Pluralism, loss of identity: critical issues in Catholic health care

Trustees, administrators, and staff members must keep in mind the obligations of their Catholic institutions to bear prophetic witness to Christian principles. The Catholic health care facility presents a counterculture in a depersonalized world.     

How to approach Catholic identity in changing times. Catholic Health Association of the United States

The Catholic healthcare ministry is at a challenging moment in its history. Not only is the ministry called to continue to be authentic to its own self, but the ministry also has the opportunity to communicate the richness and universality of its values to others. In response to our members' genuine concerns, the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA) has prepared this document to support our members in the expression of their Catholic identity in new forms of healthcare service.     

Preserving Catholic identity in mergers--an ethical and Canon Law perspective

A merger or joint venture between a Catholic healthcare facility and a non-Catholic healthcare facility that provides procedures the Catholic Church believes to violate moral principles raises a number of issues to be considered by diocesan bishops. The 1983 Code of Canon Law provides bishops with guidelines to help establish the Catholicity of a Catholic hospital that has affiliated with a non-Catholic hospital. The diocesan bishop exercises his authority through a threefold ministry of teaching, sanctifying, and governing. These ministries stand as a reminder of his decision-making authority in matters that affect the spiritual state and growth of those entrusted to his care. Catholic identity, as it is presented in the Code of Canon Law, can be determined through the presence of a relationship between an institution and ecclesiastical authorities, the legal establishment of the entity, and a degree of control that the Church exercises over the institution. When evaluating a possible merger of joint venture between a Catholic hospital and a non-Catholic hospital that is performing procedures not in accord with Catholic Church teaching, the diocesan bishop must consider what limits must be observed. The good effects of the affiliation must be intended and direct, and the harmful effects must be perceived as unintended and indirect. The difficulties in determining and protecting the identity of Catholic hospitals in possible mergers or joint ventures should not prevent facilities from considering alternative forms of corporate structures. The Code of Canon Law and the Church's ethical teachings provide guidelines to ensure these possibilities.     

Strong Catholic identity key to effective health care apostolate

Catholic health care facilities must define what it means to be human and what it means to be Catholic before confronting current moral and ethical issues.     

Catholic identity, Catholic integrity. A shared faith allows religious and laity to live out their commitments in one another's company

This article is adapted from an address to participants in the Catholic Identity Project, Fordham University, New York City, in April 1991. The project engaged leaders in a process to enable institutional ministries in higher education, health, and social services to maintain their Catholic identity. Proceedings and commentary of the symposium that was part of the project's second phase will be available in spring 1992 from Msgr. Charles J. Fahey, Third Age Center, Fordham University.