"St. Joseph’s Hospital: A Phoenix in the Desert" by Jamie Manson/NCR Commentary/We are the Body of Christ

St. Joseph’s Hospital: A phoenix in the desert
By Jamie L Manson
Created Jan 04, 2011
by Jamie L Manson [1] on Jan. 04, 2011


http://ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/st-joseph%E2%80%99s-hospital-phoenix-desert

..."Because a mother of four had her life saved under harrowing circumstances, the sacramental presence of Jesus was forced to evacuate a Catholic hospital in the Valley of the Sun. It’s a sad loss, really, since the body of Christ dwelt peacefully at St. Joseph’s for over 115 years..."
..."Bishop Thomas Olmsted, the hierarch who made the decision to pull the Eucharist from the chapel at St. Joseph’s Hospital, has been called “ ‘a man of the rules and a company man’ who puts the institutional church ahead of people,” according to an NCR report early last summer.
But one wonders whose rules he was playing by when he chose to rip the Catholic designation from this hospital founded by the Sisters of Mercy. "
"If anyone doubts that misogyny played a role in this case, one need only recall that Olmsted is the product of a Vatican that, in March 2009, defended a Brazilian archbishop who excommunicated the mother of a 9-year-old girl who received an abortion after being raped by her stepfather. The father faced no ecclesiastical punishment. "
But in the midst of this darkness, there is an unexpected beam of hope. The response of the staff of St. Joseph’s has demonstrated as much moral courage as it has deep theological truth. Not only have they refused to allow the hierarchy to use the Eucharist to bully them into submission, they have reaffirmed the holiness of their daily work. “St. Joseph’s will continue through our words and deeds to carry out the healing ministry of Jesus,” said Linda Hunt, president of St. Joseph’s Hospital. “Our operations, policies and procedures will not change.”
..."But now institutions are reaching a breaking point. Those who once trembled in fear when the hierarchy wielded its power now tremble in holy anger.
Though St. Joseph’s can no longer call itself Catholic, it heralds a new vision of church. .."
"Though they will be denied the opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist, the Eucharist will rise out of St. Joseph’s every time the sick are healed, the frightened are comforted, the lonely are visited, the weak are fed, and vigil is kept over the dying. "


Bridget Mary's Reflection:

Jamie Manson's analysis of the consequences of Bishop Olmsted's decision to remove the designation of Catholic- including the Eucharist from from St. Joseph's Chapel- is excellent. Indeed, St. Joseph's response heralds a new understanding of Catholicism emerging from the heart of the church. In my view, St. Joseph's Hospital is truly a "Catholic" hospital we can be proud of and one which St. Joseph would affirm if he walked the earth today. Don't you think that St. Joseph, who saved Mary's life, would save a pregnant woman's life at risk in similar circumstances as the Phoenix mother today? Don't you think that Christ's sacramental presence is celebrated in the care for the sick, the Body of Christ, among us every day as Jamie articulated? We, the Body of Christ, share the Body of Christ with the Body of Christ in all our thoughts, words and actions-- this is what it means to be a sacramental church we can proud of and one where, no matter where we are- we, the Body of Christ, can live passionately every day of our lives. And no bishop or pope has the power to control God's presence among us, thanks be to God!
Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/