WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bishop James Conley and leaders from five major Catholic organizations announced the launch of the Catholic Health Care Leadership Alliance (CHCLA) Jan. 20, a new non-profit organization and broad-based coalition of organizations who are committed to protecting and advancing Catholic health care.
The mission of CHCLA as an alliance of faithful Catholic organizations is to support the rights of patients and professionals to receive and provide health care in accordance with the moral, ethical, and social teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church through ongoing evangelization, education, advocacy, and mutual support.
The CHCLA board of directors represent an alliance of organizations including the Catholic Medical Association, The National Catholic Bioethics Center, Catholic Benefits Association, Catholic Bar Association, and Christ Medicus Foundation. CHCLA also has an Episcopal Advisory Board made up of bishops who support its mission.
CHCLA held a press conference and their inaugural event Jan. 20 at the Kirby Center at Hillsdale College in Washington, D.C.
“This Alliance brings together the best minds in medicine, law, business, and theology,” Bishop Conley explained. “I look forward to working with CHCLA and my brother bishops to guide and support CHCLA in this important work that will not only bring faithful medicine to our people, but bring our people to a deeper relationship with God.”
He said the Alliance, with their “depth of expertise” will serve as “a reliable and trustworthy resource for bishops to turn for assistance, information, and support; so that bishops can properly and more effectively exercise their pastoral office in overseeing health care ministry in their diocese.”
“They will be better equipped to help facilitate an atmosphere of mutual understanding, fruitful collaboration, and ecclesial communion with the health care leaders in their dioceses,” he continued. “In performing such a ministry, bishops are imitating Christ who, when he ‘saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them and he cured their sick (Matt 14:14).’”
In an interview with the National Catholic Register, Bishop Conley said the current questions involve how to deal with moral and ethical issues such as abortion, euthanasia and gender dysphoria treatments; navigating questions surrounding vaccines or mandates; and business and legal issues in health care, such as complex insurance matters. He said the alliance members are united in that they are “reliable, trustworthy, and you know you’re to receive information and assistance totally in line with the teachings of the magisterium.”
Bishop Conley said his hope is that the alliance “will be able to be a place for people to go, whether they be bishops, pastors, healthcare leaders, small upstart Catholic clinics.”
“We want to do everything we can to help those involved in health care to keep their eyes on Jesus and continue to teach and witness to the beautiful vision of the human person,” he said.
Franciscan Health (Franciscan Alliance), a Catholic healthcare system that operates a 12-hospital health system in Indiana and Illinois, joined CHCLA as its first Hospital System Member. Franciscan Alliance employs more than 18,000 full- and part-time employees.
