A Catholic diocese in New York is facing criticism after it sold a former Catholic high school to a hospital that aborts unborn babies.
Bishop John Oliver Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre finalized the sale of the former Bishop McGann-Mercy Diocesan High School in Riverhead for $14 million in early May, the Church Militant reports. The diocese closed the school in 2018 because of financial troubles.
Riverhead Local reports the Peconic Bay Medical Center Foundation purchased the 24.8-acre property, which is next to the hospital main campus in Riverhead. A hospital spokesperson told the newspaper that they are working on a long-range plan for the new property, but did not specify what it may be used for.
According to the Church Militant, the Peconic Bay Medical Center aborts unborn babies in what it considers to be emergency situations, and it does not do elective abortions. However, the hospital is owned by a larger network, Northwell Health, that the Catholic news outlet described as “unabashed when it comes to ending human life in the womb.”
One network doctor, Dr. Mitchell Kramer of Northwell Health’s Huntington Hospital, wrote an article for “Healthline” in 2019, claiming that abortions are safer than childbirth, according to its report. That claim has been refuted numerous times.
In the past, the diocese refused to do business with the hospital precisely because of its abortion stance. Bishop William Murphy, who served just prior to Barres, refused an offer from the hospital to pay to use part of the school sewage system, the report states.
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This arrangement would have generated a substantial amount of money for the school. The temptation was obviously great — what school administrator would not want more money in the budget every year?
When Bp. Murphy learned of the potential deal, however, he forbade the school from contracting with the hospital, refusing the money on the grounds that some of the wastewater from the clinic in question could potentially include human remains from aborted children.
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The Catholic news outlet noted that the diocese has not issued a statement about the deal as of Tuesday afternoon.
The Catholic Church teaches that every human being is valuable because he/she is created in the image of God, and abortion is a grave moral evil because it destroys an innocent life. It opposes assisted suicide, euthanasia and embryonic stem cell research for the same reasons. Across the world, Catholic leaders are among the strongest advocates for human life. Through churches, charities, hospitals, pregnancy centers, maternity homes, nursing homes and other efforts, they work to uphold the sanctity of every human life from conception to natural death.
