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December 23, 2010
Wanda Franz, Ph.D., President
National Right to Life Committee
512 10th Street, NW Washington, D.C.
20004
Dear Doctor Franz,
I am writing to you in the hope
that you might avert a major
national embarrassment for the
pro-life movement which is now
impending in Boston. Anne Fox, the
President of your affiliate
organization --- Massachusetts
Citizens for Life --- has, over the
objection of her own Board Chairman,
who subsequently resigned, invited
Howie Carr to serve as the
featured speaker at MCFL's Annual
Assembly for Life on January
16th.
Howie Carr is an anti-Catholic,
Hispanic-bashing, immigrant-bashing,
shock jock on WRKO Radio in Boston,
and is a columnist for the Boston
Herald. Carr's career has been
characterized by vulgarity, bigotry
and demagoguery. He has mocked the
Holy Eucharist, made an unspeakably
crude sexual reference to the Holy
Family, and said vile things about
the Pope and the Catholic
priesthood. He has promoted
invidious stereotypes associating
Hispanics with illegal immigration
and crime. Carr has repeatedly
referred to children born out of
wedlock to mothers on public
assistance as "little bastards," and
has reportedly argued that women on
welfare should not be allowed to
have children.
As the pro-life movement has
always sought to demonstrate
compassion rather than contempt for
unwed mothers, Carr's choice as a
speaker is as unfathomable as it is
inappropriate. I have enclosed two
documents, a December 17th letter to
Anne Fox, and a December 21st
Catholic Action League News Update
which detail our concerns and reveal
the problematic nature of Carr's
selection to headline the Assembly
for Life.
Any prudent observer can
reasonably foresee that Carr's
presence at the Assembly for Life
will result in adverse media
coverage and comment, and will
likely be accompanied by protests
and possibly demonstrations by
Catholics, Hispanic groups,
immigrant groups, Arab-American
organizations, and others, including
many in the pro-life community. It
will also result in acrimonious and
enduring divisions among pro-lifers
in Massachusetts, and has the
potential to cause irreparable harm
to what remains of MCFL.
I urge you to do all in your
power to prevent a national public
relations disaster for the right to
life movement, by ensuring that the
invitation to Howie Carr is
rescinded.
Sincerely,
C. J. Doyle, Executive Director
NEWS UPDATE
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2010
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781)
251-9739
CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE REJECTS
MCFL EXCUSES FOR INVITATION TO HOWIE
CARR
The Catholic Action League of
Massachusetts today rejected excuses
offered by Anne Fox, President of
Massachusetts Citizens for Life, for
that organization's invitation to
the anti-Catholic, Hispanic-bashing
radio shock jock Howie Carr, to be
the featured speaker at
MCFL's Annual Assembly for Life on
January 16th (scroll down MCFL's
page).
In a late breaking development,
the League has learned that the
Chairman of the MCFL Board of
Directors, long time pro-life
activist Henry Luthin, resigned over
the weekend.
The following is the reply of
Anne Fox to
the
League's letter of December 17th:
Dear C.
J.,
As I prepared to respond to
your email, which requested that
we withdraw our invitation to
Howie Carr to speak at the
Massachusetts Citizens for Life
Assembly for Life, I realized
that you had sent to your entire
list what I assumed was a
private email. It surprises me
greatly that you would do that
without contacting me first. If
your goal was to have us
withdraw our invitation, it
would have been prudent to have
contacted me...
You cite examples of
statements from the last dozen
years which are definitely out
of order. I had not been aware
of them. I have heard Howie
praise the people and the school
in his parish as well as The
Montrose School. If someone as
assiduous as you had been
monitoring for the same dozen
years, I suspect he would also
have a dossier of positive
statements.
Massachusetts Citizens for
Life is nonsectarian. We, of
course, join all pro-life people
in admiration and gratitude for
the leadership of the Catholic
Church which has and is working
so hard to restore the Culture
of Life and would do nothing to
embarrass her.
Howie is anti-abortion. He
has been very helpful to us in
our work over the past year and
a half to publicize the
anti-life aspects of Obamacare.
We have not asked him to speak
as an "entertainer". We have
asked him to speak, because of
his political acumen, about the
unacknowledged power of the
pro-life vote. The general
public, politicians, and our own
people need to hear that.
C. J., I trust that you will
share this email with the people
to whom you sent your original
email.
Best, Anne
The Catholic Action League
characterized Fox's remarks as "a
bizarre attempt to defend the
indefensible."
Catholic Action League Executive
Director C. J. Doyle made the
following comment: "Evidently, Anne
Fox never heard of the old saying
that when you are already in a hole,
you should stop digging. She
actually makes the insipid argument
that blasphemy and sacrilege ---
insulting the Body of Christ and
making obscene references about the
Foster Father of Our Lord --- can be
overlooked if there are
countervailing considerations. The
notion that the vile things Howie
Carr has said about the Blessed
Sacrament and Saint Joseph are
somehow counterbalanced by the
financial support he has provided to
his daughters' parochial school is
manifestly absurd and intellectually
dishonest, as is the pathetic
attempt to hide behind the
non-sectarian status of MCFL.
Serious organizations do not invoke
their non-sectarian character to
excuse bigotry and hate speech.
"As for
the preposterous assertion that we
have somehow neglected to mention
the allegedly good things Howie Carr
has said about the Church, here,
Anne Fox descends from argument to
comedy. The only things which we
have omitted are the new revelations
about Howie Carr which we are
learning of every day as more people
contact us with evidence of his
Catholic bashing. If anyone believes
that they can bring success to their
organization by showcasing someone
who has mocked the Second Person of
the Holy Trinity and defamed the
Head of the Holy Family, then their
thinking is that of an atheist
rather than a Christian.
"For the
record, Howie Carr supports
sterilization and contraception, and
has a long history of promoting
pro-abortion candidates for public
office. Where the pro-life movement
demonstrates compassion for women in
difficult circumstances, the caustic
Howie Carr demeans the children born
out of wedlock to mothers on public
assistance as 'little bastards.' Do
we really wish to project the surly
and mean-spirited countenance of
Howie Carr as the image of the
Massachusetts pro-life movement?
Those who rail against immigrants,
minorities, and welfare recipients,
far from building a culture of life,
usually promote sympathy for
population control.
"Liberal
Catholics malign the pro-life
movement by unjustly accusing it of
being a political front for the
Republican Party. In this case, Anne
Fox seems determined to vindicate
that claim, even if it means
embracing enemies of the Faith as
repulsive as Howie Carr. From
tailoring candidate questionnaires
to make pro-abortion Republicans
look 100% pro-life, to providing a
platform to a Republican attack dog,
it appears that Anne Fox is seeking
to reduce the once proud
Massachusetts Citizens for Life to
an auxiliary of the Massachusetts
Republican Party. For the
credibility of their own
organization, the officers,
directors and members of MCFL ought
to restrain her from doing so.
"Meanwhile, the Catholic Action
League will begin to call local and
national attention to the scandal of
having an anti-Catholic,
anti-Hispanic, anti-immigrant,
anti-life speaker at a pro-life
event."
December 17, 2010
Anne
Fox, President
Massachusetts Citizens For Life
The
Schrafft Center
529 Main
Street
Charlestown, MA 02129
Dear
Anne,
We were
astonished to learn that Howie
Carr will be featured at MCFL's Annual
Assembly For Life on January
16th. Carr is a notorious
Catholic-basher with a long record
of vicious and gratuitous attacks on
the Catholic Religion.
In one
particularly vile episode later in
1998, in a conversation between Carr
and his producer Doug Goudie
evidently intended to disparage
Arabs, it was asserted that
shepherds in the Middle East
had unnatural relations with the
animals in their flocks. Into this
depraved subject the name of Saint
Joseph --- the Virgin Spouse of the
Virgin Mother of God --- was
introduced. Saint Joseph was then
misidentified as a shepherd.
In an
interview with Malachy McCourt, Carr
laughed and snickered over McCourt's
assertion that the late Francis
Cardinal Spellman was not only a
homosexual but a pedophile. Carr
went on to recount a story alleging
that an episcopal ring was found by
police in a homosexual brothel,
implying that the ring belonged to
Spellman.
In
January, 2002, Carr hosted a segment
in which he asked his listeners,
"Are you ashamed to be a Catholic?"
during which he boasted that he
never went to Mass. All throughout
the molestation crisis of 2002, Carr
contemptuously referred to the
Cardinal Archbishop of Boston as
"Bernie Law," and on November 29th
of that year the Boston Herald
published a column by Carr in which
he described the Cardinal as "a
Bulger bum kisser."
Hispanic
Catholics, with their large families
and culture of life, are the future
of the Church and the Pro-Life
movement in America. Howie Carr
however, is not only an
anti-Catholic but a crude nativist.
