Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted Strikes Again

Bishop Olmsted is well known for his orthodoxy and for his head-on attitude. He is more publicly known for informing Sr. Margaret McBride that she had excommunicated herself (please note the way I worded it. Bishop Olmsted did not excommunicate her, she excommunicated herself). Well, His Eminence is getting praise (and flack) for again being a good Shepherd. And here's the kicker... it'll happen tomorrow!

Bishop Olmsted wrote a letter to the San Francisco based Catholic Healthcare West, informing them that if they did not comply to 3 requirements they would lose their standing as a Catholic hospital (here is a copy of the letter, 'accidentally' leaked by the president of CHW):

1.CHW must acknowledge in writing that the medical procedure that resulted in the abortion at St. Josephs’ hospital was a violation of ERD 47, and so will never occur again at St. Joseph’s Hospital.
2. CHW must agree to a review and certification process conducted by the Medical Ethics Board of the Diocese of Phoenix to ensure full compliance with the Ethical and Religious Directives of the USCCB.
3.CHW must agree to provide for the medical staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital ongoing formation on the ERD’s, as overseen by either the National Catholic Bioethics Center or the Medical Ethics Board of the Diocese of Phoenix.

This didn't come out of the blue. Bishop Olmsted lifted the excommunication of the sister and had her reassigned to other duties in the hospital so that she would not be put in the position of approving abortions in the future. However, the bishop wanted to make sure that this incident did not happen again. I strongly urge you to read the letter, and to see the humble yet firm words of the bishop. He does not write this letter in order to 'secure power' or to stop all discussions, but rather to protect the faithful and shepherd the souls of those in his diocese. Jimmy Akin, as always, provides some excellent information on the situation.