Tag: Religion

Archbishop Discusses Hospital Merger

The concerns that the pending merger between University of Louisville Hospital, Jewish Hospital and Catholic Health Initiatives has put the future of certain services in question. Doctors in the merged University Hospital will have to follow Catholic directives, meaning many reproductive health services (contraception counseling, vasectomies, tubal ligations, emergency and elective abortions) will not be… Continue reading Archbishop Discusses Hospital Merger

Austin, Kingston Have Coped With Religious Hospital Mergers

Later this month, officials with University of Louisville Hospital, Jewish Hospital and Catholic Health Initiatives will address a General Assembly committee on the hospitals’ pending merger. The principals were called before state lawmakers over concerns that reproductive and end-of-life services will be changed once the Catholic Health Initiatives owns a majority of the other facilities.… Continue reading Austin, Kingston Have Coped With Religious Hospital Mergers

Conway Says State Must Approve Hospital Merger, Ramsey to Address Lawmakers

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway and Governor Steve Beshear are attempting to assert their role in a pending hospital merger. Questions have been growing around the proposed merger of University of Louisville Hospital, Jewish Hospital and Catholic Health Initiatives. The merged hospitals will have to follow Catholic health directives. That means University Hospital would have… Continue reading Conway Says State Must Approve Hospital Merger, Ramsey to Address Lawmakers

Fischer Says Pressure on U of L to Preserve Reproductive and End-of-Life Health Services Will Continue

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer says University of Louisville Hospital has a lot to lose if medical services are compromised in a pending merger with a division of Catholic Health Initiatives. Under the merger agreement, both University Hospital and Jewish Hospital will follow Catholic medical directives. That puts a number of services related to reproductive health… Continue reading Fischer Says Pressure on U of L to Preserve Reproductive and End-of-Life Health Services Will Continue

Two Sides of Hospital Merger Debate Represented in Newspaper Ads

Several pages of the Louisville Courier-Journal will be dedicated to the pending University of Louisville hospital merger this weekend, but not editorial pages. Two groups have paid for ad space to defend their positions on the merger between U of L Hospital, Jewish Hospital and a division of Catholic Health Initiatives. The first group is… Continue reading Two Sides of Hospital Merger Debate Represented in Newspaper Ads

Rule Change Allowing Gay Clergy in Presbyterian Church Takes Effect

Gay and lesbian members of the Presbyterian Church (USA) may now apply to be ordained in the church. For LGBT Presbyterians, the path to being eligible for ordination has been long and uncertain. Last year, the church’s general assembly lifted a restriction that clergy be either married or celibate. The new rule requires non-celibate clergy… Continue reading Rule Change Allowing Gay Clergy in Presbyterian Church Takes Effect

NYT Editorial Criticizes Ark Park

The New York Times has weighed in on the debate over the Ark Encounter theme park planned for northern Kentucky. In discussing the tourism-based tax breaks the Genesis-themed creationist theme park will receive, the editors write: Under current Supreme Court doctrine, Kentucky’s support of the proselytizing theme park seems likely to withstand a possible church-state legal… Continue reading NYT Editorial Criticizes Ark Park

Presbyterian Official Doesn’t Consider Rule Change a Step Toward Same-Sex Marriage

This summer, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will lift its ban on gay clergy, but a church leader says the move is not a step toward recognizing same-sex marriage. The church’s council approved the change last year, but it took until yesterday for a majority of the regional governing bodies, called presbyteries, to approve the change.… Continue reading Presbyterian Official Doesn’t Consider Rule Change a Step Toward Same-Sex Marriage

Presbyterian Church Drops Ban on Gay Clergy

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will soon allow the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy members. A majority of the denomination’s regional governing bodies–which are called presbyteries–have agreed to lift the requirement that unmarried clergy remain celibate, which was previously part of the church’s constitution. The change was approved by the church’s national assembly last year,… Continue reading Presbyterian Church Drops Ban on Gay Clergy