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Pro-Abortion Contributions Revealed Among Boston Catholic Hospital Board Members

By Kathleen Gilbert

BRAINTREE, Massachusetts, June 18, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The scandal surrounding Boston archdiocese hospitals' joint distribution of health insurance that includes coverage for abortion deepened yesterday as a local Catholic group revealed the names of five out of nine hospital board members who have contributed heavily to pro-abortion politicians.

Catholics in recent months have expressed outrage over the joint venture between the Catholic Caritas Christi hospitals and the Centene Corporation to overtake the state subsidized health program, which requires coverage for abortion, sterilization, and contraception. The two entities, under the name CeltiCare, will begin managing the program July 1.

The Catholic Action League released a statement Wednesday on the Caritas Christi board members, with information gleaned from the Federal Election Commission and the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. The statement revealed that:

- Caritas Chairman James J. Karam: contributed over $19,000 combined to the campaigns of President Barrack Obama; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; US Senator John Kerry; Governor Deval Patrick; former Vice President Al Gore; Congressmen Barney Frank and Jim McGovern; former Lt. Governor Kerry Murphy-Healey; former Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly and State Senator Joan Menard.

- Board member Joseph H. Feitelberg, Area Chair for the Order of Malta: contributed over $8,000 among the campaigns of John Kerry; Deval Patrick; Kerry Murphy-Healey; and Congressmen Barney Frank, Patrick Kennedy and Jim McGovern.

- Board member Neil F. Finnegan contributed over $19,000 among the campaigns of Vice President Joe Biden; US Senators Christopher Dodd, Edward Kennedy and John Kerry; Congressmen Michael Capuano, Patrick Kennedy and Edward Markey; Boston Mayor Thomas Menino; and former State Treasurer Shannon O’Brien.

- Board member John H. Garvey, Dean of Boston College Law School: $1,750 contribution to John Kerry

- Board member Ruben J. King-Shaw Jr.: $10,000 contribution to Barack Obama

"It makes sad reading from these guys who are directors of a Catholic hospital chain," John O'Gorman of the Catholic Action League told LifeSiteNews.com today.

“This problem at Caritas goes to the very top," commented Shaun Kenney, executive director of American Life League, in a press release concerening the contributions. 

"We have clearly seen that the majority of the Caritas Board of Governors supports abortion access, so why should we be surprised they’re allowing it in Caritas?”

A press release from the Boston Archdiocese last week said that Caritas Christi hospitals are in "active discussions with Celtic Group and CeltiCare with a view to making acceptable modifications to their arrangement." In the same statement, Caritas Christi president Ralph de la Torre said a patient seeking procedures contrary to Catholic teaching will be told that "the hospital does not perform them" and that "the patient must turn to his or her insurer for further guidance."

Catholics leading the charge against the Celticare venture were not comforted by the news. 

"When the patient 'turns to his or her insurance company,' they are 'turning' to the 'HMO' which the Cardinal and Caritas are co-owners, Celtic Care," wrote Catholic commentator Carol McKinley. "Therefore, the Cardinal & Caritas are providing these services.

"With the exception of removing family planning, abortion, sterilization, embryonic stem cell research and other moral evils covered under the HMO the Cardinal has an ownership interest in, there is no conceivable modification to the arrangement that could ever be in compliance with Catholic moral teaching."

Judie Brown, president of American Life League, said on Friday that the archdiocese's latest statement "raises even more questions." While the archdiocese's admission that the agreement requires modification is "a positive step," said Brown, it is "certainly not acceptable as a final answer."

“What is disconcerting is that Cardinal O’Malley and the Boston archdiocese have thus far failed to clearly explain how abortion and ‘family planning services’ will not occur in Catholic healthcare facilities," said Brown. "The terms of CeltiCare’s contract with the state government specifically require coverage for abortions and other ‘reproductive health’ services.

"How then could Caritas Christi – which owns 49 percent of the for-profit CeltiCare – justify its involvement and direct connection with this business while adhering to the Catholic Church’s unequivocal teachings on abortion, contraception and sterilization?

“Even if patients seeking abortions or contraception will be outsourced to a third-party referral service, this does not remove the archdiocese’s culpability for involvement in procedures that violate the Church’s fundamental moral teachings," said Brown.

To Mr. de la Torre's statement that Caritas Christi patients seeking abortion will "turn to his or her insurance for further guidance," Brown responded: “Incrementally separating the Boston archdiocese from committing an abortion or from the provision of contraception, sterilization and other such ‘services’ does not negate the fact that, through this agreement, Catholic hospitals will ultimately be referring mothers to abortion and/or contraception facilities such as Planned Parenthood, if the deal between Caritas Christi and CeltiCare remains as it is now written. 

“[Boston] Cardinal [Sean] O’Malley can stop this today with one word," said Brown. "We beg Cardinal O’Malley and the Boston archdiocese to prevent yet another scandal by providing a clear defense of Catholic moral teaching, rather than a pact driven far more by financial interests than fidelity to the Catholic faith.”

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Boston Archdiocese Reaffirms Hospitals' Commitment to Catholic Morals, ALL Responds http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09061105.html

Catholics Up in Arms over Boston Catholic Hospitals Abortion Coverage, Archdiocese Now Says Matter "Under Review" http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09061005.html

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