Catholic teaching "incompatible" with "healthcare"

St John and St Elizabeth's Hospital in North London has been instructed by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, to accept a code which prohibits them from offering services such as IVF or sex changes, or from referring women to abortion providers. The Board have resisted any such measures for some time now and two of the Directors, Dr Martin Scurr and Lord Fitzalan-Howard, have just resigned in protest as the Guardian reported the other day. (Directors quit Catholic hospital in ethics code row).

In a letter to the hospital's Chairman, Lord Bridgeman (also expected to resign), Scurr complained about the Cardinal's code. The Guardian reports a significant point that he made:
He added that the Catholic church must withdraw from involvement in frontline healthcare because of the clash between religious beliefs and secular medicine.
Internationally, that would be something of a disaster since the Catholic Church is the largest health care provider in the world. But he probably means the UK - confirming itself daily as the most secular corner of the planet.

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