Backwards Church

Imagine this scenario: You are down on your luck, you've lost your job and you barely have money to eat. So you decide to go to your local food bank and ask for some help. They are more than happy to help you with some vegetables, meats, milk and cereals. Great right?! There's just one catch. You have to sign an affidavit stating that none of your family members are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

 What?!! I am sure you're asking yourself the same question I did when I heard this. Isn't that discrimination? The answer is, yes. However according to Catholic Charities  it isn't. This is exactly what they were doing in Springfield, Illinois. That is until the State of Illinois got wind of it. You see when you open a non-profit organization like a food bank you qualify to get government grants. Which are paid by you and I. The tax payer.Under state guidelines you CAN NOT discriminate based on gender,religion or anything else for that matter! The state of Illinois has now terminated its grant to Catholic Charities.

So you would think the church would act Christ-Like, right?! Nope. They have the audacity to sue the State. Catholic Charities are seeking a declaratory judgement that "religious principles" supersedes state anti-discrimination laws. So now they think they're above the law. Catholic Charities, may I refer you to Mathew 22:21 which reads in full "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. " It is a statement made by Jesus when he was asked if it was lawful for Jews to pay taxes to Caesar. In other words follow the law of the land.

Now, whether you agree with certain people's lifestyle or not it is irrelevant. This is a matter of helping out a fellow human being that is down on their luck! It's ironic that an organization that claims to follow the teachings of Christ is judging and singling out a group of people based on their sexual orientation. From what I remember Jesus did not hang out with "perfect people" He hung out with tax collectors and prostitutes! He forgave a thief while hanging on the cross. Jesus himself said, "...For I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Mathew 9: 10-13)

I can not for the life of me comprehend how an organization let alone a religion can go so wrong! If there is one thing I detest is people judging other people specially when it's a religious organization! I feel I have to continue quoting from the Bible because clearly they have forgotten some very important "Religious principles" . For example when Jesus said, "Judge not that ye be not judged. For what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged..." Did we forget that?!

Doesn't the Catholic church have bigger things to worry about like sex scandals with their priests? Clearly this church is stuck a few centuries in the past. I seriously doubt that this lawsuit will be won by Catholic Charities. I am glad the State of Illinois is not allowing this to continue. I commend them for that. Bottom line, I hope this stupid lawsuit is thrown out and this organization gets hit with severe penalties. This is the opposite of what a religious organization should be teaching they should be ashamed! That's my two cents tell me what you think.

Christian And Christ Like There is A Difference!

Back in November 2009 a 20 year old woman was admited into St. Joseph's hospital in Phoenix, AZ. The woman was suffering from Pulmunary Hypertension and her condition was being worsened by her pregnancy to the point where her death was imminent. Due to the severity of the situation doctors decided to end the pregnanacy in order to save the woman's life. Sounds like the right thing to do right? Well, not according to the Catholic Church.

You see St. Joseph's is an affiliate of the Roman Catholic Church which means that in order to maintain that affiliation the hospital has to agree to certain bioethics that the church has, which are based on the Catholic teachings. Linda Hunt, St. Joseph's CEO stated, “Consistent with our values of dignity and justice, if we are presented with a situation in which a pregnancy threatens a woman’s life, our first priority is to save both patients. If that is not possible we will always save the life we can save, and that is what we did in this case, We continue to stand by the decision, which was made in collaboration with the patient, her family, her caregivers, and our Ethics Committee. Morally, ethically, and legally we simply cannot stand by and let someone die whose life we might be able to save.”

However Bishop Thomas Olmstead, the head of the Phoenix Diocese sees it his way, "An unborn child is not a disease," Olmstead said in response to the hospital's statement. "While medical professionals should certainly try to save a pregnant mother's life, the means by which they do it can never be by directly killing her unborn child. The end does not justify the means and if a Catholic formally cooperates in the procurement of an abortion, they are automatically excommunicated by that action."



In a letter written last month to the president of Catholic Healthcare West, the parent company of St. Joseph's Hospital, Olmstead said he wanted more oversight of the hospital to make sure it complies with Catholic healthcare. He wants acknowledgment that he was right and the hospital was wrong in its interpretation of the church's directive on "indirect abortions." "There cannot be a tie in this debate," Olmsted wrote. "Until this point in time, you have not acknowledged my authority to settle this question."

So what does St. Joseph's hospital get for trying to do the right thing? The Bishop has stripped the hospital of it's Catholic affiliation. Which means the hospital is not allowed to hold mass and Communion wafers that Catholics believe to be the body of Christ would also be removed from the site.

So based on the last quote by the Bishop is this really about whether the proper actions were taken by St. Joseph's or is more about "I'm right, your wrong"? Here is where my opinion comes in. First and foremost Bishop Thomas Olmstead and  the Catholic church or any church for that matter should stay out of healthcare! Unless the Bishop has an M.D. (He doesn't) I don't want him telling any hospital or doctor how to treat patients. Seriously, doesn't the Catholic Church have bigger internal problems to deal with?!

So now because of the Bishop's apparent power trip the families of the patients admitted there will not be able to find the spiritual guidence and comfort in their most desperate of times?! Real Christian thing to do there Catholic church! Apparently this Bishop has forgotten the difference between being "Christian" and "Christ Like", There is a difference!