The Interview, a regular feature of The Catholic New World, is an in-depth conversation with a person whose words, actions or ideas affect today’s Catholic. It may be affirming of faith or confrontational. But it will always be stimulating.

This week, The Catholic New World talks with Father Michael Place.

Catholic health care institutions have found themselves featured on television programs and on front pages in recent weeks, but not for the service they provide to patients. Rather, several news stories have focused on what happens when a Catholic hospital joins with a secular institution. In many cases, such mergers have led to the discontinuation of some reproductive services, such as sterilizations and in vitro fertilization.

That has led some organizations to claim the church is interfering in private medical decisions. At the same time, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops is working on revisions to its guidelines making it clear that a Catholic institution may not participate in the “immediate material cooperation” with any evil act.

Catholic health care institutions are continuing a long tradition of providing services in accord with their consciences, said Father Michael Place, a Chicago priest who is now serving as president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association. The association, headquartered in St. Louis, represents more than 2,000 Catholic hospitals, health systems and other organizations.

The Catholic New World: Are there more Catholic hospitals than there used to be? Is the percentage of Catholic hospitals going up or down?

Father Michael Place: The bottom line is, there are fewer Catholic hospitals today than there were 10 years ago, because there are fewer hospitals overall. The slice of the pie—the proportion of Catholic hospitals—has not changed. This image that there’s been a massive expansion of Catholic health care is just incorrect.



TCNW: With the recent media reports about Catholic health care organizations restricting women’s access to reproductive services, do you feel this is becoming more of an issue in the public eye? Why?

FMP: There is an organized effort to restrict the ability of Catholic health care to act in accordance with its conscience and beliefs by many organizations. There was a Commonwealth talk by the president of Planned Parenthood (in October 1999) making the elimination of conscience clauses one of their top objectives for last year, and we have no indication that has changed this year. Planned Parenthood, Merger Watch, Catholics for a Free Choice, the Abortion Access project, the Women’s Law Center in California are all working from various angles to eliminate conscience clauses.

There was an unsuccessful attempt in Illinois last year to require ERs to provide abortifacient services. It’s coming from a variety of organizations with one theme.



TCNW: Do you think all these groups are working together?

FMP: I find it an intriguing coincidence that multiple organizations have almost the same media message at the same time. It’s just intriguing.



TCNW: Why is it so important that Catholic health care institutions not provide contraceptive services or some other services?

FMP: Catholic health care ministry is conducted out of a response of the mandate of Jesus to provide care for his people. The ministry reaches out to provide healing of individuals and transformation of the brokenness of society. We have an understanding of what it means to be a human being. As such, we have an obligation to honor and protect the life of the unborn just as we do to honor, protect and provide for someone at the end of life.

In the same way, we have an understanding of the meaning of human sexuality, and we can’t compromise on it, just as we can’t compromise on patient confidentiality or the dignity of workers. With moral imperatives, you can’t pick and choose and say, “on this issue, we will compromise.”



TCNW: What would you say to women who are expecting certain services, and no longer have access to them?

FMP: We have to talk about health care not just as a personal phenomenon, but also as a public and social phenomenon. In an age where delivery of health care is realigning, community hospitals and the community health boards that are responsible for the delivery of health care in the community will have to make decisions about how they can ensure the delivery of health care in the future.

When they do that, they know who the Catholic partner is, because we have usually been there, or at least nearby. ...There might be a regret that certain procedures will not be provided, but they have to do a certain calculus of what’s best for the community. And in many circumstances, we’re talking about small hospitals where the number of sterilizations would be relatively small, and that need can be addressed elsewhere without major inconvenience.



TCNW: Do you think most people understand that there are some services that a Catholic hospital, in good conscience, simply cannot provide?

FMP: I think people understand the Catholic church has moral commitments as to what it can provide. I think what Merger Watch and the other groups are doing is trying to engender a national discussion on this, and we want to be part of that.

Historically, we have lived with an ambivalence. We as a nation recognize the value of faith-based health care, and we have said that faith-based institutions should not be forced to violate their consciences. We also have a secular ethic that gives a high value to individual choice, and we have lived with that tension.

If you ask the question one way, you get one answer, and if you ask the question another way, you get a different answer. Merger Watch and Planned Parenthood are trying to be the ones asking the question.