Does the USCCB permit morally reprehensible procedures?

[Thomas_Francis]

The USCCB document “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services” (the latest edition) says this in Part One: The Social Responsibility of Catholic Health Care Services -

Fifth, within a pluralistic society, Catholic health care services will encounter requests for medical procedures contrary to the moral teachings of the Church. Catholic health care does not offend the rights of individual conscience by refusing to provide or permit medical procedures that are judged morally wrong by the teaching authority of the Church.

yet, also says this in Part Four: Issues in Care for the Beginning of Life -

1. Abortion (that is, the directly intended termination of pregnancy before viability or the directly intended destruction of a viable fetus) is never permitted…Catholic health care institutions are not to provide abortion services, even based upon the principle of material cooperation.

and this in Part Five: Issues in Care for the Seriously Ill and Dying -

1. …Catholic health care institutions may never condone or participate in
   euthanasia or assisted suicide in any way.

My question is what is going on here? How are we supposed to understand/reconcile the quote in Part One in light of the other quotes, much less CCC 2272 and 2277?

2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life.

2277 Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.

Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.

 

[Bookcat]

In that first section what they are getting at is that the FACT that immortal procedures are not condoned or permitted (that they are not done and will not be done) – does not by thus refusing – offend the “rights individual conscience” by the refusal to do them.

Catholic organizations are not wrong to refuse to cooperate in such evil. We do not accept the accusation by some in our culture that would say that we are thereby offending their rights.

That is what it is getting at.

 

[1ke]

You misunderstand what Part One says. Read it again.

 

[Thomas_Francis]

Oh, good. I understand what they mean now.

 

[jbarbaretta]

You misunderstand what Part One says. Read it again.

Catholic health care does not offend the rights of individual conscience by refusing to provide or permit medical procedures that are judged morally wrong by the teaching authority of the Church.

Catholic health services cannot provide them or permit them to be done within their facilities. Period. It is not acceptable to provide these services based on the individual conscience of the recipient of the service, however formed or malformed their conscience may be. More simply put, It is not offensive to the individual to refuse procedures that are morally wrong.

If you are caught up on the provide or permit piece, it deals with the circumstances where :
a) a patient requests the facility to provide an immoral service
b) a patient requests the facility to permit someone to use the facility and perform the immoral service. Thereby getting around the “we can’t provide that service”

It’s the bishops’ trying to cover their bases and ensure that some enterprising young hospital admin doesn’t try to do an end run around this requirement by allowing non-Catholic doctors to come in and use the facility to perform immoral procedures.