Cardinal George Urges Catholics to Tell Administration: Keep Conscience Protections for Health Care Workers

“Respect for personal conscience and freedom of religion as such ensures our basic freedom from government oppression. No government should come between an individual person and God–that’s what America is supposed to be about,” Cardinal Francis George said. “This is the true common ground for us as Americans. We therefore need legal protection for freedom of conscience and of religion–including freedom for religious health care institutions to be true to themselves.”

“I ask you please to lLet the government know that you want conscience protections to remain strongly in place. In particular, let the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington know that you stand for the protection of conscience, especially now for those who provide the health care services so necessary for a good society,” he said.

Bishop Lynch of St. Petersburg, FL at a meeting of the Catholic Health Association Board of Trustees was quoted today:

CHA “will join with the church and all other pro-life parties to vigorously oppose any and all attempts by this Congress or administration to broaden abortion access,” he said.

“Catholic hospitals will not allow abortions to be performed in their facilities” and will not comply with any laws mandating abortion or other procedures that violate the ethical and religious directives, “even if our actions constitute civil disobedience,” he added.

“No Catholic institution or employee of an institution can or will be made to violate the dictates of their conscience resulting from federal or state legislative action,” Bishop Lynch said.

Bishop Lynch also said that Catholic hospitals would not close.

He said Catholic hospitals “won’t comply” with laws that violate conscience “but we will not close.”

Among the reasons he cited were that:

– Catholic hospitals are sometimes the sole provider of health care in a large geographical area, especially in rural areas.
– The hospitals have an obligation to their physicians, nurses and other employees; to their bondholders; and “to the poor, unprotected and to our communities which benefit from our presence.”