One of the recurring themes of his
program is the attempt to link
illegal immigrants to crime. A
particularly offensive gimmick is
his habit of playing Mexican music
while reading the names of criminal
suspects with Hispanic surnames.
This hostility to Hispanics and
immigrants places Cardinal O'Malley,
or whoever represents him from the
Archdiocese of Boston, in the
embarrassing position of sharing a
stage with someone who boorishly
castigates some of the neediest
members of his flock.
In a
Catholic community which has a
significant number of Eastern Rite
Catholics of Lebanese and Syrian
descent (the Melkite Cathedral is in
West Roxbury) it is unimaginable
that MCFL would actually provide a
platform to a rabble rousing shock
jock who has described Arabs in the
past as "towelheads."
Inviting
Howie Carr to address the Assembly
for Life is an act of monumental
ingratitude to elected officials who
defended the right to life and came
to the aid of MCFL in difficult
times. Men such as William Bulger,
Ray Flynn, Thomas Finneran, and the
late Jim Craven have been
the victims of vulgar insults,
venomous denunciations, and
malevolent diatribes by this
spiteful demagogue.
A larger
issue here is why an organization
with a predominantly Christian
membership would want to showcase a
public figure whose life and career
embody such a cynical negation of
Christian values. Howie Carr is
infamous for his uncharitableness of
speech, his lack of compassion, and
his sneering contempt for the
objects of his scorn. He preys upon
the vulnerable, exploits the
misfortunes of others, incites
rancor and envy, and has grown rich
by his indifference to the Eighth
Commandment. He mocks the Church,
derides the poor, maligns men who
have more integrity than he does,
and has ridiculed the Body, Blood,
Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in
the Holy Eucharist.
Inviting
such a miserable creature to address
an organization dedicated to the
sanctity and dignity of human life
is an affront to the Christian
religion and everything the Pro-Life
movement professes to uphold.
We urge
you to reconsider this improvident
decision and cancel the invitation
to this inappropriate choice for a
speaker.
Sincerely,
Daniel
T. Flatley C.
J. Doyle
Chairman Emeritus Executive
Director
The
Catholic Action League of
Massachusetts
November 23, 2010
Letters to the
Editor
The Patriot Ledger
400 Crown Colony Drive
P. O. Box 699159
Quincy, MA 02269-9159
To the Editor:
Although The Patriot Ledger's
coverage of the Pope's comments on
condoms was more professional and more
responsible than that of most Boston
media institutions, the key assertion in
the Ledger's story---that the
Pope said the use of condoms may be
permissible in specific, limited
cases---was not accurate (Catholics
applaud Pope's comments, 11/22/2010).
The Holy Father made speculative
remarks about the beginning of moral
awareness in the seriously corrupted
conscience of a male prostitute. He
never endorsed, overtly or implicitly,
the use of condoms, and went on to say
that condoms could never be "an
authentic or moral solution." Taken in
context, the Pope was defending his
previous statements opposing condom use.
Catholic moral teaching is not
derived from consensus or evolving
opinion. An exploration of moral
psychology may be interesting, but is
not magisterial. Finally, no one, not
even the Pope, has the authority to
change Catholic doctrine in Faith and
morals, which is irreformable.
Sincerely,
C. J. Doyle
Executive Director
November 22, 2010
Letters
Boston Herald
P.O. Box 5584
Boston, MA 02205-5843
To the Editor:
Neither the title nor the contents of
the Herald's story on Pope
Benedict and condoms were accurate
(PONTIFF BLESSES CONDOM USE,
11/21/2010).
A speculative remark about motivation
in a book interview, in which Benedict
never used the word "justified," does
not constitute papal approval of condom
use, nor did I say or indicate anything
to Herald reporters suggesting
that I was shocked by it. What I told
the Herald was that this was a
single source story which required
clarification, and that no one, not even
the Pope, had the authority to change
Catholic moral teaching about the
impermissibility of contraceptive use.
Sincerely,
C. J. Doyle
Executive Director
MEMBER ADVISORY
TUESDAY,
NOVEMBER 9, 2010
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781)
251-9739
CATHOLIC ACTION
LEAGUE TO HOLD ANNUAL CURLEY
COMMEMORATION
This Friday, November 12, 2010, is
the 52nd Anniversary of the death of
Massachusetts Governor and Boston Mayor
James Michael Curley. The Catholic
Action League of Massachusetts will hold
its Annual Rosary at the Curley grave
site in Old Calvary Cemetery, off
Cummins Highway in Roslindale, at 12
noon. Mayor Curley's grave is located
directly behind the chapel at the top of
the hill, visible from Cummins Highway.
All Catholic Action League members are
invited to participate.
November is the month of the Holy
Souls, when the Church remembers in her
prayers the faithful departed. Please
pray for the repose of the souls of all
of the deceased members of the Catholic
Action League, and those of our
predecessor organization, the
Massachusetts Chapter of the Catholic
League of Religious and Civil Rights,
including those listed below:
Joseph L. Ahern
Joseph Arena
Catherine Barden
Hon. Angelo Berlandi
David R. Burke
Hon. John F. Collins
Mary Collins
Leo J. Coveney
Hon. James J. Craven, Jr.
Rev. Msgr. John Dillon Day
Robert J. Delery
William S. Farrell
Robert J. Flanagan
Thomas J. Flatley
Roger Gill
Edward B. Hanify, Jr.
Mrs. Marian Hardy
H. Noel Hebard
Rev. Cornelius Heery
Rev. Harold J. Johnson
Hon. James Kelly
Eugene F. Kiely, Jr.
H. E., Edward J. King
Florence MacIsaac
Albert
James Healy Madden
Richard Malone
Paul McCarthy
Celia McClory
Gino Michelutti
Dante Pattavina
Rev. Gilbert Phinn
Janet E. Ray
Most Rev. Lawrence J. Riley
John S. Ring
Elinore Sheils
Francis N. Sheils
John W. Spillane, KHS
Dr. Joseph R. Stanton
Virginia Teehan
Peter Travers
Bro. Bartholomew Varden, CFX
Thomas Walsh
L. Thomas White
Eternal rest grant unto them O
Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon
them. May they rest in peace. Amen. May
their souls, and all the souls of the
faithful departed, through the mercy of
God, rest in peace. Amen.
It is a holy and wholesome
thought to pray for the dead, that
they might be loosed from their
sins. (2 Maccabees 12:46)
Letter to the
editorNovember 3, 2010
The Boston Herald
P.O. Box 5584
Boston, MA 02205-5843
To the Editor:
There was a striking omission in
Natalie Sherman's story about the
attempt by protestors to illegally enter
Vatican territory on October 31st (COPS
BLOCK VATICAN MARCH, 11/1/2010).
The incursion was deliberately
planned for Reformation Sunday---which
marks the beginning of the Protestant
separation from Rome---as a calculated
insult to the Holy Father and the
Catholic Faith. It is a pity that the
grievances of the past have now become
an excuse for an embittered and
vindictive minority to malign the
Catholic religion at every opportunity.
Sincerely,
C. J. Doyle, Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
NEWS RELEASE
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29,
2010
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781)
251-9739
SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT APPROVES SALE OF
CARITAS CHRISTI HEALTH CARE
Associate Justice Francis X. Spina of
the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
this morning approved the sale of
Caritas Christi Health Care---the
network of six Catholic hospitals
affiliated with the Archdiocese of
Boston---to the Steward Healthcare
System, a subsidiary of Cerberus Capital
Management. Today's court decision was
the final step in a review process that
included a favorable recommendation by
Attorney General Martha Coakley on
October 6th, and a reissuing of hospital
licenses by the Public Health Council on
October 13th. In a letter dated August
27th, and filed with the court last
week, Sean Cardinal O'Malley, the
Archbishop of Boston, stated that the
Holy See had given its approval for the
transaction on August 17th.
The Catholic Action League of
Massachusetts called today's ruling "the
likely point of no return in the
impending loss of Catholic health care
in Greater Boston."
Catholic Action League Director C. J.
Doyle stated: "After a 147 years,
Boston's Catholic community is about to
be deprived of the right to receive
medical care from institutions infused
with Catholic ethics, and defined by
their Catholic identity.
"There are three probable results
from this decision. The fate and
character of Landmark Medical Center in
Woonsocket is now uncertain. As its
intended acquisition will now occur
after the sale of Caritas, it may remain
a secular hospital where abortion
referrals are made and contraceptive
services are provided. Secondly, it is
likely that all of the former Caritas
hospitals, including Saint Elizabeth's,
will now comply with the Commonwealth's
2005 emergency contraception law, which
requires even religious hospitals to
dispense an enhanced dose of the morning
after pill to rape victims.
