In a rare move, the Biden administration surrendered to public pressure and opted to allow a Catholic hospital to keep its light shining brightly.
On Friday, the Becket Fund, a legal aid group focused on religious liberty, announced that the Biden administration “hastily abandoned” its effort to force a Catholic hospital in Oklahoma to either extinguish a small candle in its chapel or stop serving elderly, disabled, and low-income patients.
As The Free Press reported on Friday, Becket noted earlier this week that the Department of Health and Human Services, under President Joe Biden, who proclaims his Catholic faith despite supporting abortion and same-sex marriage, told the Saint Francis Health System that its single candle was an unacceptable fire hazard.
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Saint Francis runs the largest hospital in Oklahoma and is the 12th largest hospital system in the country. The health system cares for nearly 400,000 patients a year, has provided more than $650 million in charity medical care since 2018, and employs more than 11,000 people.
The hospital, since its founding in 1960, also keeps a sacred candle perpetually lit inside its chapel in accordance with its Catholic faith.
Becket, as The Free Press noted, argued the candle was a “living flame as an act of worship” that offers a sign of the “living presence of Jesus” in accordance with the hospital’s Catholic faith. The candle is far removed from medical equipment and patients, is shielded by two glass holders, sits on a brass basin, is affixed to a wall and has a brass top covering it, with many sprinkler heads above it. Saint Francis was told to “snuff it out,” Becket said, even though the encased candle has been approved repeatedly by the government and the local fire marshal.
But a Biden HHS official inspecting the hospital earlier this year said the candle in the chapel was too dangerous and if not extinguished, Saint Francis could no longer serve recipients of patients who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, or Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Becket objected on the hospital’s behalf, saying Saint Francis’ religious freedom was protected by the First Amendment.
In a press release on Friday, the group recalled that it previously told the Biden administration “that it was trampling on the hospital’s religious duty to maintain a flame and was trying to separate Saint Francis’ religious activities from its health care.”
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“For Catholics, the living flame is a sign of the living presence of Jesus,” Becket continued. But, “The federal government tried to intimidate Saint Francis into extinguishing the candle by threatening to revoke its ability to care for patients who depend on Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP.”
Becket’s letter “gently warned that, ‘if we go to court, you will lose.’ Today, the government was able to see the light, allowing Saint Francis’ flame to continue to live on as it has for years without issue.”
“The government surrendered the fight, allowing Saint Francis to keep its living flame.”
In a statement, Dr. Cliff Robertson, CEO of Saint Francis, said, “At the heart of Saint Francis’ mission is love for God and man. The living flame of our chapel candle indicates to all who enter our hospitals that we will serve them with religious devotion as Christ commands us.”
“We are grateful for the support of Becket and [law firm] Yetter Coleman, of the Oklahoma [congressional] Delegation, and of countless persons all throughout the nation, and we are grateful for The Joint Commission and HHS’s recognition of our Religious Liberties.”
“The game was simply not worth the candle for HHS,” Lori Windham, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, said in a statement. “It realized that it would be playing with fire in court if it stood by its absurd demand, so it chose wisely. We are glad Saint Francis can continue to serve those most in need while keeping the faith.”
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