962,467 Pieces of Silver

On the 25th of March, 2010, Bishop Robert C. Morlino wrote, in the Diocese of Madison Catholic Herald, 

I cannot pass over the actions of the Catholic Health Association...who said , quite publicly, that what the Bishops have taught is false.  ...So we had a trade organization--The Catholic Health Association--that calls itself "Catholic" ...saying "Sorry bishops you got it wrong; here is the teaching of the Church."

Carol Keehan, the head of the CHA was i touch with the Obama Administration before the so called "compromise" was floated out their on a sea of administration dissimulation and double talk.  Keehan an alleged a modern  Religious Sister was courted by the White House and by the High Priestess of Anti-Catholicism Kathleen Sebelius prior to the announcement, and Keehan praised the compromise before the announcement of the "compromise" was made public.  It's notable, however, that neither the White House nor Sebelius consulted with the Bishops. 

CHA is not an outreach of the Bishops, it has no Episcopal oversight, and has never been credentialed as a Catholic Organization.  Rather, it's a association of "Catholic" care providers notable for their loose or non existent adherence to Catholic Principles in health care.  It is not a ministry of the Church.  Ministries of the Church, pretty much by definition, are extensions of the ministries of the Bishops, and CHA ain't!  It's noteworthy that the most recent hospital to be declared non-catholic for abortion practices was a member of, represented by and defended by CHA. 

CHA, under Keehan, was instrumental in muddying the waters during the debate about Obama Care.  She was a key lobbyist for it.  Keehan does not represent the Church, she represents a group of hospital administrators who saw in Obama care an increased revenue stream and an enlarged market.  The bishops were concerned about birth control, sterilization, abotificients, andabortion under the obama Care program, and were reassured by Keehan that it wouldn't be a problem, and were promised by President Obama that a new executive order would be forthcoming that would protect the conscience rights of practitioners and affiliates of the Catholic Church.  Timothy Cardinal Dolan said of Obama's promises to us catholics "I want to take him at his word, I do have to say it's getting harder and harder". 

Now CHA is trying to backtrack the endorsement given to the HHS mandate as finalized and expanded by Kathleen Sebelius under the name "compromise", saying they find it conflicts with their conscience.  The consensus seems to be that the board of CHA finds their director to be out to lunch on this issue, and some of them might be realizing that the bishops are serious enough to declare hospitals that do not comply with Catholic teaching to be non-catholic, and that can play hell with their donations and tax status. 

Carol Keehan is without the slightest credibility at this point.  For instance, she received an e-mail, in her capacity as head of the CHA from a group called Riverside For Choice, in which she was profusely thanked and praised for 'protecting the rights of all women to have free access to essential health services including...contraceptives'.  The e-mail went on to say "The members of Riverside for Choice would like to send a donation to your organization to thank you for your brave and continued efforts to defend reproductive choice and your willingness not to be intimidated by people like the catholic bishops who oppose choice in women's health".  Her reply to this bit of blatently anti-catholic business?  "Thanks so much! It would please me if you would use the money for a poor woman in California.  Keep praying,  Sr. Carol."

Before you begin to praise her sacrifice of a donation, look at the title.  Keehan received $ 962,467 in wages, benefits and compensation in 2010.  In 2009 her package was worth ca $850,000.  If the pattern holds true, in 2011 she will be reporting more than $1,000,000 in compensation.  Well, now we know why the Daughters of Charity haven't recalled her, or brought her back into obedience--she's a cash cow for them.  of course, they don't get thewhole ammount she earns, and although CHA has to report the compensation of it's officers as a non-profit, they have a cute little dodge, where they say tht everything except for "certain benefits" were paid to her order.  Of course, how much the order remits to her isn't public knowledge--one thing is clear, selling out christ still pays.  In these days, it's a lot more than 30 pieces of silver. 

So the picture emerges of a woman who is earning a large amount of money, especially when one considers that she has taken a vow of poverty, and the usual amount spent on the maintenance of a religious in the us is around $950 a month.  This also explains why she hasn't been reigned in by her order.  So what exactly is her legal standing?  It seems a good bet to me that she is in some degree of violation of canon 915, and she seems to be working towards or in schism, and unsupported by her own organization.  In the words of Paul Danello, an expert is civil and canon law as it pertains to Catholic Hospitals and health care, said in the National Catholic Register  "On the basis of what information and what authority did she issue this endorsement?...If the CHA board hasn't authorized this, if she has no mandate from the USCCB, and if there are no legally binding documents, she is operating without any legal, governance or regulatory basis.  That is a hell of a situation for a Roman Catholic Nun that heads the Catholic Health Association to be in."

You can't Love Christ, and hate his body the Church.  You can't serve Christ, and oppose and bind his body, the Church to evil laws and morally corrupt practices.  Carol Keehan and the Daughters of Charity have betrayed Christ with a kiss, while claiming to love him, for $962, 467, and the thrill of being in the counsels of an anti-catholic president with dictatorial aspirations.