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Sachine

The office in the Peoria Diocesan Chancery was kind of dark when I entered. The bishop and his canon law lawyer were seated at a big table in the bishop's office and he did not look happy.  

It was 2003 and it had taken me over a year to get this appointment with the bishop. 

I presented my idea about petitioning the Diocese for a Tribunal Court against OSF in Peoria for their treatment of Haitian kids. Our Lord said in the Gospel of Matthew (18:15) that if we have a problem with a brother, we are supposed to talk with him privately, one-on-one, not publicly. This court would ask for no money from OSF. 

The bishop told me that there would be no Tribunal Court and asked me if I realized that OSF is a 1.6 billion dollar industry in Peoria. He told me very matter of factly that he would not rule against OSF. 

And he also told me that if I continued my quest for a Tribunal Court against OSF that I would need to come to confession to him for "killing" Haitian kids who needed heart surgery. I asked him to repeat his threat and I wrote it down while he repeated it. 

I looked at the bishop and told him that I could not believe what he had just said. He said nothing that I can remember. And the canon law lawyer just sat there and stared and said nothing the entire meeting. 

This was the first time in my life that I had realized that a Catholic bishop actually feared the power of a Catholic medical center in his diocese. The priests and nuns at my Catholic grade school and high school had never taught us this. I was totally disappointed in my interaction with the bishop and realized that I had a lot to learn. 

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Questions and Comments re this Post--

• I want to write a book about writing a book. But how do I do this when I don't know how to write a book?

• Please give me suggestions on what to write and what not to write. I would like this to be a community effort. 

• For example, in the post above, should I name names? Should I name the bishop and his canon law lawyer? Does it demean the importance of the post if I name names? Are their names important in telling the story? I remember the horrible disappointment that I felt when I left the chancery that night and I realized that Haitian kids were going to suffer. 

• The baby above is Sachine. She is one of many malnourished babies that show up in clinic in Cite Soleil. More about her later. (It is good.)

John A. Carroll, MD

www.haitianhearts.org