Dear Friends in Christ,

During this Thanksgiving month, we are very grateful for time spent with family and friends and for the successes we have had at CHCLA. Just a couple of weeks ago, we wrapped up our inaugural Symposium for the Advancement of Catholic Health Care, a symposium that brought together some of the greatest minds in Catholic health care and beyond. We would like to thank Catholic University of America for co-hosting our inaugural symposium and we are already making plans for future symposia, some of which will be online and others in person. Now as we embark in this season of Advent, we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ, who is the source and foundation of all of our hope. As we continue with our work here at CHCLA, we know that we can do nothing apart from Him. The restoration of Catholic health care can only come when He is at the center, and we will continue to keep Him at the center of all that we do. We ask you to prayerfully consider making a year end gift to help us continue the good work that we have begun at CHCLA this year. The upcoming challenges in Catholic health care will only increase, but CHCLA is a formidable force for good in this fight and with your help, we will succeed. May your Advent season be filled with hope.

Sincerely in Christ,

Steven White, M.D.

President, Catholic Health Care Leadership Alliance

Past President, Catholic Medical Association

As we are approaching the end of 2022, please consider making a year-end donation to CHCLA so that we can continue the important work of protecting and promoting Christ-Centered health care.

On November 12, the CHCLA hosted the inaugural Symposium for the Advancement of Catholic Healthcare in Washington, D.C.

The Symposium for the Advancement of Catholic Healthcare is a three year initiative devoted to scholarly research preparing a vision for the future of Catholic health care. Calling upon experts in the field of medicine, law, bioethics, hospital administration, policy, theology, and others, the Symposium will evaluate the current state of Catholic health care, identify and analyze issues, and propose solutions to not only firm the foundation of Catholic health care but what needs to happen to make it thrive in the future. The Symposium will partner with various academic universities to hold both in-person and virtual events and the papers presented during the Symposium will be collected and published into a compendium.

This inaugural event was co-sponsored and hosted by the Center for Law and the Human Person at the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America.

Speakers Included:

Dr. Steven White - President of CHCLA

Dean Stephen Payne - Dean and Professor at CUA Columbus School of Law

Joshua McCaig, JD - Founding President of the Catholic Bar Association and CHCLA Board Member

Bishop James Conley - Bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln Nebraska and Chair of the Episcopal Advisory Board of CHCLA (video message)

Elizabeth Kirk, JD - Director of the Center for Law & the Human Person at CUA Columbus School of Law

Dr. John Haas - John Cardinal Krol Chair of Moral Theology at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary and President Emeritus and Senior Fellow of The National Catholic Bioethics Center

Grace-Marie Turner - President of the Galen Institute

Mark Rienzi, JD - Director of the Center for Religious Liberty at CUA Columbus School of Law

Dr. Michael Hanby - Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy of Science at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family

Sr. Jane Marie Klein, OSF– Chairwoman of Franciscan Alliance

CHCLA will release some of the talks from this event, so keep an eye out for them in future newsletters.

Douglas Wilson, CEO of the Catholic Benefits Association and founding board member of CHCLA wrote an op-ed that was published on November 23 at The Federalist saying, "It isn’t shocking that a bunch of well-funded activists could come together, give their glossy PDFs a veneer of academic credibility, and market their views as a new sexual orthodoxy. What is shocking is that they’ve managed to capture the federal bureaucracy. For HHS to uncritically platform WPATH, mandating shoddy science and destructive medicine as law, is an alarming development that deserves greater scrutiny."

To read the full article, please click here.

Bishop James Conley is serving as chair of the Episcopal Advisory Board of CHCLA.

In this interview with the Southern Nebraska Register, Bishop Conley discusses the goals and motivation for the new alliance.

“Health care delivery has to be something that’s Christ centered and Christ motivated,” Bishop Conley said.

Bishop Conley is the bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska.

For the full interview, click here.

On November 16, the Catholic News Agency wrote an article highlighting the CHCLA inaugural symposium saying, "Catholic health care professionals who see the tenets of their faith challenged by a push for abortion, gender-altering surgery and euthanasia as well as threats to conscience rights protection have a new advocate in the Catholic Health Care Leadership Alliance founded in January."

Mark Rienzi, Director of the Center for Religious Liberty at CUA Columbus School of Law told attendees: "You will have enemies because of who you are and what you believe. It will always be tempting to hide, or to close your doors. Their endgame is to beat you with public pressure. If Catholic health care is to survive, more need to stand up."

To read the full article, please click here.

The 48th annual March for Life will be held on the National Mall this year on Friday, January 20th. Please join the CHCLA in marching for the protection of all human life!

Pre-Rally Concert: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

March for Life Rally: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

March for Life: 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Rose Dinner Gala: 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

For more information, please visit the March for Life website.

Please let us know if you'd like to march with CHCLA by emailing [email protected].