"Tussling Over Jesus" Nicholas Kristof/New York Times/ Many Catholics Support Excommunicated Nun and Hospital that Saved Pregnant Woman's Life

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/opinion/27kristof.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

"The National Catholic Reporter newspaper put it best: “Just days before Christians celebrated Christmas, Jesus got evicted.”
"The thought that keeps nagging at me is this: If you look at Bishop Olmsted and Sister Margaret as the protagonists in this battle, one of them truly seems to me to have emulated the life of Jesus. And it’s not the bishop, who has spent much of his adult life as a Vatican bureaucrat climbing the career ladder. It’s Sister Margaret, who like so many nuns has toiled for decades on behalf of the neediest and sickest among us...."
"Then along comes Bishop Olmsted to excommunicate the Christ-like figure in our story. If Jesus were around today, he might sue the bishop for defamation."....
...."Yet in this battle, it’s fascinating how much support St. Joseph’s Hospital has had and how firmly it has pushed back — in effect, pounding 95 theses on the bishop’s door. The hospital backed up Sister Margaret, and it rejected the bishop’s demand that it never again terminate a pregnancy to save the life of a mother.
Anne Rice, the author and a commentator on Catholicism, sees a potential turning point. “St. Joseph’s refusal to knuckle under to the bishop is huge,” she told me, adding: “Maybe rank-and-file Catholics are finally talking back to a hierarchy that long ago deserted them.”

Bridget Mary's Reflection:
Amen to Sister Margaret and St. Joseph's Hospital for their compassionate stance that saved the life of a pregnant woman. The -take away- message for Bishop Olmsted and the hierarchy is -- if your moral theology does not reflect the compassion of Jesus Christ and you persist in employing excommunication against nuns like Sr. Margaret and institutions like St. Joseph's Hospital, you will further alienate Catholics who follow their consciences in their moral decision-making . The male hierarchy are simply undermining their own authority.
The bottom line is what would Jesus do? I believe he would stand with Sr. Margaret and St. Joseph's team in opting to save the life they could save- the pregnant woman's. All of us need to ask ourselves if bishops intervene in such cases in Catholic hospitals in the future, will pregnant women feel safe? Will Catholic hospitals disobey a bishop who mandates that no life-saving procedure is allowed for pregnant women in similar situations? Will Catholics support hospitals like St. Joseph? Will they refuse to support hospitals that are under the control of a male hierarchy? This is another reason we need women priests and women bishops!
Looks like Catholics may have made up their minds with the outpouring of support that St. Joseph has received from the public including prominent Catholic commentators. I wonder if the Vatican will speak up next!
Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP
http://www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org/