2023-05-07 01:10:00
May 6, 2023 / 6:10 p.m
The Beckett Fundwho works in defense of religious freedom, managed to get the federal government of the United States to stop its threats against a Catholic hospital for keeping a candle lit in a chapel that marks the presence of the Eucharist, something usual in Catholic churches.
In February of this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), deemed a candle at a Catholic hospital in Oklahoma a safety hazard.
For this reason, the federal agency demanded that the candle be extinguished under the threat that the hospital would stop serving its patients among those who are elderly, poor and people with disabilities.
The candle in the chapel St. Francis Hospital South is encased in glass, covered at the top, and has been approved multiple times by the local government and fire marshal.
#BREAKING: The government has seen the light and has abandoned its attempt to force an Oklahoma hospital to blow out a small candle or stop serving elderly, disabled, and low-income patients. @HHSGov has told Saint Francis that it can keep its living flame—a sacred candle housed… pic.twitter.com/1bkpjqi19M
— LoriWindham (@LoriWindham1) May 5, 2023
In that sense, Becket explained that the candle is not a danger to anyone; for which a letter was sent to the federal agency demanding that it cease its threats.
Becket further noted that there are more than a dozen similar flames at the Catholic hospital that are kept burning for other reasons, such as pilot lights for stoves and ovens, and flames on gas water heaters.
In a letter dated May 4, CMS responded to Becket’s letter, following a meeting with hospital authorities.
“CMS is offering the St. Francis South Hospital an exemption for the flame lit in the chapel of this hospital ”, indicates the text of the administration.
“This exemption is contingent on the hospital offering a correction plan that includes some simple and appropriate steps to mitigate the risks,” it adds.
The hospital belongs to Saint Francis Health System, a world-class health system with five hospitals in eastern Oklahoma.
It treats nearly 400,000 patients each year, has provided more than $650 million in free health care in the past five years, and employs more than 11,000 Oklahomans.
Its chapels have been blessed by the local bishops.
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