Irish nuns’ transfer of hospital land criticized over abortion plans

November 26, 2019 CNA Daily News News Briefs 1 Print

Dublin, Ireland, Nov 26, 2019 / 01:30 pm (CNA).- A pending land transfer from a religious community to the Irish government for the construction of a new maternity hospital has sparked new controversy, as the hospital is expected to perform abortions under new laws permitting the procedure.

The Religious Sisters of Charity currently own the land that is set aside for a $335 million taxpayer-funded National Maternity Hospital. The facility will be built on the campus of St. Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin. The sisters announced two years ago that they were planning to transfer ownership of three local hospitals, including St. Vincent’s, to a group that will no longer follow Catholic medical ethics.

In a May 2018 referendum, Irish voters repealed a constitutional amendment recognizing the right to life of unborn children as equal to mothers’ right to life. Legislators then enacted legislation allowing abortion through 12 weeks of pregnancy, or later in “exceptional circumstances.”

Some Catholics are now arguing that in light of the referendum, the sisters should not go through with the land transfer.

Fr Kevin O’Reilly OP, a moral theologian at the Angelicum in Rome, told The Irish Catholic that the Vatican should block the land transfer, because the Irish government says abortions will take place at the new maternity hospital.

“Thanks to the 36th Amendment of the Constitution, Ireland – to its great shame – now boasts an extremely liberal abortion regime, O’Reilly said.

“It is bewildering that those who have facilitated the process to date clearly do not possess any degree of moral foresight,” he said.

“One can only hope that the competent officials in the Vatican will act in accord with the Church’s constant teaching and the dictates of right reason by forbidding this unconscionable act.”

The National Maternity Hospital is currently located in Dublin’s Holles Street, but will be relocated to the campus of St. Vincent’s Hospital, where patients will be able to receive a wider range of care.

When plans for the new hospital were announced, abortion advocates spoke out against the sisters being involved in its management. Two of the National Maternity Hospital’s board members resigned, citing concerns that the maternity hospital may be run in accordance with Catholic teaching on human life and sexuality, The Tablet reported.

However, the National Maternity Hospital’s board had said the new facility will be run independently. Government officials have indicated that the facility will offer all legal medical procedures, including sterilization, in-vitro fertilization, gender transition surgery, and abortion.

Heather Humphreys, Ireland’s Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, told The Tablet that she does not expect the land transfer will be halted.

“The plans are in place and I am confident that they will go ahead,” she said.

Canon law requires Vatican permission for the religious order to sell or give away property worth more than €3.5 million. The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life normally approves such transactions.

The Religious Sisters of Charity said in a statement that Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has approved the land transfer and “recommended our decision to the Vatican for formal sign off.” The sisters said they are “confident of a positive outcome shortly.”

In May 2017, Ireland’s Sisters of Charity announced that they would be ending their management of three Dublin hospitals which comprise St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group. The hospitals are to be handed over to a new company, which would be called St. Vincent’s, and the sisters would no longer have any ownership or management of the health care facilities.

Under new management, the facilities will no longer adhere to Catholic medical ethics.

The health care group’s origins date back to 1834, when Mary Aikenhead, the founder of the Religious Sisters of Charity, established St. Vincent’s Hospital.

Until 2017, the St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group included three hospitals. As part of the plan to transfer ownership, two sisters who were on the board of the healthcare group agreed to resign, and the congregation agreed to give up the right to appoint board directors.

In addition, the sisters said, the Religious Sisters of Charity Health Service Philosophy and Ethical Code would no longer be authoritative as the governing documents for the healthcare group. Rather, the documents were to be “amended and replaced to reflect compliance with national and international best practice guidelines on medical ethics and the laws of the Republic of Ireland.”

The Sisters of Charity have committed to paying millions in financial redress to compensate abuse victims who lived the residential institutions they and 18 other religious congregations managed on behalf of the government in previous decades.

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Remembering the devastating fire at St. Paul Outside the Walls 200 years later

July 14, 2023 Catholic News Agency 0
Illustation of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, before the fire that destroyed it in 1823. / Photo courtesy of Professor Nicola Camerlenghi, from his book “St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, A Roman Basilica, from Antiquity to the Modern Era,” 2018

Rome, Italy, Jul 14, 2023 / 03:00 am (CNA).

As the bicentennial anniversary of the devastating fire at St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome draws near, the profound significance of the July 15, 1823, event is recalled among those who love the basilica. The tragic incident left an indelible mark on the architectural landscape and the hearts of believers. 

Illustration of the destruction of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome in 1823, depicted in Professor Nicola Camerlenghi, from his book "St. Paul's Outside the Walls, A Roman Basilica, from Antiquity to the Modern Era," 2018. Photo courtesy of Professor Nicola Camerlenghi, from his book "St. Paul's Outside the Walls, A Roman Basilica, from Antiquity to the Modern Era," 2018
Illustration of the destruction of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome in 1823, depicted in Professor Nicola Camerlenghi, from his book “St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, A Roman Basilica, from Antiquity to the Modern Era,” 2018. Photo courtesy of Professor Nicola Camerlenghi, from his book “St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, A Roman Basilica, from Antiquity to the Modern Era,” 2018

To commemorate this solemn anniversary, a series of events are planned in collaboration with various embassies, universities, and choirs. 