"Finally, the six hospitals will,
sooner or later, be secularized, either
through the exercise of the termination
clause, or through their sale at the end
of the three to five year so-called
protected period. The sale of the
Catholic hospital system comes just four
years after the end of Catholic adoption
services in Boston, and amid on-going
controversies over the closings of
Catholic parishes and schools. Under the
episcopate of Cardinal O'Malley, the
Archdiocese of Boston is suffering the
greatest loss of institutional
infrastructure in its 202 year history."
NEWS UPDATE
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22,
2010
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781)
251-9739
CARITAS
CHRISTI---BOSTON SPECIAL ELECTION---PBS
DOCUMENTARY---VOTING PRO-LIFE TOO
"POLITICAL" FOR KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
Associate Justice Francis
Spina of the Massachusetts Supreme
Judicial Court heard oral arguments
yesterday on the Petition of Relief
filed by Caritas Christi Health
Care---the network of six Catholic
hospitals affiliated with the
Archdiocese of Boston---seeking approval
for its acquisition by the Steward
Healthcare System, a subsidiary of
Cerberus Capital Management. Among the
exhibits included with the petition was
an August 27th letter from Sean Cardinal
O'Malley indicating that the Holy See
had granted its authorization for the
sale on August 17th.
The SJC hearing comes after a
favorable recommendation was submitted
to the court by Attorney-General Martha
Coakley on October 6th, followed by a
unanimous vote approving new hospital
licenses by the Public Health Council on
October 13th. All that now remains is
final approval by the Supreme Judicial
Court, which is expected imminently.
The Preliminary District Six
Special Election for the Boston City
Council was held on Tuesday, October
19th. Both winning candidates, who will
face each other in a November 16th final
election, are supporters of abortion and
the homosexual agenda. Front-runner Matt
O'Malley, who ran for city council in
2003, was director of Mass Equality, the
same sex marriage advocacy group. He
continues to identify himself as a
former CCD teacher.
Runner-up James Hennigan previously
sought a state senate seat campaigning
on a liberal platform. Hennigan is the
brother of former Councilor Maura
Hennigan, a longstanding supporter of
abortion, same gender marriage and
condoms in schools. Their father, former
Jamaica Plain State Senator James W.
Hennigan, Jr., was a supporter of
Progressive Party candidate Henry
Wallace against Harry Truman in 1948.
The special election is being held to
fill the vacancy caused by the
resignation of Councilor John Tobin, who
has assumed a higher paying position at
Northeastern University.
The predictably anti-Catholic
Public Broadcasting System documentary
God in America, which is being
aired on WGBH Channel 2 and WGBX Channel
44, begins with the Black Legend,
portraying the gentle Franciscan friars
of Spain as cruel, oppressive,
intolerant, even murderous, towards
native Americans. One would imagine
therefore, that Catholic institutions
would do nothing to facilitate such
bigotry. On the contrary, some of the
interior scenes in this propaganda piece
were filmed in Mission Church---the
Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual
Help---Boston's most venerable Marian
Shrine. Perhaps PBS producers were
impressed with the beauty of the place
while watching Ted Kennedy's funeral
Mass!
A Knights of Columbus member
from Virginia, John Collick, circulated
by e-mail an essay by Father Richard
Perozich of California, in which the
priest urged Catholics not to be
intimidated, to stand up for their
values, and vote only for those who
support the right to life, traditional
marriage and Christian morality.
Incredibly, Collick's Grand Knight, on
the instructions of Virginia State
Advocate Anthony Fortunato, ordered
Collick to cease distributing the
e-mail, as it violated K of C
prohibitions against politics in the
Order! Fortunato claimed he consulted
with the Supreme Advocate in New Haven
before rendering his decision.
In May, the Catholic Action League
revealed that K of C Supreme Advocate
John A. Marrella quashed a state
convention resolution offered by Former
District Deputy Joseph B. Craven, Jr.,
which called upon the Massachusetts
State Council to suspend pro-abortion
elected officials and candidates from
the ranks of the Knights in
Massachusetts. Marrella claimed only the
Supreme Council could do so, and then
had to exercise "prudence."
Apparently, the Knights of Columbus
has gone from refusing to remove
pro-abortion pols to silencing pro-life
speech. Urging Catholics to vote against
that form of mass murder known as legal
abortion is too controversial for an
organization whose highest values are,
in descending order, its insurance
business, its tax-exempt status, and its
Standard and Poors rating.
NEWS
RELEASE
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2010
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE, (781) 251-9739
CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CRITICIZES
CARITAS CHRISTI CHIEF FOR HOSTING OBAMA
FUNDRAISER
The Catholic Action League of
Massachusetts today criticized Doctor
Ralph de la Torre, chief executive of
Caritas Christi Health Care--the network
of six Catholic hospitals affiliated
with the Archdiocese of Boston--for
hosting President Barack Obama at a
political fundraiser in his Newton home.
The event, held yesterday, reportedly
raised $900,000 for the Democratic
Senatorial Campaign Committee.
The Catholic Action League called de
la Torre's decision to host the affair
"a stunning example of audacious
hypocrisy."
Catholic Action League Executive
Director C. J. Doyle stated: "On October
13th, Dr. de la Torre testified before
the Massachusetts Public Health Council
about the 'bedrock' Catholic values of
Caritas Christi being preserved under
his leadership following its impending
sale to new owners. Three days later, he
hosted a campaign event showcasing a
political figure whose support for legal
and unrestricted abortion is a bedrock
component of his political ideology.
Ralph de la Torre is, of course, a
repeat offender in these matters. In
2009, he was a prominent contributor to
Attorney-General Martha Coakley, who
famously advised pro-life Catholics not
to work in hospital emergency rooms.
"No rational person can reasonably be
expected to take seriously alleged
guarantees of the future Catholic
identity of Caritas Christi when Ralph
de la Torre's own political choices
speak to indifference and infidelity to
fundamental Catholic moral teaching."
NEWS
RELEASE
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16,
2010
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781) 251-9739
CATHOLIC ACTION
LEAGUE HAILS CHURCH RECOGNITION OF SAINT
BENEDICT CENTER
The Catholic Action League of
Massachusetts today hailed the
appointment of Father David Phillipson
of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, NM as Chaplain
of the Saint Benedict Center in
Richmond, New Hampshire. The decision to
appoint an incardinated priest with
faculties as chaplain, made with the approval of
Rome, means that the last major
community of the Slaves of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary---the religious
order founded by the late Father Leonard
Feeney in 1949---has now received
official recognition by the Church.
The Catholic Action League called the
appointment "a joyous event for
traditional Catholics throughout New
England, the United States, and the
entire Catholic world."
Catholic Action League Executive
Director C. J. Doyle stated:
"Traditional Catholics, particularly
those in Boston, have been waiting
sixty-one years for this news. The
motu proprio liberating the
immemorial Latin liturgy, the lifting of
the excommunications imposed upon the
four bishops of the Society of Saint
Pius X, and now the recognition of the
Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary---who continue to hold and teach
the traditional understanding of the
doctrine extra ecclesiam nulla salus---all
represent milestones in the pontificate
of Pope Benedict XVI. In the first five
years of his papacy, Benedict has
labored to restore orthodoxy, embrace
continuity and bring traditional
Catholics in from the cold.
"The Holy Father, and all those
responsible for this just, long awaited
and felicitous decision, deserve the
gratitude of faithful Catholics
everywhere."
TESTIMONY OF C. J.
DOYLE BEFORE THE MASSACHUSETTS PUBLIC
HEALTH COUNCIL ON THE SALE OF CARITAS
CHRISTI HEALTH CARE
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2010
SARGENT HALL, SUFFOLK LAW SCHOOL, BOSTON
Mr. Chairman, my name is C. J. Doyle
and I am the Executive Director of the
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts.
I will be brief.
We all want the hospitals to survive,
but we also want their Catholic identity
to survive. Contrary to your power point
presentation, the Catholic identity of
Caritas will not be be guaranteed for
three years. Under the termination
clause found in the Notice of
Transaction, filed with the Public
Charities Division of the
Attorney-General's Office, the new
owners may dispense with the system's
Catholic identity at any time, for
virtually any reason, unilaterally and
without appeal, provided they are
willing to pay a 25 million dollar
buy-out penalty to a charity selected by
the Archdiocese of Boston, which
therefore gives the Archdiocese a
financial incentive to acquiesce in
secularization. It also renders any
other guarantees manifestly inadequate.
The loss of Catholic identity will
deprive the Catholic community of a
health care system where Catholic
medical ethics prevail, will imperil the
conscience rights of doctors, nurses and
administrators, will adversely impact
charitable care for the poor and
affordable access for all, will diminish
the community orientation of the
hospitals and will replace Catholic
social teaching in employee
relations---such as the concept of the
family wage---with the free market law
of supply and demand.
