Phoenix, Ariz., Jul 24, 2012 / 01:09 am
Despite its collaboration with a Catholic university, St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix remains a non-Catholic institution due to dissent on abortion and medical ethics, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said July 23.
"Catholics, and all people of good will, are advised that they cannot be guaranteed authentic Catholic health care at St. Joseph's Hospital," the Bishop of Phoenix said in the statement, clarifying the hospital's status in response to its partnership with Nebraska's Creighton University.
Regardless of that collaboration, "St. Joseph's Hospital is not a Catholic institution" and "does not faithfully adhere to the (U.S. bishops') Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services," Bishop Olmsted said in the announcement, meant to "ensure clarity" among the faithful.
Creighton, a Jesuit university, partnered with St. Joseph's to establish the "Creighton University School of Medicine Regional Campus at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix." The joint venture was announced in June 2009 and had its official opening in June 2012.