Dear Friends in Christ,

I would like to welcome you to the inaugural edition of the Catholic Health Care Leadership Alliance’s newsletter. This will be one of many instruments the CHCLA will utilize to keep you abreast of important events and developments in Catholic health care ministry and the work of the Alliance.

Tragically, we are encountering a vigorous and relentless assault on the dignity of the human person and life itself in health care today, as well as a concerted effort to deny our religious liberty and medical rights of conscience in the delivery of medical care.

It is imperative that we unite as the Body of Christ with a clear, strong voice to promote, safeguard and strengthen the Church’s long standing, living tradition of care for the sick, suffering and dying in our midst.

The CHCLA was formed to provide an effective means for coordinating the important work being done by those with expertise in every facet of health care: medicine, theology and philosophy, bioethics, law, administration, pastoral care and public policy. There is strength in association! There’s a reason Christ prayed for unity in His farewell discourse the night before He died for us. United as one, with the Father and the Son, we are enlightened and strengthened for engagement in whatever circumstances we encounter as we strive for ongoing renewal in the Spirit of Christ.

Through evangelization, education, public advocacy, and mutual support, the CHCLA is committed to providing servant leadership in Catholic health care in collaboration with all of you who share our vision for the “renewal of Catholic health care in harmony with the healing ministry of Christ and His Church.”

We ask for your prayers and support. Please join us in whatever fashion you believe our Lord might be calling you to restore a culture of life and love throughout the whole of the medical profession.

Sincerely in Christ,

Steven White, M.D.

President, CHCLA

In late February, several organizations, including CHCLA signed onto a coalition letter opposing H.R. 3755, the deceptively misnamed Women’s Health Protection Act, also known as the Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act. The Act would have legislated a federal right to abortion and would have banned almost all state laws that protect preborn children, provide for the health and safety of their mothers, and provide conscience protections for health care professionals. Thankfully, on February 28, 2022, the Act failed to pass the Senate by a procedural vote of 46-48, far from the 60 vote threshold needed for it to move forward.

We are confronted with very significant challenges in healthcare in America today.

In addition to the ongoing dire circumstances that have arisen as a consequence of dealing with the Covid pandemic, we are now facing an existential threat to Catholic healthcare due to the relentless assault on religious freedom and medical rights of conscience. Therefore, an urgent need exists for a clear, strong and united voice to promote and defend Catholic healthcare practiced in harmony with the mind of Christ and the longstanding tradition of His Church. Read More

Launched just before the 2022 March for Life in Washington DC, this initiative has come at a time when ethical and cultural challenges to Catholic health care abound. Several decades ago, Pope Saint John Paul II had already made a key critique of the societal trends that he called a “culture of death” and contrasted them with the Church’s insistence on the immense dignity of the human person, which must be not only respected but deeply cherished, especially in the most vulnerable. Read More

At this time, CHCLA is only taking membership inquiries of Catholic health organizations. If you are a Catholic health system, hospital, clinic, or medical organization, and would like to become a member of CHCLA, please email us at [email protected] and we will follow up with you.

Please let us know if you would be interested in us contacting you when other CHCLA membership levels become available.

CHCLA is an alliance of the following founding organizations and we encourage you to become a member of any of the organizations below that apply to your needs and interests.