We urge you, therefore, to withhold
approval of the license renewals until
there are more meaningful and
substantive guarantees for the future
Catholic identity of the six hospitals,
that is, until the termination clause is
either modified or excised.
We realize that we are asking much of
you---to show more concern for the
Catholic identity of Caritas than the
Archdiocese of Boston did. However, if
Catholics cannot find redress on this
issue from the Commonwealth, then their
only recourse would be to initiate a
canonical suit in the courts of the Holy
See. Realistically, it is unlikely that
such a suit would prevail against the
Archdiocese. However, it might further
delay and complicate these proceedings,
and no one wants that. I urge you then
to give some thought to the concerns of
Catholics about Catholic identity before
voting on this issue.
Thank you.
NEWS
RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2010
CONTACT:
C. J. DOYLE
(781)
251-9739
PUBLIC HEALTH COUNCIL APPROVES CARITAS
SALE
CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE WARNS OF CANON
LAW SUIT
The
Massachusetts Public Health Council
unanimously voted this afternoon to
approve new hospital licenses
for Caritas Christi Health Care---the
network of six Catholic medical
institutions affiliated with the
Archdiocese of Boston---as part of its
sale to the Steward Healthcare System, a
subsidiary of Cerberus Capital
Management.
In testimony
at the hearing which preceded the vote,
the Catholic Action League of
Massachusetts warned however that
failure to provide "meaningful and
substantive" guarantees for the
continuing Catholic identity of Caritas
would force Catholics to seek redress in
a canonical lawsuit before the courts of
the Holy See.
The Catholic
Action League called the current
guarantees "manifestly inadequate."
Attorney-General Martha Coakley
recommended approval of the sale to the
Supreme Judicial Court on October 6th.
In addition to a decision by the court,
authorization must be forthcoming from
the Holy See.
Catholic
Action League Executive Director C. J.
Doyle stated to the Council: "Contrary
to your presentation, the Catholic
identity of Caritas will not be
guaranteed for three years. Under the
termination clause in the Notice of
Transaction, the new owners may end the
system's Catholic identity at any time,
for virtually any reason, unilaterally
and without appeal, provided they are
willing to pay the 25 million dollar
buy-out penalty to a charity selected by
the Archdiocese of Boston, which gives
the Archdiocese a financial incentive to
accept secularization."
"The loss of
Catholic identity by Caritas will
deprive the Catholic community of a
health care system where Catholic
medical ethics are practiced, will
imperil the conscience rights of doctors
and nurses, adversely impact charitable
care for the poor and affordable access
for all, diminish the community
orientation of the hospitals and replace
Catholic social teaching in employee
relations with the free market law of
supply and demand."
October 11, 2010
Letters to the Editor
The Boston Globe
P. O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819
To the Editor:
If James Carroll wanted a truly
compelling example of European injustice to native peoples in the
Western Hemisphere, he might have pointed to Anglo-Protestant North
America, where Native Americans were ethnically cleansed and nearly
exterminated ("The mixed legacy of 1492," Oct. 11, 2010).
In Latin America, Spanish and Portuguese
settlers converted indigenous peoples to Catholicism and inter-married
with them. The result is a native population which numbers in the tens
of millions today, and majorities in most Spanish-speaking countries
which are mestizo---a mixture of European and Amerindian
ancestry. In the United States, Native Americans comprise less than one
percent of the population.
Sincerely,
C. J. Doyle
Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
(781) 251-9739
October 11, 2010
Letters to the Editor
The Boston Globe
P. O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819
To the Editor:
The Boston Globe was correct in
urging the Supreme Judicial Court and the Massachusetts Public Health
Council to avoid rubber stamping Attorney-General Martha Coakley's
recommendations regarding the sale of Caritas Christi Health Care ("AG's
limits on Caritas deal don't go far enough," 10/11/2010).
The so-called protected period, during
which the hospitals could neither be sold nor closed, should be extended
to five years without conditions. Nor should any approval be granted
until the issue of the termination clause is addressed, which actually
gives the Archdiocese of Boston a financial reward for acquiescing in
the loss of the system's Catholic identity.
Sincerely,
C. J. Doyle
Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
(781) 251-9739
October 7, 2010
Wanderer editorial:
C.J. Doyle & Paul Likoudis rebut
Washington Post's anti-Catholicism
Susan Jacoby, The Washington Post’s and
Newsweek’s resident secularist who
writes as the “Spirited Atheist,” gave vent to her long-simmering
anti-Catholicism after
Pope Benedict’s triumphal visit to England.
Jacoby, who is infamously known for her
contention that anti-Catholicism in
American society is a “canard” that doesn’t exist, was obviously stung by
the warm wel-
come Benedict received in England and Scotland, and so took it upon herself
to de-
bunk Catholic martyrdom in English history, essentially arguing Elizabeth I
was cor-
rect in her bloody anti-Catholic persecution because Catholics were trying
to overthrow
her government.
Her September 22 essay, titled, “Martyrdom,
Selective Memory, and Pope Bene-
dict in England,” opened with her mockery of the Holy Father for shaking the
hand of
a female Anglican priest, and went down in tone and substance from there.
Read the complete editorial by Paul
Likoudis and C.J. Doyle.
NEWS RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2010
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CRITICIZES ATTORNEY GENERAL'S
RECOMMENDATION ON CARITAS CHRISTI SALE
The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today
criticized the recommendation made by Attorney-General Martha Coakley to
the Supreme Judicial Court approving the sale of Caritas Christi Health
Care--- the network of six Catholic hospitals affiliated with the
Archdiocese of Boston---to the Steward Healthcare System, a subsidiary
of Cerberus Capital Management.
The Attorney-General's recommendation left intact the
termination clause which will allow the new owners to end the hospitals'
Catholic identity at anytime if they find compliance with Catholic
medical ethics to be "materially burdensome", provided they are willing
to pay a twenty-five million dollar buy-out penalty to a charity
designated by the Archdiocese of Boston.
The Supreme Judicial Court is expected to follow the
Attorney-General's recommendation. Approval is still pending from the
Department of Public Health and the Holy See.
The Catholic Action League called the Attorney-General's
report "a decisive turning point in the impending loss of Catholic
health care in Greater Boston."
Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle
stated: "Although Martha Coakley deserves some credit for extending the
period during which the hospitals cannot be closed, and in trying to
ensure care for the indigent, her refusal to address the issue of the
termination clause will likely result in the secularization of the six
hospitals under the new owners. This means the abandonment of Catholic
medical ethics, including the right to life from conception to natural
death, the loss of conscience protections for pro-life doctors and
nurses, a reduction in charitable care for the poor, and the replacement
of Catholic social teaching in employee relations, such as the family
wage, with the free market law of supply and demand."
"Catholics must now turn to the Holy See as the last
court of appeal if one hundred and forty-seven years of Catholic health
care in Boston is to be preserved."
September 30, 2010
Letters to the Editor
The Boston Globe
PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819
To the Editor:
James Shannon was correct in advising Attorney-General
Martha Coakley not to be pressured into a hasty approval of the sale of
Caritas Christi Health Care to Cerberus Capital Management ("The Caritas
sale--with conditions," 9/28/2010).
The likely secularization of the hospitals that will
occur under the new owners will not only result in the loss of Catholic
medical ethics, but will adversely impact charitable care for those in
need and will replace Catholic principles of social justice in employee
relations with the free market law of supply and demand.
In her recommendation to the Supreme Judicial Court, the
Attorney-General should embrace the proposal by health care
advocates---endorsed by The Globe---to extend from three to seven
years the period during which the hospitals could not be closed or sold.
She should also call for eliminating the termination clause, which
actually gives the Archdiocese of Boston a financial incentive in the
loss of the system's Catholic identity.
For nearly a century and a half, Catholic health care
has served the common good in Greater Boston. It is a legacy that should
not be allowed to fail.
Sincerely,
C. J. Doyle, Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
NEWS RELEASE
SATURDAY,
SEPTEMBER 4, 2010
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE, (781) 251-9739
ARCHDIOCESE OF BOSTON BACKTRACKS ON
SECULAR CHARACTER OF LANDMARK HOSPITAL
On August 31st, the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts broke the
story in the Catholic media that Caritas Christi Health Care --- the
network of six Catholic hospitals affiliated with the Archdiocese of
Boston --- would operate the Rhode Island hospital it is acquiring,
Landmark Medical Center of Woonsocket, as a secular facility which would
continue performing sterilizations and distributing contraceptives.
Within twenty four hours, the Archdiocese began to reverse the decision
by Caritas to keep Landmark secular, and now asserts that Landmark will
become a Catholic hospital compliant with Catholic medical ethics. This
is a direct disavowal of the statement by Caritas Director of Media
Relations Chris Murphy, who told The Providence Journal, "Our
intent is to preserve Landmark in its current form, which includes no
religious affiliation."
