Nun's excommunication lifted in Phoenix hospital abortion case?
December 13, 2011
A nun who was excommunicated for authorizing an abortion at a hospital in Phoenix has been reinstated, the hospital has announced.
St. Joseph’s Hospital told the Catholic News Service that Sister Margaret McBride "met the requirements for reinstatement with the church and she is no longer excommunicated.” The hospital’s statement did not provide details about the process, and the Phoenix diocese has not made a public comment.
Bishop Thomas Olmsted warned that Sister McBride had incurred the penalty of automatic excommunication when she approved an abortion for a woman whose doctors said that she could die if the pregnancy continued because of severe hypertension. Later, after hospital officials failed to satisfy his requests for assurance that the institution would abide by Catholic moral teaching, Bishop Olmsted announced that St. Joseph’s Hospital and its parent corporation, Catholic Healthcare West, could no longer be considered Catholic health-care institutions.
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Further information:
- Mercy nun at hospital that allowed abortion 'no longer excommunicated' (CNS)
- Bishop strips Phoenix hospital of 'Catholic' designation (CWN 12/21/10)
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Posted by: debjmj9652 -
Dec. 13, 2011 5:49 PM ET USA
How can it be said that we have "Catholic" hospitals when many of the doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals do not practice or believe in the churches moral teaching? There are some wonderful pro-life physicians, nurses, etc. (I seek them out and thank God for them), but, at this time, they are in the minority. Catholic Healthcare West; give me a break!
