U.S. Bishops Condemn Prop. 187, Set Rules for Catholic Hospitals : Conference: Prelates also urge that more top jobs in the church be filled by women despite ban on ordination. They call for ‘moral revolution’ to counter ‘growing culture of violence.’

The nation’s Ro man Catholic bishops ended their four-day annual conference Thursday with the adoption of a wide-ranging set of rules that will broaden local bishops’ influence over the medical and business practices of Catholic hospitals.

The prelates, ending the annual fall meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, also issued a statement sharply critical of the passage of California’s Proposition 187, calling it “symptomatic of deeply rooted fear and frustration among our citizens.”

The measure, which would deny education and most health services to illegal immigrants, was approved by 59% of the state’s voters last week, but enforcement was blocked Wednesday by a federal judge while the courts consider the constitutionality of its provisions.

“In seeking to cure social and economic ills, this proposition strikes at the most vulnerable among us--children, the sick and the needy--without addressing the larger social and political causes for the problems, especially at the federal level,” the bishops’ statement said.

At a news conference, Cardinal-designate William Keeler, president of the bishops’ group, called that statement on immigration and one adopted earlier in the week on violence “the two most important actions” the bishops took.

The meeting, which generated little controversy or debate, also found the bishops walking a tightrope between closer scrutiny of their actions by the Vatican and their efforts to broaden the participation of women in the church.

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In a document aimed at easing tensions prompted by Pope John Paul II’s statement this year that the subject of female ordination in the Catholic Church is no longer open to debate, the bishops declared their belief in “the fundamental equality of women and men” and urged that more top jobs in the church be filled by women. But they refused to challenge the Pope’s declaration.

Although the bishops ruled out discussion of ordination, their statement acknowledged that sexism is still present in the church and suggested alternative ways women can exercise power in the nation’s largest Christian body.

“We can say with certainty that discrimination against women contradicts the will of Christ,” the bishops said. “We are painfully aware that sexism . . . is still present in some members of the church.

“We reject sexism and pledge renewed efforts to guard against it in church teaching and practice. We commit ourselves to make sure that our words and actions express our belief in the equality of all women and men.”

The adoption of the statement, “Strengthening the Bonds of Peace,” came after nearly two hours of debate, most of it directed at an amendment that liberal bishops feared would be used by opponents of feminism to undermine the drive for equality.

Led by Archbishop John Roach of Minneapolis-St. Paul, those bishops prevailed in inserting substitute language, calling on the amendment to reject any “extreme position that impedes dialogue and divides the church.”

In seeking to enlarge the role of women, the statement calls on the bishops to look at ways women can fill more top jobs in the church at the parish and diocesan level and the national level.

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Annette Kane, executive director of the National Council of Catholic Women, called the statement “a great affirmation” of the role of women and praised the steps the bishops have taken in putting women in top posts in the church’s bureaucracy in Washington.

The Vatican’s oversight of the U.S. church was demonstrated in a small but important way during the brief discussion of the new rules for Catholic health care facilities. Bishop Alfred Hughes of Baton Rouge, La., chairman of the conference’s doctrine committee, acknowledged that the Vatican had told the bishops to make about 50 amendments to the directives.

Many of those Vatican amendments were aimed at eliminating any suggestion of differences among theologians or bishops on the issue of what kinds of medical treatment are ethically allowable.

The new rules update a similar set of regulations issued in 1971 by taking into account changes in medical technology, such as in vitro fertilization, and the economically driven trend among Catholic hospitals to form partnerships and alliances with non-Catholic facilities.

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“While we rejoice in the potential for good inherent in many of these (new reproductive) technologies, we cannot assume that what is technically possible is always morally right,” the rules state. “Reproductive technologies that substitute for the marriage act are not consistent with human dignity.”

The directives allow some forms of assisted conception but reject artificial insemination, surrogate motherhood, fetal experimentation, sterilization and abortion.

In a section on the care of the dying, the new rules reaffirm the church’s longstanding opposition to suicide and euthanasia as “never . . . morally acceptable options.” But the rules do allow painkilling medicines to be given to a dying patient “even if this therapy may indirectly shorten the person’s life.”

The most profound result of the new rules is that local bishops will be given the authority to approve or disapprove of new forms of partnership between Catholic and non-Catholic facilities.

Such partnerships “can pose serious challenges” in carrying out Catholic moral principles, the rules state. “The risk of scandal cannot be underestimated when partnerships are not built upon common values and moral principles.”

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The prelates also adopted a statement decrying what they called the growing culture of violence in America, and they heard an interim report by a committee on sexual abuse against children by priests.

“Violence--in our homes, our schools and streets, our nation and world--is destroying the lives, dignity and hopes of millions of our sisters and brothers,” the bishops’ statement said.

The bishops decried social trends that contribute to violence. They cited everything from aggressive driving and sensationalist talk shows to pornography and the easy availability of guns. What is needed, they said, is a “moral revolution” that would repair the nation’s frayed social fabric.

The bishops’ statement, “Confronting a Culture of Violence: A Catholic Framework for Action,” joins a growing chorus of concern that has included statements and workshops by such groups as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Methodist Church and the National Council of Churches.

Auxiliary Bishop John Ricard of Baltimore, chairman of the committee that drafted the statement, said the bishops “do not believe the traditional liberal and conservative answers are adequate responses to this crisis.

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“We’ve lost a clear sense of right and wrong,” he said. “We value things more than people . . . This is not about policies and politics, but life and death.”

In an oral report on the efforts of the church to deal with sexual misconduct by pastors and other church employees, Bishop John Kinney of Fargo, N.D., told the bishops that “in most dioceses, strong, pastoral and effective written local policies” are in place.

“I know that I speak for all of us when I say that as bishops of this country, we are sorry for the pain and scandal caused by the actions” of pedophiles in the church community, “especially when they are our own priests,” he said.

“We are also sorry for those times we have not handled these matters in the best possible way.”