The Catholic Action League called the reversal "a victory, though
probably a temporary one, in the campaign to keep Caritas Catholic."
Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following
comment: "First, Landmark was to become a Catholic hospital. Then it
wasn't. Now, it is to become Catholic again. 'Who's in charge?' might
be a interesting question to explore.
"It is unimaginable that Caritas spokesman Chris Murphy would have
publicly announced that Landmark was to remain a secular institution
without the explicit approval of Caritas President Ralph de la Torre.
It is equally unlikely, that after fifteen months of negotiations
between Landmark and Caritas, Doctor de la Torre would not have apprised
his Board of Governors of this decision, which includes an Archdiocesan
Cabinet Secretary and close advisor to Cardinal O'Malley.
"Whether the Archdiocese of Boston is trying to affirm Catholic moral
teaching or simply trying to dig itself out of another embarrassing
scandal of its own making, remains to be seen. Given the buy-out clause
which will allow the new owners of Caritas to terminate the Catholic
identity of the system for the payment of an eight figure fee, it is
likely that it won't take long for us to find out."
NEWS RELEASE
TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2010
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781) 251-9739
CARITAS CHRISTI REVERSES DECISION
ON RELIGIOUS CHARACTER OF LANDMARK HOSPITAL
On August 27th, Landmark Medical Center of
Woonsocket submitted a signed asset purchase agreement to the Rhode Island
Superior Court providing for its acquisition by Caritas Christi Health Care,
the network of six Catholic hospitals affiliated with the Archdiocese of
Boston. The Boston Globe previously reported that the merger would result in
Landmark becoming a Catholic hospital. Now, The Providence Journal reports
that Landmark will remain a secular facility.
According to Landmark spokesman Bill Fischer,
"The goal is to remain secular, and that's what we're aiming for," while
Caritas Director of Media Relations Chris Murphy stated " Our intent is to
preserve Landmark in its current form, which includes no religious
affiliation."
This means that Caritas will own and operate
a facility where sterilizations are performed and abortifacient
contraceptive services are provided.
Approval of the sale must be granted by
Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, Superior Court Judge Michael A.
Silverstein, and the Rhode Island Department of Health. Meanwhile, approval
is still pending from the Holy See, the Supreme Judicial Court of the
Commonwealth, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for the
acquisition of Caritas Christi by the Steward Healthcare System, the for
profit subsidiary of Cerberus Capital Management.
The Catholic Action League called the
decision to keep Landmark secular "further evidence that the Archdiocese of
Boston has not been straightforward about the future Catholic identity of
Caritas Christi Health Care."
Catholic Action League Executive Director C.
J. Doyle stated: "It is morally impermissible for a Catholic health care
entity to participate in contraception and sterilizations. That is gravely
contrary to Catholic moral teaching and is a direct violation of the Ethical
and Religious Directives of the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops.
"More troubling
however, is the lack of candor. During the 2009 controversy over a proposed
joint venture between Caritas Christi and the Centene Corporation, Cardinal
Sean O'Malley gave repeated assurances that Caritas would do nothing
contrary to Catholic moral principles, going so far as to assert that those
who suggested otherwise were 'doing a grave disservice to the Church.'
Caritas was later forced to withdraw from the venture when it became
apparent that it would entail abortion referrals.
"In the public
discourse about the impending transfer of Caritas Christi to Cerberus, the
Cardinal, the Archdiocese, and Caritas have all claimed that the hospital
network's continuing Catholic identity is assured. In testimony at a public
hearing on July 1st however, James Karam, Chairman of the Board of Governors
of Caritas Christi stated, 'I told the Cardinal that we cannot guarantee the
future Catholic identity of Caritas.'
"The retention of
Landmark's secular identity is a disturbing harbinger of the likely future
secularization of Caritas itself. It is now clear that what remains of the
Catholic identity of Caritas Christi is being progressively abandoned, that
the Archdiocese of Boston has consented to this abandonment, and that
neither the Archdiocese nor Caritas is being forthright with the public and
with the Catholic community about the consequences of this policy."
ADDRESS BY C. J. DOYLE TO THE SOUTH
BOSTON TEA PARTY
Fort Independence
Castle Island, Boston
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Thomas Paine
spoke of summer soldiers and sunshine patriots. None are to be found
here today. I admire your dedication for persevering in this inclement
weather.
It is a great
privilege to be here today on the same platform as one of the heroes of
the pro-family movement in Massachusetts---Brian Camenker. It is also a
privilege to be here with retired Justice Joe Nolan, the only jurist on
the Supreme Judicial Court to defend the Constitution and religious
freedom in Boston's Saint Patrick's Day Parade case, whose sole dissent
was vindicated by a unanimous 9 to 0 decision by the United States
Supreme Court. Read
rest of speech
August 11, 2010
Letters to the Editor
The Boston Globe
PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819
To the Editor:
James Carroll's revisionist attempt to
portray Christians as purveyors of religious hatred towards Muslims ("Enter
Christianity," 8/9/2010) is contradicted by history.
Over a period of eighty years, beginning in
634, Muslim armies overran what is now Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Israel,
Palestine, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Portugal, and most of
Spain --- all heretofore Christian provinces and kingdoms. After 1071,
Seljuk Turks began the conquest and ethnic cleansing of Christian Asia
Minor, and threatened Constantinople.
Carroll's ideological contortions cannot
conceal the identity of the aggressor in these conflicts, nor the identity
of the aggressor's victims.
Sincerely,
C. J. Doyle
Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
July 27, 2010
The Boston Globe Magazine/Letters
PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819
To the Editor:
Like many secularized Catholics, Charles Pierce helped his
career along by conforming to the dominant culture, and then boasted of his
intellectual independence (WHAT I BELIEVE, 7/11/2010).
Pierce announced that he has become "an anti-Catholic
Catholic." Of course he has. He works for a newspaper that has been
criticizing the Catholic Church since the nineteen seventies, and which has
never hired an orthodox Catholic to write on religious issues. If Pierce was
a faithful, pro-life Catholic, he would not have a cover story, a byline, or
a job at The Boston Globe Magazine.
Sincerely,
C. J. Doyle
Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
NEWS RELEASE
SATURDAY, JULY 3, 2010
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781) 251-9739
CARITAS ADMITS CATHOLIC IDENTITY UNCERTAIN
James Karam, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of
Caritas Christi Health Care --- the network of six Catholic hospitals
affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston --- has admitted that he cannot
guarantee the continuing Catholic identity of Caritas after it is sold to
the Steward Health Care System, a subsidiary of Cerberus Capital Management.
Addressing a packed audience in Dorchester Thursday night at a public
hearing held by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Attorney
General Martha Coakley's Office on the future of Carney Hospital, Karam said
he told Cardinal O'Malley that he could not guarantee the future Catholic
identity of Caritas, but could guarantee that the hospitals will be closed
without the sale.
Karam's statement contradicted repeated assurances by
both Caritas Christi and the Archdiocese of Boston (including some given at
the same hearing) that the system's Catholic identity and mission, and its
Catholic medical ethics, would be preserved under the new owners. The
Catholic Action League has repeatedly cited the termination clause of the
Notice of Transaction --- which allows Steward to end the Catholic identity
of Caritas at any time for virtually any reason provided it pays just 3%
above the purchase price --- as evidence that the so-called guarantees are
meaningless.
The Catholic Action League called Karam's statement
"confirmation from an official source that the hospitals are likely to be
secularized."
Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle
stated: "It is now clear, that with this sale, 147 years of Catholic health
care in Greater Boston is coming to an end. This will have adverse
consequences for Catholic medical ethics, including the protection of human
life from conception to natural death, for the conscience rights of Catholic
and other pro-life physicians and nurses, and for charitable care for the
poor."
"Ironically, most of the resistance to this transaction
is coming from the secular left, rather than the religious right. Despite
the obvious implications for the right to life issue, liberal groups
concerned with access to health care have done a better job of due diligence
in examining and scrutinizing this agreement and warning of its dangers,
than mainstream pro-life groups, who have been silent out of deference to
the Archdiocese. The time has come for the Massachusetts pro-life movement
to put principle before politics and join the opposition to the
secularization of Caritas Christi."
TESTIMONY OF C. J. DOYLE
AT THE PUBLIC HEARING
HELD BY ATTORNEY GENERAL
MARTHA COAKLEY AND
THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
ON THE SALE OF CARITAS
CHRISTI HEALTH CARE
THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2010
CARNEY HOSPITAL,
DORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS
Madame
Attorney General, and representatives of the Department
of Public Health: My name is C. J. Doyle and I am the
Executive Director of the Catholic Action League of
Massachusetts.
The hour is
late, and I will be very brief. Once again, I rise to
voice our concerns about the continuing Catholic
identity of Caritas Christi, concerns which have hardly
been alleviated by the statements of Chairman James
Karem made earlier this evening.
