The federal government has warned a Catholic hospital that it could
lose its ability to serve low-income and elderly patients if it doesn’t
extinguish its sanctuary candle, which the hospital keeps lit per
Catholic tradition.
As the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty explained in a May 2 letter to
the United States Department of Health and Human Services and other
government agencies, the St. Francis Health System in Oklahoma keeps a
sacred candle lit inside its chapels in accordance with its Catholic
faith. The letter noted that the flame signifies “the faithful presence
of Jesus
Christ” and the Roman Catholic Church’s Code of Canon Law
“requires that wherever the Blessed Sacrament is kept, a special lamp
must shine continuously.”
The letter detailed how, earlier this
year, a surveyor with The Joint Commission, an accrediting organization
that determines if proper conditions for Medicare and Medicaid are met,
visited St. Francis South Hospital. Upon discovering the candle, the
surveyor informed the hospital that the candle is a fire safety hazard
and that if the hospital did not extinguish it, then it would lose its
accreditation and thereby no longer have the ability to accept patients
under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Becket’s letter follows an April 20 letter
from HHS’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services expressing
agreement with the deficiency citation and instructing the facility to
correct it after the hospital requested an appeal and reconsideration
regarding the citation.
In addition to outlining the situation,
Becket promised to file an emergency lawsuit if the agencies did not
“cease and desist.” The letter accused the government agencies of
violating the Religious Freedom Act and the First Amendment rights of
the St. Francis Health System.
“Now, you put not just Saint
Francis Health System in peril but the entire State of Oklahoma and any
person in need of Saint Francis Health System’s preeminent care, all
because Saint Francis maintains a single, enclosed, and reverently kept
eternal flame in its chapels,” the letter reads.
In response to a
Thursday inquiry from The Christian Post, a spokesperson for CMS
informed the outlet that it is aware of a safety finding involving a
fire risk made by an independent accrediting organization to the
Oklahoma-based hospital. CMS confirmed to CP that it is “working with
the hospital’s accrediting organization to develop options to mitigate
the potential fire risk and remove the safety finding.”
According
to the law firm’s letter, the candle has burned for 15 years in the
hospital sanctuary without any issues and regularly passes reviews by
the local fire marshal. During the hospital inspection conducted by TJC,
the surveyor came across “a lit candle with open flame burning
unattended 24/7,” which he believed ran afoul of the requirement for
candles that they are “placed in a substantial candle holder and
supervised at all times they are lighted.”
The
law firm included a picture of the candle encased in two glass globes
and with a bronze cover on top. In addition, the letter noted that the
candle holder is affixed to the wall and that the chapel ceiling has
multiple sprinkler heads.
“The government’s demand is absurd and
unlawful — it is targeting Saint Francis’ sincere beliefs without any
good reason. The government has a simple choice: either stop this attack
on Saint Francis’ faith or expect a legal firestorm,” Lori Windham,
vice president and senior counsel at Becket, said in a statement.
Barry
Steichen, executive vice president and chief operating officer of St.
Francis, released a statement explaining how William K. Warren Sr. and
Natalie Warren founded the hospital over 60 years ago as a gift to the people of Oklahoma as well an act of gratitude and service to God.
“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 maintained.
Steichen
believes that the federal government is asking St. Francis to “choose
between serving those in need and worshiping God in the chapel.” The
hospital administrator contended that the two go “hand in hand.”
“To
share a quotation of Saint Francis Xavier that is familiar to many
Saint Francis staff, ‘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,’” he asserted. “Our work depends
upon our faith in the living God, and the sanctuary candle represents
this to us.”
