Once again, I have to note that I am a Catholic and firmly believe in the teachings of the Church.
That does not mean that I will not call the Church or a Church-sponsored organization out when it is clearly in the wrong.
A Catholic hospital in Colorado, faced with a lawsuit in which the mother and two seven month-old fetuses died, has decided to hide behind the law and asserts that the babies must not be considered persons in the eyes of the court. No doubt caving in to the demands of their insurers and the lawyers, this hospital has shamelessly chosen to ape the position of the pro-abortion opposition in order to avoid being held liable.
"NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A Catholic hospital in Colorado has argued in court documents that it is not liable for the deaths of two 7-month-old fetuses because those fetuses are not people.
So far, courts have side with the hospital.
But that defense contradicts church teaching that human life is sacred from the moment of conception. At least one prominent abortion foe called the hospital's claims morally untenable.
The issue of whether a fetus is a person was raised in a lawsuit filed by Jeremy Stodghill, whose 31-year-old wife, Lori, died in 2006 at St. Thomas More Hospital in Canon City, Colo.
Lori Stodghill was 7 months pregnant with twins at the time. The suit claims the hospital failed to perform an emergency cesarean section to save the fetuses.
According to published reports, a brief filed by the hospital, owned by Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives, said that the fetuses are not covered by state's Wrongful Death Act.
"Under Colorado law, a fetus is not a 'person' and plaintiff's claims for wrongful death must therefore be dismissed," the hospital argued......."
Sad irony is commonplace today, and this case is no exception. Thomas More, the individual after whom the hospital is named, was martyred for refusing to swear that he would accept Henry VIII's usurpation of the supreme authority of the Church in England. He is a prime example of standing up for one's beliefs regardless of the consequences. He is described in his biography as "The King's Good Servant but God's First".
The hospital should change its name.
Although this is the cowardly stance of one hospital and does not appear to be the work of the local Diocese, this illustrates the continuing downfall that the lack of leadership in the Catholic Church in the US has caused. Even though it is not a governing body, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops had better its act together and condemn the hospital for this travesty.
People want leadership and truth from their Church, not week-kneed dodging of their responsibilities.
Let's see what the same body does concerning privately-owned firearms.
Although this is the cowardly stance of one hospital and does not appear to be the work of the local Diocese, this illustrates the continuing downfall that the lack of leadership in the Catholic Church in the US has caused. Even though it is not a governing body, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops had better its act together and condemn the hospital for this travesty.
People want leadership and truth from their Church, not week-kneed dodging of their responsibilities.
Let's see what the same body does concerning privately-owned firearms.
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