Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix, Arizona has been at the center of a roaring controversy for his decision to remove the Catholic status from St. Joseph Hospital in Phoenix. The hospital may no longer refer to itself as a Catholic institution, Mass may not be celebrated there, and the Diocese of Phoenix will not give it any further support. The decision came as a result of an abortion procedure performed at the hospital, and the repeated violations of Catholic moral teaching that the hospital had perpetrated over the years.
The manner in which the media has been reporting Olmsted’s actions makes it seem like Olmsted removed the hospital’s Catholic status because of one complicated, difficult situation in which an abortion took place. In reality, the hospital has been flaunting the Church’s moral teachings
