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I hope the bishops mean business. I think about one-quarter of them spoke out on abortion during the campaign. That suggests to my suspicious mind that the other three-quarters were planning to vote for Obama anyway.

If making this retroactive means that lawyers can sue Catholic hospitals for not performing abortions in the past, the financial toll could dwarf the payouts for sexual abuse victims.

The only hope is that the bishops can put enough pressure on the Catholic Democrats in Congress to allow a conscience exception. It would be a disaster for health care and for people working at Catholic hospitals if they all have to close. Of course the media would be on Obama's side and use it as another stick to bash the Catholic Church with, but maybe the public wouldn't buy that line.

My fear is that the bishops no longer control the hospitals.

None or almost-none of the hospitals are owned by dioceses which would put them under the direct control of the head of the diocese (the "Ordinary.") Almost all of them are controlled by Boards of Directors or Boards of Trustees, and the days are long gong when these boards were staffed or controlled by the religious orders of the founders (e.g. Franciscans, Sisters of Mercy, etc.)

So you've got pretty-much-independent boards running Catholic Hospitals, and their compliance with the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services relies on their voluntary coopertion. There is no enforcement mechanism that I am aware of, except for purely ecclesiastical ones (e.g. institutionally, the hospital could be required to remove the word "Catholic"; individually, a person who defied the bishop's direct orders could be excommunicated. Which is only meaningful if the person in question is Catholic: not a sure thing anymore.)

So the bishop says "resist"; and the Board says "cut a deal"; and the bishop responds: "Well then, er, you can no longer all yourselves a Catholic hospital." And the Chairman of the Board shrugs and says, "Sounds OK to me."

I can see this happening. I am truly afraid.

I hope the bishops realize they won't have a chance unless they can mobilize the "Christifideles," the faithful laity. I mean protests, sit-ins, fax attacks and publicity campaigns --- a whole Alinsky-style campaign --- to save our hospitals and keep them pro-life.

See quote from Bishop Hermann of St. Louis in my tagline.