Cardinal O'Malley defends Caritas insurance venture
Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley issued a statement this afternoon defending a proposed joint insurance venture between Caritas Christi Health Care and the Centene Corporation.
Caritas, a Catholic hospital network, and St. Louis-based Centene are seeking to offer state-subsidized health insurance to low-income residents through the state's Commonwealth Care program, but the plan has been criticized by anti-abortion groups because the venture, under state law, would be required to cover abortions and other family-planning services.
"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," the cardinal's statement says.
Caritas and Centene issued a statement last week saying that it would contract with providers in and out of the Caritas network to ensure access to state-required services, "including confidential family planning services."
Comment
Permalink
E-mail
Contributors
blogger
Elizabeth Cooney is a former
health reporter for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, where she also was a
business reporter and an editor. Earlier in her career, she edited medical
books and journals at Little, Brown, and worked for Boston magazine.Boston Globe Health and Science staff:
- Gideon Gil, Health and Science Editor
- Ishani Ganguli, Short White Coat blogger
Respectfully Cardinal O'Malley I would like to point out that your support
of the proposed arrangement between Caritas Christi Health Care and Commonwealth Care will most certainly .."compromise the Catholic identity of the system."
Cardinal O'Malley, by supporting the proposed Caritas merger with Commonwealth Care- "which covers abortions and family planning services" you are cutting a deal with the devil by the inevitable comingled relationship with a secular health organization. This venture will indeed compromise Catholic identity.
G
The position Caritas Christi and Cardinal O'Malley have taken is worthy of Satan himself and brings to mind the stand of the shameful politicians who use the cowardly "I am personally opposed to abortion but..." justification for their sinful and gutless positions. If you and the Cardinal were indeed Catholics and you truly believed in "one Holy and Apostolic Church", you could not, in good conscience, refer women seeking an abortion to a facility who would willing kill her innocent child as a supposed "solution" to her suffering. The evil incarnate Adolph Hitler used killing of innocents as a "final solution". As Catholics, we are supposed to know, love and serve our creator. Your actions only serve Lucifer. Please stop representing Caritas Christi and the Archdiocese of Boston as Catholic entities. You are all unworthy of the name "Catholic". May God have mercy on your souls and the soul of Cardinal O'Malley.
Denvern
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.