The supposed
guarantees for the future Catholic identity of Caritas
found in the Stewardship Agreement are manifestly
inadequate. They are effectively negated by the
termination clause in the Notice of Transaction, which
allows Cerberus, through its Steward Healthcare System,
upon payment of a twenty-five million dollar penalty, or
about 3% above the purchase price, to end the Catholic
identity at any time, for virtually any reason,
arbitrarily, unilaterally, and without appeal.
The loss of
Catholic identity would not only negatively impact
Catholic medical ethics and conscience protections, but
would adversely affect charitable care for the needy,
pastoral care for patients, and Catholic principles of
social justice in the treatment of hospital workers.
I urge
therefore, that the transfer of ownership of Caritas
Christi to the Steward Healthcare System, not
be approved.
ACTION ALERT!!
MONDAY, JUNE 28, 2010
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781) 251-9739
KEEP CARITAS CATHOLIC!
Boston's Catholic health care system, which dates back to
1863, is about to be sold, converted to a for-profit entity, and rapidly
secularized. Caritas Christi Health Care --- the network of six Catholic
hospitals affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston --- is being acquired by
the Steward Health Care System, a subsidiary of Cerberus Capital Management.
Despite assurances by Caritas and the Archdiocese that the
hospitals' Catholic identity will be retained for at least three years, the
Notice of Transaction filed by Caritas with the Public Charities Division of
the Attorney-General's Office on May 5th, 2010 clearly indicates that the
new owners may unilaterally terminate the Catholic identity of the hospitals
at any time for virtually any reason provided they are willing to pay just
three percent above the original purchase price, which is an additional
twenty-five million dollars.
If the Steward Health Care System finds compliance with
Catholic medical ethics to be "unlawful or materially burdensome," which is
broadly defined as anything which would "jeopardize the welfare of its
patients, employees, or the communities in which it operates," the
determination of which will be in "the sole discretion of Steward," the
system's Catholic identity could be immediately abandoned upon payment of
the termination fee.
This is an impending disaster for the Church, the
Catholic community, the Pro-Life movement and Catholics in the medical and
nursing professions!
This means that such iconic Catholic institutions as Carney
Hospital, and St. Elizabeth's Medical Center may become participants in
abortion, contraception, sterilization and passive euthanasia. Catholic and
other pro-life doctors, nurses and administrators will lose their conscience
protections. Charitable care for the poor will suffer, and Catholic
principles of social justice in employee relations, such as the Catholic
principle of the just wage, will be replaced by the capitalist law of supply
and demand.
There will be a public hearing on the future of Carney
Hospital on Thursday, July 1st, 2010 at 6 p.m. at the IBEW Hall, Local
103, at 256 Freeport Street in Dorchester. The hearing is being sponsored by
the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Attorney-General Martha
Coakley's Office. Please make every effort to attend this important public
event and oppose the sale of Caritas Christi until stronger guarantees of
its continuing Catholic identity are in place.
If you cannot attend the hearing, or wish to comment
on the other five hospitals, or on the entire Caritas system, members of the
public may file comments regarding the transaction by emailing
caritas@state.ma.us or by regular
mail to: Public Charities Division/Caritas Transaction, Office of
Attorney-General Martha Coakley, One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108.
You may also submit written testimony, before July 30th,
to the Department of Public Health, Determination of Need Program, 99
Chauncy Street, Boston. MA 02111.
Powerful corporate, financial, political, and ideological
interests are working to destroy Catholic health care in Massachusetts.
Given the culture of death which afflicts our country, we need Catholic
hospitals now more than ever. Saving Catholic health care should be the top
priority of every pro-life citizen of Massachusetts. Please join us in this
vital struggle!
(For those of you in the Merrimack Valley, there will
be a public hearing regarding the sale of Caritas in the Holy Family
Hospital service area at the Tenney Middle School, 75 Pleasant Street,
Metheun, MA at 6 p.m. on Tuesday June 29th. Once again, we urge you to
testify in person, or send written comments to the above addresses. Thank
you.)
NEWS RELEASE
FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2010
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE
(781) 251-9739
CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CALLS UPON PROVINCETOWN
TO ABANDON CONDOM DISTRIBUTION POLICY
The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today called
upon the Town of Provincetown to reverse its decision to make condoms
available to elementary school children without an age limit, and without
parental notification and consent. Following the intervention of Governor
Deval Patrick, who is seeking re-election this year, the Chairman of the
Provincetown School Committee, Peter Grosso, indicated that the policy would
likely be modified, restricting distribution to 5th grade students and
older.
The Catholic Action League called the policy "a
government sponsored, taxpayer funded assault on parental rights, religious
freedom and moral sanity."
Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle
stated: "This bureaucratic aggression against the family, intruding into
the relationship between parent and child, is more characteristic of a
totalitarian society than a democratic one. It requires Olympian arrogance
for the officials of a public school system, who are agents of the
government, to believe that they have a mandate to usurp the right of
parents to control the moral and religious upbringing of their own
children."
"This affront to the innocence of children and the
authority of parents exposes minor children to sexual experimentation, and
sends the message that sexual activity by young people is both expected and
inevitable, and the use of contraceptives is not only morally permissible
but socially responsible."
"The separation of church and state demands government
neutrality, not government hostility to religion and religious values. This
policy violates that separation by effectively telling Catholic children to
ignore the teachings of their Faith, and to disregard the moral convictions
of their parents. This policy should not be amended. It must be
abolished." ###
NEWS RELEASE
THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2010
CONTACT: C. J. DOYLE (781) 251-9739
CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CALLS UPON ARCHDIOCESE TO HALT
SALE OF CARITAS CHRISTI
The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today
called upon Sean Cardinal O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, to halt the sale of
Caritas Christi Health Care --- the network of six Catholic hospitals affiliated
with the Archdiocese of Boston --- to the Steward Health Care System, a
subsidiary of Cerberus Capital Management, citing concerns over the Catholic
identity of the hospitals.
Steward, which will convert Caritas to a
for-profit entity, has promised not to sell the system or close any hospitals
for three years, and during that time abide by the Ethical and Religious
Directives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in the
administration of the hospitals. A buy-out clause however, allows Steward, for
the payment of 25 million dollars, to terminate the Catholic identity of the
system if it finds compliance with Catholic medical ethics to be " unlawful or
materially burdensome," which is broadly defined as anything which would
"jeopardize the welfare of its patients, employees, or the communities it
serves." What constitutes "materially burdensome" will be within the sole
determination of the Steward Health Care System.
The Catholic Action League called the supposed
guarantees for the system's Catholic identity "manifestly inadequate, defective
in substance, and utterly lacking in credibility."
Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J
Doyle stated: "This impending transfer of ownership means that the future of 150
years of Catholic health care in Boston will be within the discretionary
authority of a non-Catholic, for profit, out of state, capitalist corporation.
It is now clear that Caritas Christi will be rapidly secularized, that such
iconic Catholic institutions as Carney Hospital and St. Elizabeth's Medical
Center will no longer defend the culture of life, (and may well be compromised
by the culture of death) and Catholic and other pro-life doctors, nurses, and
administrators will lose their conscience protections."
"This comes just four years after Catholic
Charities withdrew from adoption services in Greater Boston. Beautiful and
historic churches are being closed, the parish based Catholic school system is
being effectively downsized into 'consolidated', lay-governed regional
academies, and now the Catholic hospital system, which dates back to 1863, is
about to be abandoned. A two hundred year legacy of Catholicism in Boston, as
reflected in an institutional infrastructure, is being systematically dismantled
and improvidently discarded. The time has come for the Catholics of Boston to
demand that their patrimony, built by the sweat of immigrants, be preserved for
future generations."
TESTIMONY OF C. J. DOYLE
AT THE PUBLIC HEARING HELD BY ATTORNEY GENERAL
MARTHA COAKLEY AND THE MASSACHUSETTS
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
ON THE SALE OF CARITAS CHRISTI HEALTH CARE
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2010
BRIGHTON HIGH SCHOOL, BRIGHTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Madame Attorney General, and representatives of
the Department of Public Health: My name is C. J. Doyle and I am
the Executive Director of the Catholic Action League of
Massachusetts.
Catholic health care in Greater
Boston is now 147 years old. Catholic medical institutions have
become a long established and well respected part of the fabric of
our communities, and have compiled an outstanding record not only in
the practice of medicine, but in charitable care for the poor, and
in social justice towards their employees.
