Catholic Hospital Notes(under construction) Above the law?Lawyers for the archdiocese in Boston tried to prevent the government from trying Priests for pedophilia by saying that the separation of church and state clause in the first amendment prohibited civil courts from deciding how the church should supervise priests. So they believe that their authority is above the law? The Superior Court ruled that that would have granted the church "unqualified immunity from secular legal redress." When a Catholic hospital destroys an incident report containing evidence of a felony isn't it operating as though it has "unqualified immunity from secular legal redress" as well? Such insulation did not promote good behavior among priests and it is not promoting good behavior among medical professionals. The fallout for the Catholic hospitals will be the same as it has been for the church. The bad PR, the disastrous community relations and the eventual lawsuits will seriously cripple their network. ------- In 2001 San Francisco-based Catholic Healthcare West and Mercy Healthcare Sacramento were found guilty in court for lying on Medicare and Medi-Cal claims. A whistle blower said he was told on several occasions "not to communicate with anyone else, either in writing or orally, concerning compliance or Medicare billing issues." That is denied by them, but it is consistent with how other information is known to be handled in their hospital network. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hirst said, "The evidence showed a deliberate choice, made at the highest levels, not to disclose" Medicare overpayments. -------- The orders and nuns who are strongest tend to be those who are the least liberal. (under construction) |
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