For Immediate Release
June 18, 2018
Contact:
Brian Reardon
Statement by Sister Carol Keehan, DC, President & Chief Executive Office Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA)
Children, regardless of their nationality, are among the most vulnerable members of our society. The Catholic Health Association is strongly urging the Trump Administration to reverse its “zero tolerance” policy toward undocumented immigrants that has resulted in children being separated from their parents and detained in separate facilities. This policy poses a grave risk to the health of the affected children and should not be allowed to continue.
CHA reaffirms the position of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which stated, “Our government has the discretion in our laws to ensure that young children are not separated from their parents and exposed to irreparable harm and trauma. Families are the foundational element of our society and they must be able to stay together.”
As Pope John Paul II said in
Familiaris Consortio, “In the Christian view, our treatment of children becomes a measure of our fidelity to the Lord himself.” The way we treat children is also a reflection on the moral fabric of our society. It is the hope of CHA that this immoral policy will be reversed and that these children can be reunited with their parents.
» Download PDF version of the CHA statement
The Catholic Health Association of the United States is the national leadership organization of the Catholic health ministry, representing the largest not-for-profit provider of health care services in the nation.
- 1 in 6 patients in the U.S. is cared for in a Catholic hospital each day.
- Catholic health care, comprised of more than 2,200 hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, systems, sponsors, and related organizations, serves the full continuum of health care across our nation.