Take the example of a Catholic hospital that performed an abortion to save the life of the woman:
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix stripped a major hospital of its affiliation with the church Tuesday because of a surgery that ended a woman's pregnancy to save her life.
Bishop Thomas Olmsted called the 2009 procedure an abortion and said St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center violated ethical and religious directives of the national Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"In the decision to abort, the equal dignity of mother and her baby were not both upheld," Olmsted said at a news conference announcing the decision. "The mother had a disease that needed to be treated. But instead of treating the disease, St. Joseph's medical staff and ethics committee decided that the healthy, 11-week-old baby should be directly killed."
Linda Hunt, president of St. Joseph's, said doctors performed a necessary procedure on a patient who was getting worse by the minute and was in imminent danger of death.
http://www.statesman.com/news/nation/arizona-hospital-loses-catholic-status-over-surgery-1138959.htmlThe hospital is still going, and the organisation it is part of has changed its name from "Catholic Healthcare West" to "Dignity Health":
“This name and structure reflect who we are and what we stand for,” said Sr. Judy Carle, vice chair of the Dignity Health Board of Directors and a Sister of Mercy. “The value of dignity is embedded in our culture. Our mission, vision and values were all formed out of the recognition of the inherent dignity of each person. We are confident that our vision for the organization will be achieved.”
Under the new governance structure, Dignity Health is a not-for-profit organization, rooted in the Catholic tradition, but is not an official ministry of the Catholic Church. The new structure and name enable the organization to grow nationally, while preserving the identity and integrity of both its Catholic and non-Catholic hospitals. The organization’s Catholic hospitals will continue to be Catholic, directly sponsored by their founding congregations, and adhering to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. Dignity Health’s non-Catholic hospitals will continue to be non-Catholic, adhering to the Statement of Common Values.
http://www.stjosephs-phx.org/stellent/groups/public/@xinternet_con_sjh/documents/webcontent/223074.pdfSo the hospital still regard themselves as 'Catholic', but the organisation includes non-Catholic hospitals, and they aren't controlled by the Catholic church. I wonder if several hospitals will take this route - use the compromise the Obama admin put forward, and say they have no interest in the political posturing of the bishops, and say "bye, bye, your Eminence". I would imagine hospitals, colleges and charities have boards of governors, or the equivalent, on which some bishops and priests sit, but they're unlikely to be the majority. It would depend on how many conservatives on the board the bishops could persuade, I guess.
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