Our concern is with the
continuing Catholic identity of Caritas Christi Health Care under
the conditions of this transfer of ownership. The potential loss of
the system's Catholic identity would deprive the Catholic community
of authentically Catholic health care facilities where Catholic
medical ethics are upheld --- including protections for the sanctity
and dignity of innocent human life from conception to natural
death. It would imperil the conscience rights of Catholic and other
pro-life doctors, nurses and hospital administrators. It could also
adversely affect medical care for those in need who may be
uninsured, or underinsured, and could jeopardize pastoral care for
patients and staff. Finally, it would replace Catholic social
doctrine, such as the concept of the just wage and the family wage,
with the free market law of supply and demand in labor relations.
The Executed Stewardship
Agreement of April 30th between Cardinal O'Malley and the Steward
Healthcare System, contains elaborate provisions purportedly
intended to preserve the Catholic identity of Caritas under its new
owners, including arrangements for ethics committees and hospital
ethicists.
The Notice of Transaction
however, filed by Caritas Christi with the Division of Public
Charities of the Attorney General's Office on May 5th, is much more
problematic. On Page Nine, in Article VI, ironically entitled
Preservation of Catholic Identity, Steward is permitted, for the
payment of a penalty, to terminate the Stewardship Agreement if
compliance with the Ethical and Religious Directives of the U. S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops would be "unlawful or materially
burdensome to Steward or any of the hospitals." Materially
burdensome is broadly defined as anything which would "jeopardize
the welfare of the patients or employees of the hospitals, or the
communities in which they operate." Determining what is materially
burdensome would be in "the sole discretion of Steward."
This means that the future of
nearly a century and a half of Catholic health care in Greater
Boston will be in the discretionary authority of a secular,
non-Catholic, for-profit, out of state, capitalist corporation. For
those of us concerned with Catholic identity, this is thin gruel
indeed!
Until the guarantees for the
future Catholic identity of Caritas become more concrete, and less
ethereal, we must oppose the transfer of ownership of Caritas
Christi Health Care to the Steward Healthcare System.
Finally, I wish to endorse the
skepticism, more eloquently expressed by others, of the likelihood
of a long term commitment to the care of the indigent from a
for-profit health care corporation.
NEWS RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2010
CONTACT: C.J. DOYLE (781) 251-9739
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS PROHIBIT REMOVAL OF PRO-ABORTION POLITICIANS
The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today
criticized the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus for prohibiting state
and local jurisdictions in the Order from suspending the membership of
candidates and elected officials who support abortion and same gender marriage.
At its annual state convention last weekend, the Massachusetts Knights of
Columbus refused to take action on a resolution authored by Former District
Deputy Joseph B. Craven Jr. urging the State Deputy to suspend such members,
citing a letter from Supreme Advocate and General Counsel John A. Marrella.
Marrella stated: "... a subordinate council may
not impose fraternal discipline with respect to a public figure's official
actions on matters pertaining to faith and morals. Rather, any such discipline
must be made by or at the direction of the Supreme Board of Directors, which
will consider the prudence of addressing the conduct of the public figure in
light of the overall good of the Order."
In the thirty-seven years since Roe v. Wade,
the Supreme Board of Directors has never, to public knowledge, removed a single
pro-abortion political figure from the Knights of Columbus. In Massachusetts, a
majority of Knights serving in the Legislature voted in 2007 against a
constitutional amendment restoring traditional marriage, and voted in 2005 for a
law which compels Catholic hospitals to distribute the so-called morning after
pill to rape victims.
The Catholic Action League called Marrella's
letter "a shocking abdication of responsibility, and a shameful surrender to the
culture of death."
Catholic Action League Executive Director C.J.
Doyle stated: "This letter effectively kills any grassroots initiative within
the Knights to address the scandal of pro-abortion pols in the Order. It is now
clear that the Knights of Columbus, for the foreseeable future, will continue to
harbor in its ranks public officials who oppose Catholic morality, and who
believe that the killing of 1.3 million pre-born children each year ought to
remain legal in the United States."
"Apparently, for the national leadership of the
Knights of Columbus, the protection of its insurance business, tax exempt
status, and its ratings from Standard and Poors is more important than defending
the right to life. Despite its pretensions to the contrary, the Knights of
Columbus has now made its peace with legal abortion in America."
A copy of the letter
from Supreme Advocate John A. Marrella to State Deputy William F. Donovan
follows.
April 15, 2010
Mr. William F. Donovan
State Deputy
Worthy State Deputy and Dear Brother Donovan:
You have asked our opinion with respect to a
proposed resolution calling on the State Deputy to summarily suspend certain
public figures who are members of the Knights of Columbus and who have
publicly taken positions contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church.
For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the proposed resolution
would be imprudent and contrary to the policy of the Knights of Columbus
Supreme Council.
We recognize that some of our members who are
public figures may use their public position to advocate or support policy
positions that are contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church on
matters of faith and morals. We further recognize that such conduct may
cause confusion in that, among other things, it contradicts the Catholic
identity and mission of the Order. We also recognize that such conduct can
be the source of internal dissension within councils and among members.
We understand that some subordinate councils
have the impulse to address real or perceived scandal caused by members who
are public figures. Because of the public stature of such members, however,
decisions to summarily suspend the member necessarily affect the entire
Order. For this reason, a subordinate council may not impose fraternal
discipline with respect to a public figure's official actions on matters
pertaining to faith and morals. Rather, any such discipline must be made by
or at the direction of the Supreme Board of Directors, which will consider
the prudence of addressing the conduct of the public figure in light of the
overall good of the Order.
The reason for this is straightforward. Any
action by a state council likely will be understood by the public as an
action of the Supreme Council on behalf of the entire Order. Of course,
subordinate councils, including state councils, do no have the authority to
speak on behalf of the entire Order with respect to such matters. To the
extent that any subordinate council addresses the public acts of particular
public figures, they may do so only at the express direction of and in
concert with the Supreme Board of Directors, only in the rarest of
circumstances, and only after careful consideration of all possible
ramifications relating to the good of the Order.
Finally, the Order must be sensitive to the
role of the bishops, with whom we stand in solidarity. If the public
figure's bishop has not excommunicated him for his public positions on
issues relating to matters of faith and morals, it would be highly
inappropriate for the Knights of Columbus to do so.
We thank you for bringing this important
matter to our attention. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you wish to
discuss this matter further.
Sincerely and fraternally,
John A. Marrella
Supreme Advocate and General Counsel
NEWS RELEASE
THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2010
CONTACT: C.J. DOYLE, (781) 251-9739
CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CALLS UPON ARCHDIOCESE TO SUPPORT DECISION OF ST.
PAUL'S SCHOOL
The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today
called upon the Archdiocese of Boston to vigorously defend the decision of Saint
Paul's Elementary School in Hingham to refuse admission to the child of a
lesbian couple.
The Catholic Action League called the decision
"entirely appropriate, warranted and necessary."
Catholic Action League Executive Director C.J.
Doyle made the following comment: "A student is admitted to a parochial school
with the expectation that the parents will cooperate in imparting Catholic
values, a condition which clearly does not obtain in this case. The real
question here is why two people who radically repudiate the moral teachings of
Catholicism would want their child educated in a Catholic school. It would seem
that they are either looking for an excuse to litigate, or an opportunity to
embarrass the Church in the court of public opinion."
"The religious freedom rights guaranteed by the
Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution and by
Article II of the Declaration of Rights of the Massachusetts Constitution
safeguard the right of church affiliated institutions to preserve their
religious character, integrity and identity. The admission of a child of a
lesbian couple to a Catholic school would only result in self-censorship, and de
facto acceptance of same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption. The Archdiocese
must support Saint Paul's."
May 10, 2010
Letters to the Editor
The Anchor
887 Highland Avenue
Fall River, MA 02720
To the Editor:
A recent Anchor story on Massachusetts health care reform inaccurately
characterized the partisan group Catholic Democrats as a pro-life organization
("Abortions decrease under Mass. health care reform," 4/9/2010).
Catholic Democrats do not support legal protection for human life from
conception to natural death, do not support the overturning of Roe v. Wade,
and do not support Humanae Vitae.
As an organization, Catholic Democrats is a pro-abortion front group whose
cynical purpose is to spread disinformation about the mainstream pro-life
movement by asserting that pro-life opposition to pro-abortion politicians is
motivated by some partisan Republican agenda. Its stock in trade is intellectual
dishonesty.
Faithful Catholics should view Catholic Democrats as having the same
credibility as Frances Kissling's Catholics for Free Choice.
Sincerely,
C. J. Doyle
Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
April 30, 2010
Letters
Boston Herald
P.O. Box 55843
Boston, MA 02205-5843
To the Editor,
Margery Eagan didn't let the facts get in the way
of a good argument when she included in her column a story that had already been
exposed as a fraud (ABUSE TOO HEAVY A CROSS TO BEAR, 4/25/2010).
