St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix has been stripped of its Catholic affiliations today, according to a Reuters report.
Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix revoked his endorsement of the hospital over a 2009 procedure where an 11-week pregnancy was terminated to save the mother’s life. At a news conference, Bishop Olmsted said the hospital failed to address the “scandal caused by the abortion” and it has violated other religious guidelines from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, such as offering contraceptive supplies and providing abortions due to the mother’s physical/mental health or when the pregnancy result from rape or incest, according to the Reuters report.
Although the hospital is not funded by the Church, it will remove communion wafers from the chapel and will no longer celebrate Mass.
Linda Hunt, St. Joseph’s president, said although the hospital is “deeply saddened,” it will always save the life that can be saved. “Morally, ethically and legally, we simply cannot stand by and let someone die whose life we might be able to save,” Ms. Hunt said in a news release from the hospital.
Ms. Hunt went on to say the hospital’s operations, policies and procedures will not change. St. Joseph’s is a Catholic Healthcare West hospital.
Read more about the controversy between St. Joseph’s Hospital and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix:
– Phoenix’s St. Joseph Hospital May Lose Catholic Status
– Phoenix’s Bishop Gives St. Joseph’s Hospital More Time to Retain Catholic Status
