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Yet when the mistake involves the possibility of scandal to the faithful, a lot more is at stake than just a bruised ego.
Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center Foundation made a mistake. It invited rock musician Sheryl Crow to perform at the annual Bob Costas Benefit April 28 to raise money for the hospital's Bob Costas Cancer Center. Crow is an outspoken supporter of abortion who also campaigned in Missouri last year on behalf of Amendment 2, which sanctioned human cloning and embryonic stem-cell research. Amendment 2 won despite opposition from the Catholic Church.
Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, the chairman of the foundation's board, tried quietly and unsuccessfully for weeks to get the foundation to rescind the invitation. Failing this, he withdrew his support of the event itself and resigned from the board, expressing concern that the event could give rise to scandal.
"If I, as archbishop of St. Louis, were simply to let this pass, it would give people the impression that as long as the purpose is to raise money, you can associate with people, even feature people, who are public proponents of the killing of unborn children and embryonic human life," he said.
Despite his unhappiness with the foundation, Archbishop Burke remains a true friend of the hospital, and for good reason. Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center is among the nation's premier children's hospitals. In addition, the hospital strongly favors research using adult stem cells, which is approved by the church. It started the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank, the world's second-largest independent bank of its kind. Blood from newborns' umbilical cords is used to procure stem cells for research and treatment.
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Archbishop Burke will continue to support the hospital through two annual fundraisers, including an archdiocesan collection. In a video statement available on the archdiocesan Web site, he expressed "the complete commitment of the Archdiocese of St. Louis to the mission of Catholic health care carried out so wonderfully at the center" and his appreciation for those who work there.
Yet his disappointment in the foundation's decision was palpable, and he saw his role as making clear to Catholics and non-Catholics alike where the church stands.
That challenge remains immense. Too many Catholics, even Catholic institutions, believe that the pragmatic - helping the hospital continue its good work - trumps moral concerns about respect for human life. The church must remind even a Catholic foundation dedicated to the aid of some of our weaker members that our concern extends to those most defenseless humans, the unborn.
We wish that the foundation board had taken the initiative handed to it by the archbishop - as some Catholic institutions have on other occasions - and used it as a teaching moment to affirm its Catholic identity and beliefs.
For Catholics in St. Louis, the model response was exemplified not by the foundation and its board, but by the archbishop himself, who responded with leadership and charity to this error in judgment.
We agree with the archbishop that the Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center remains a worthwhile institution for all the good work it continues to do, but we are also saddened that our friend does not yet appear to recognize the mistake it made.
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