A Cause for Hope: Catholic Health Care and Religious Freedom in the Face of Crisis – Digital Health Care Conference July 18th
For Immediate Release
Troy, MI (July 8, 2020)
This year, our nation has grappled with a public health crisis in the COVID-19 pandemic, felt a cultural tipping point over racial inequality, and witnessed Supreme Court rulings that impact life, health care, religious freedom, and conscience rights. Confronting these crises demands we embrace the cross with faith and hope in God’s mercy, and act decisively. The Christ Medicus Foundation and the Catholic Medical Association will be hosting a digital health care conference, titled A Cause for Hope: Catholic Health Care and Religious Freedom in the Face of Crisis on Saturday, July 18th from 10am – 2:30pm EDT to address the issues surrounding the pandemic, crises of religious freedom and culture, and to cast a vision for the future of Catholic health care.
“The COVID pandemic has imposed a heavy burden of suffering throughout the world,” said Dr. Steven White, MD., of the Catholic Medical Association. “If we embrace this cross with faith and hope in God’s mercy,” he continued, “His grace will enable us to bring physical and spiritual healing and renewal.”
Louis Brown, JD., Executive Director of the Christ Medicus Foundation highlighted that “the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is serious but we must approach our obligation to safeguard the health of our fellow citizens through the lens of faith and reason. While we seek to combat the virus and protect the vulnerable, we must also protect the most essential reality of our time: our faith and our right of religious freedom to practice it. Tragically, recent events have shown that state and local officials in parts of the country are willing to use a serious public health crisis to unlawfully infringe on religious freedom.” He continued saying “this is all happening within the backdrop of a serious political push by anti-life and anti-religious freedom forces to use this public health crisis, the tragic murder of Mr. Floyd, and the recent social unrest to advance a culture of death.” Mr. Brown concluded, emphasizing the importance of the July 18th event, ‘This conference will chart a way forward that will protect the health and dignity of all Americans, robustly defend religious freedom in health care, and unleash a new birth of civil rights in health care and beyond. ”
“We think this conference is paramount, because it will help us to come together and understand the breadth of the challenges but also the opportunities for success and growth as we seek to build up Catholic health care and a culture of life,” said Jordan Buzza, JD., Director of the pro-life, Catholic health care option CMF CURO. He continued, “We want to build upon the conversation the Christ Medicus Foundation and other organizations began on May 16th with A New Health Care Normal?, which opened up a dialogue among Catholic leaders, religious freedom advocates, and faithful alike.”
This live, digital conference will include speakers such as Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann as well as field experts from organizations including the Christ Medicus Foundation, the Catholic Medical Association, MyCatholicDoctor, and the Catholic Benefits Association. Conference topics will include:
- Maintaining spiritual peace and mental health during challenging times
- Coronavirus therapies, vaccines, and their ethical issues
- Stories from the frontlines of care
- Religious liberty, conscience protection, and recent Supreme Court decisions
- Reopening churches and administering the sacraments
- A Catholic response to racial disparities in health care
- Casting a vision for the future of Catholic health care
Join the Christ Medicus Foundation and the Catholic Medical Association for A Cause for Hope: Catholic Health Care and Religious Freedom in the Face of Crisis on Saturday, July 18th from 10am – 2:30pm EDT.
Register for this free, digital conference today: https://christmedicus.org/digital-conference/
The Christ Medicus Foundation is a Catholic 501(c)3 non-profit founded in 1997, dedicated to sharing the love of God in health care through defending religious freedom in health care and building a Christ-centered Catholic health care economy that serves the Church, the laity, and the poor and vulnerable.
The Catholic Medical Association is a national, physician-led community of more than 2100 healthcare professionals consisting of 109 local guilds. CMA mission is to inform, organize, and inspire its members, in steadfast fidelity to the teachings of the Catholic Church, to uphold the principles of the Catholic faith in the science and practice of medicine.
Press Inquiries: Becky Escher, Christ Medicus Foundation, Marketing & Communications Manager (817)-371-1979, [email protected] or Jill Blumenfeld, Catholic Medical Association, Communications Coordinator, [email protected].