Contrary to Eagan's inaccurate assertion, the
Pope's former Vicar General in Germany was not pressured into defending the Holy
Father, and stands by his original story that he, not the Pope, made key
personnel decisions in the Munich Archdiocese.
Bernie McDaid's plan to insult Catholics by
bringing the symbolism of the Protestant Reformation into St. Peter's Square
tells us all we need to know about the victims groups criticizing the Catholic
Church. As many Catholics have long suspected, these groups, for all their talk
of healing and accountability, seem more interested in affronting, at every
opportunity, the religious sensibilities of faithful Catholics.
There is one aspect of Martin Luther's life
however, which Eagan and McDaid may want to imitate. Luther, at least, had the
integrity to leave.
Sincerely,
Joseph B. Craven, Jr
Executive Secretary
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
PRESS RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2010
CONTACT: C.J. DOYLE, (617) 524-6309,
info@catholicactionleague.org
CATHOLIC ACTION LEAGUE CALLS
FOR APOLOGY FROM PRIEST WHO SLANDERED POPE BENEDICT
The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today called for
an apology from the Reverend James J. Scahill, Pastor of St. Michael's
Church in East Longmeadow, for suggesting Pope Benedict XVI has lied in the
sexual abuse scandal and ought to resign. Scahill, a priest of the Diocese
of Springfield, made the charge during his Sunday homily, and repeated it in
numerous interviews with both local and national media.
The Catholic Action League called Scahill's remarks "a gross
and defamatory injustice to the Holy Father."
Catholic Action League Executive Director C.J. Doyle stated:
"It is a serious matter when a priest suggests that the Vicar of Christ is a
liar. Prudence and justice would demand that he had unassailable
facts and irrefutable evidence to substantiate his charge. Sadly, James
Scahill has neither."
"Media critics of the Pope have resorted to innuendo,
distortions, reckless assertions, sweeping generalizations, and tendentious
misinterpretations. Ignored in all of this is the leadership which the Pope
has demonstrated in confronting the sexual abuse issue, which includes his
removal of Father Maciel, head of one of the most powerful religious orders
in the Church, the Legionaries of Christ."
"A Catholic priest ought to be cognizant of the Eighth
Commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. It
requires no courage to join a lynch mob. Father Scahill ought to be ashamed
of himself."
April 13, 2010
Letters to the Editor
The Boston Globe
P.O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819
To the Editor:
In his criticism of Pope Benedict XVI, James
Carroll offered a revisionist version of Catholic history which contained
multiple and manifest inaccuracies (Rescue Catholicism from Vatican, 4/5/2010).
As he has done before, Carroll continues to
erroneously assert that the doctrine of papal infallibility was proclaimed as a
sort of compensation for the loss of the Pope's temporal power. This
unsupportable contention is contradicted by the sequence of events. Pope Pius IX
was the Sovereign of the Papal States on July 18, 1870 when the Dogmatic
Constitution on infallibility was passed by the First Vatican Council. Two
months later, on September 20,1870, Rome was seized by the forces of the Kingdom
of Italy, following the unexpected evacuation of the city's French garrison
after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War.
Carroll went on to claim that late nineteenth
century popes centralized church government by signing concordats with various
states, and by establishing Roman educational institutions for priests. In these
matters, Carroll errs by several centuries. The Concordat of Worms with the Holy
Roman Empire was signed in 1122, and Concordats with France and Scotland were
signed in 1516 and 1535 respectively. Roman national seminaries for priests
began with the German College in 1552. A half dozen others were products of the
Counter-Reformation in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Incredibly, Carroll argued that the Second
Vatican Council was called to make the pope a "first among equals". This claim
is refuted by the council's own teachings. Lumen Gentium states that "In
virtue of his office, that is as Vicar of Christ and Pastor of the whole Church,
the Roman Pontiff has full, supreme and universal power over the Church."
Carroll treats history not as an objective
reality obliging a truthful presentation, but as malleable material which may be
subjectively rearranged for ideological purposes. His assertions are not to be
trusted.
Sincerely,
C.J. Doyle
Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
March 31, 2010
Letters to the Editor
Boston Herald
P.O. Box 55843
Boston, MA 02205-5843
To the Editor:
Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week, the
most solemn time of the liturgical year for Catholics. The Boston Herald's
gift to Catholics on Palm Sunday was a venomous diatribe by a shrill bigot
culminating in the insolent demand that our Holy Father resign and give himself
up for prosecution (He's got to go! 3/28/2010).
The Herald should be ashamed of itself for
publishing such vitriol. As for Margery Eagan, it is time to end her twenty year
campaign of inciting contempt for Catholicism. Eagan should resign.
Sincerely,
C. J. Doyle
Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
January 31, 2010
Letters to the Editor
The Patriot Ledger
400 Crown Colony Drive
Post Office Box 699159
Quincy, MA 02269-9159
To the Editor:
The recent Patriot Ledger story on Voice
of the Faithful referred to that organization's so-called reform mission
("Faithful carry on after the Crisis," 1/22/2010).
The Catholic conception of reform has always
entailed interior conversion, that is, turning away from the temptations of the
culture to practice the personal pursuit of holiness. Voice of the Faithful
however, wants the Church to conform to the culture. VOTF provides platforms for
dissidents, refuses to affirm Catholic morality, and advocates "structural
change" in the institutional Church.
Given its secular values, sterile spirituality,
and aging demographics, Voice of the Faithful might more accurately be
characterized as an anti-reform movement on the margins of the Catholic Church.
Sincerely,
C. J. Doyle
Executive Director
The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
January 25, 2010
Letters to the Editor
The Pilot
66 Brooks Drive
Braintree, MA 02184-3839
To the Editor:
While pro-life Catholics may justly celebrate the defeat of a pro-abortion
extremist in the special U.S. Senate election held on January 19th, The Pilot
story on Scott Browns' victory conveyed the impression that I believe
Senator-elect Brown is in accord with Church teaching on the sanctity of
innocent human life. I don't and he isn't ("Many Catholics react favorably to
Browns' election," 1/22/10).
Brown supports Roe v. Wade, and as a legislator has voted for buffer
zones, emergency contraception and Commonwealth Care, which includes state
funding of abortions, sterilizations and birth control. The best we can expect
from Senator Brown is that he will support restrictions on abortion, limitations
on abortion funding, and conscience clause protections.
The longstanding and bipartisan tradition in Massachusetts politics however, is
for those seeking office to accept the votes, endorsements and contributions of
social conservatives during an election, and then move leftward after the
election.
In Scott Brown's case, he didn't wait for election day to tell the Boston
Herald that he now considers same-sex marriage in the Commonwealth to be
"settled law."
Sincerely,
C.J. Doyle
Executive Director
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts
NEWS RELEASE
SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2010
CONTACT: C.J. DOYLE (617) 524-6309
COAKLEY VS. THE
CONSTITUTION
The Catholic Action League of
Massachusetts today rebuked Attorney General Martha Coakley for suggesting that
pro-life religious believers should not work in hospital emergency rooms. During
an interview on the Ken Pittman Show on WBSM Radio in New Bedford, Coakley ---
the Democratic nominee in the special U.S. Senate election to succeed the late
Edward M. Kennedy --- criticized her Republican opponent for attempting to
insert a conscience clause in the state law requiring hospitals to dispense
so-called emergency contraception to rape victims. When asked about the
conscience rights of hospital personnel, Coakley, after raising the separation
of church and state, responded "You can have religious freedom, but you probably
shouldn't work in the emergency room."
The Catholic Action League called
Coakley's remark "a chilling expression of extremism, effectively endorsing
religious discrimination in the workplace."
Catholic Action League Executive
Director C.J. Doyle stated: "Martha Coakley evidently believes that anyone with
sincerely held moral and religious convictions about the sanctity of innocent
human life --- such as Catholics, Evangelicals, Orthodox Jews, Muslims, and
others --- should be excluded from the medical and nursing professions. For
pro-life religious believers, the only 'choice' Coakley is prepared to allow is
one between violating their consciences or sacrificing their jobs."
"It is no wonder that Martha Coakley
has kept such a low profile in this campaign. Her handlers obviously understand
that a candid enunciation of her far-left views would shock and offend
mainstream voters."
"The religious freedom rights
guaranteed by both the free exercise clause of the First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, and even more broadly, by the Declaration of Rights of the
Massachusetts Constitution include not only freedom of worship but the right to
act in accordance with a religiously informed conscience. This principle was
affirmed by the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth as recently as 1995
in the Desilets case, when the court ruled that the Attorney General had to
demonstrate a compelling state interest --- a substantial burden in law --- to
enforce an anti-discrimination statute against two Catholic brothers in Turner
Falls who refused to rent an apartment to an unmarried couple. That the chief
law enforcement officer of Massachusetts is unaware of this, or indifferent to
it, or opposed to it, should alarm anyone concerned with religious freedom in
America."
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