

However, Doyle said there are still a lot of unanswered questions about the arrangement, like whether or not the Archdiocese received any financial benefit from the deal before it backed out. He said the Catholic Action League is planning to submit a Freedom of Information Act request to get that information.

The Archdiocese did not return calls for comment.


Posted by From the beautiful City of Boston at 4:11 PM
Labels: Boston, Cardinal O'Malley, Caritas Abortions

This is one of the rare accurate statements made by poster Kevin:

Let's continue to pray for your Shepherd as powerful forces are aligned against him

Counted among those powerful forces were a large contingent of his fellow Bishops who confronted him and in no uncertain terms told him they were aligned against him on this one.

Also counted among the powerful forces was the Roman Curia.

He was in the corner with the rat. He and the rat had nowhere to turn as the National Catholic Bioethics Center would not give him the opinion he brought them for. The Cardinal was empty handed.

I will believe the Cardinal received an ok on this deal from the John Haas when I see it and I think we have the right to see it given the circumstances.

Saturday, June 27, 2009
Does Cardinal O'Malley Outsource his Conscience?
This is one of my larger questions.

From NECN

NECN) - Caritas Christi Health Care has announced an end to its joint ownership with CeltiCare, a healthcare group that permits abortions.

The last-minute decision comes at the insistence of Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley.

Citing Catholic moral teaching, the Cardinal said this will allow Caritas to expand services for the poor and uninsured.

The announcement follows several weeks of consultation with the national catholic bio-ethics center.

CJ Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, does not think Caritas went far enough.

"I'm not sure why the cardinal has to outsource his conscience to a bureaucracy in Philadelphia. I think the facts in this case had been very very clear. This contract requires abortion coverage and no Catholic institution should have been involved in it," Doyle said. "And not to be unkind or uncharitable, but one wonders at this last minute decision by the Diocese, whether this is a result of fidelity to Catholic teaching or simply the fact that CeltiCare had become a toxic public relations liability."

Caritas was founded by the Archdiocese of Boston. Coverage will not change for health plan participants.

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