On July 11, the Benedictine friars residing in the monastery at the basilica offered a special vespers service open to the public. Additionally, a community event organized by the nearby university Roma Tre will take place in Rome’s Ostiense neighborhood on July 14 and 15 in the Parco Schuster, a small neighborhood park in the shadow of the iconic basilica. The gathering aims to honor the memory of the great fire and pay tribute to the enduring spirit of the basilica. It provides an opportunity for Catholics, architectural enthusiasts, and community members to come together and reflect on the profound impact of the fire and the subsequent reconstruction efforts, complete with 3D imaging technology developed to show what the basilica used to look like.

Cardinal James Michael Harvey, the appointed archpriest of St. Paul Outside the Walls, expressed the importance of commemorating the tragic event, stating: “We want the future to know that the memory of this event was taken seriously during its 200-year anniversary.”

Harvey also noted that the basilica is organizing an assembly of 19th-century scholars, experts, and historians to visit the basilica and discuss the significance of the tragedy sometime in November. The announcement of this event is still pending.

To gain deeper insights into the fire and its aftermath, Nicola Camerlenghi, assistant professor of Art History at Dartmouth College and a renowned expert in architectural history, shared his expertise during an interview with CNA. According to Camerlenghi, “The fire at St. Paul’s Basilica was a great tragedy. What was lost was the last imperial basilica built in Rome and one of the few monumental buildings from early Christian times that had survived relatively untouched by subsequent alterations.”

Color illustration of historic fire at St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, 1823, depicted in Professor Nicola Camerlenghi's book "St. Paul's Outside the Walls, A Roman Basilica, from Antiquity to the Modern Era," 2018. Photo courtesy of Professor Nicola Camerlenghi from his book "St. Paul's Outside the Walls, A Roman Basilica, from Antiquity to the Modern Era," 2018
Color illustration of historic fire at St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, 1823, depicted in Professor Nicola Camerlenghi’s book “St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, A Roman Basilica, from Antiquity to the Modern Era,” 2018. Photo courtesy of Professor Nicola Camerlenghi from his book “St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, A Roman Basilica, from Antiquity to the Modern Era,” 2018

Reflecting on the decisions made during the meticulous reconstruction process, Camerlenghi emphasized the faithful restoration of the basilica. The architects and artisans recreated its original state while adapting to the loss of certain materials and using materials that are more fireproof. As a result of Camerlenghi’s research, 19th-century French writer Stendhal’s journal entry from his time in Rome surfaced, providing a glimpse into Rome after the fire. Stendhal wrote: “I found in it a severe beauty and an impression of calamity such as only the music of Mozart can suggest. The terrible painful traces of the misfortune were still alive… Thus perished the most ancient basilica not only of Rome, but of all Christianity. It had lasted 15 centuries.”

The fire was ruled an accident, caused by a distracted welder named Giacomo who unknowingly left a pan of coals burning on the roof. Despite initial suspicions of arson, conspiracy theories involving revolutionary movements and even the prominent Rothschild family failed to gain traction.

Lithograph image of fire at St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, 1823, depicted in "St. Paul's Outside the Walls, A Roman Basilica, from Antiquity to the Modern Era," by Professor Nicola Camerlenghi, 2018. Photo courtesy of Professor Nicola Camerlenghi from his book "St. Paul's Outside the Walls, A Roman Basilica, from Antiquity to the Modern Era," 2018
Lithograph image of fire at St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, 1823, depicted in “St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, A Roman Basilica, from Antiquity to the Modern Era,” by Professor Nicola Camerlenghi, 2018. Photo courtesy of Professor Nicola Camerlenghi from his book “St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, A Roman Basilica, from Antiquity to the Modern Era,” 2018

The reconstruction of St. Paul Outside the Walls proved to be a formidable undertaking amid the political and cultural turmoil of Rome at the time. To honor the basilica’s historical significance, Pope Leo XII decided to restore it to its former glory, without the architectural modifications and additions that had accumulated over the centuries.

At the bicentennial anniversary of this devastating fire, one is reminded of the enduring faith and unwavering spirit that define St. Paul Outside the Walls and even St. Paul himself. As Camerlenghi noted: “In turn, the reconstruction that ensued was a testament to the importance of the figure of St. Paul to the Catholic Church and indeed to the Christian community at large. No figure has been quite as ecumenical as Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles.”

[…]

1 Comment

  1. “The sisters said they are “confident of a positive outcome shortly.””

    A positive outcome would be for them to keep the land and no hospital that aborts babies is ever built on it.

    Reply

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