America’s “Catholic” president is at it again. Last month the Biden administration threatened a Catholic hospital in Oklahoma, which is also one of the largest in the nation, with either extinguishing a small sanctuary candle in its chapel or face being forced to stop serving its elderly, disabled, and low-income patients, according to the Becket Fund, a legal aid group specializing in religious liberty.
In a press release issued Wednesday, Becket noted 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 Saint Francis Health System that its single candle was an unacceptable fire hazard.
“The government’s demand is absurd and unlawful — it is targeting Saint Francis’s sincere beliefs without any good reason,” said Lori Windham, vice president, and senior counsel at Becket. “The government has a simple choice: either stop this attack on Saint Francis’s faith or expect a legal firestorm.”
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Becket noted that Saint Francis, which was established in 1960, and is now the 12th largest hospital in America, has always kept “a living flame as an act of worship,” in accordance with the hospital’s Catholic faith.
“The flame, 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,” Becket noted.
The group also pointed out that “Saint Francis was told to snuff it out,” even though the encased candle has been approved repeatedly by the government and the local fire marshal.
If it does not extinguish the flame, Becket added, the federal government will revoke Saint Francis’ ability to see Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP [Children’s Health Insurance Program] patients, ending healthcare access for thousands of Oklahoma residents.
Saint Francis has requested waivers on four separate occasions, “explaining that its sanctuary candle is not a danger to anyone,” Becket noted.
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This time, Becket’s legal team fired off a letter to HHS reminding it that Saint Francis “has the right to religious freedom and warning federal bureaucrats to leave the candle alone.”
“For Catholics, the living flame is a sign of the living presence of Jesus,” Becket noted in the release. “The federal government now threatens to tell all patients who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP that they can no longer receive care at Saint Francis — all over a candle.”
Saint Francis, Becket noted, operates five hospitals in Eastern Oklahoma. Overall, its facilities care for nearly 400,000 patients each year, and the system has “given away” more than $650 million dollars in free medical care over the past five years.
Additionally, Saint Francis employs more than 11,000 Oklahoma residents.
“Saint Francis’s mission is to extend the presence and healing ministry of Christ. In addition to providing compassionate and top-notch care to its patients, Saint Francis lives out its religious mission by maintaining multiple chapels throughout its hospitals, each of which has been blessed by the local bishop,” Becket noted.
Barry Steichen, Saint Francis’ executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in the press release that the hospital was founded William and Natalie Warren “as an act of gratitude and service to God and to the people of Oklahoma.”
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“The cornerstone of Saint Francis is love for God and man. To this day, the Saint Francis torch insignia indicates a space of hope: a place where the medical and spiritual stand as one,” Steichen said.
“We’re being asked to choose between serving those in need and worshipping God in the chapel, but they go hand in hand.”
He recalled the words of St. Francis Xavier, who said, “It is not the actual physical exertion that counts towards one’s progress, nor the nature of the task, but by the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken.”
“Our work depends upon our faith in the living God, and the sanctuary candle represents this to us,” Steichen added.
Becket argued in its letter to HHS that the agency violated federal law.
“The government is trampling on the hospital’s religious duty to maintain a flame in its chapels and its belief that the candle represents the eternal presence of Jesus. It is also trying to separate Saint Francis’ religious activities from its health care,” Becket said in its release.
“There are over a dozen similar flames around the hospital kept lit for other reasons — like pilot lights for stoves and ovens, flames in gas water heaters — that the government has made accommodations for. Saint Francis should not be threatened with extreme penalties over its religious candle.”
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