by Matt Lamb
‘In requiring Saint Francis to extinguish its flame, you are trying to extinguish not just a candle, but the First Amendment rights of Saint Francis Health System, as well as vital healthcare for the elderly, poor, and disabled in Oklahoma.’
TULSA, Oklahoma (LifeSiteNews) — President Joe Biden’s administration wants to snuff out the light of the faith – literally.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) demanded that Saint Francis Health System in Oklahoma extinguish two candles – a small sanctuary candle that has burned since 1960 and another that has burned without problem for 15 years at another Saint Francis hospital.
If they don’t, the system will lose accreditation and all federal funding, jeopardizing healthcare for thousands of low-income, disabled, and elderly citizens. Yet, no other inspector in the healthcare system’s history has ever identified the small candle as a safety issue.
The Catholic hospital system is fighting back with the help of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, an accomplished First Amendment litigation group.
“In requiring Saint Francis to extinguish its flame, you are trying to extinguish not just a candle, but the First Amendment rights of Saint Francis Health System, as well as vital healthcare for the elderly, poor, and disabled in Oklahoma,” a May 3 legal letter from the group, written by Senior Counsel Lori Windham, stated.
Windham noted that the administration’s actions violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) by requiring the hospital to hide its faith without a compelling government interest. The religious liberty group reminded the administration of professed Catholic President Joe Biden that Catholic Canon Law requires that a candle be lit wherever there is the Blessed Sacrament.
Becket noted:
The Code of Canon Law requires that wherever the Blessed Sacrament is kept, a special lamp must shine continuously. The living flame is so important to worship that the Fifth Chapter of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal expressly mandates that “a special lamp, fueled by oil or wax, should shine prominently to indicate the presence of Christ and honor it.” Saint Francis believes that the laws governing the liturgy and chapel suitability have been divinely instituted by Jesus Christ Himself and that derogating from
these laws is an affront to God.
“There has not been a day in Saint Francis history where the living flame has been extinguished,” the group wrote. “And Saint Francis’s religious identity and mission are intimately united with the living flame of the sanctuary candle.”
The letter further noted that the candle is securely kept in the chapel and there are ample sprinklers around to cope with the unlikely possibility of the flame escaping. A fire marshal has already approved the flame in annual inspections and CMS’s own guidelines clearly allow for flames for religious purposes and primarily prohibit them in proximity to medical equipment.
Furthermore, the surveyor with the federal government incorrectly called the enclosed candle an “open flame.” When challenged, the bureaucrat changed his tune and said that lighter briefly used to light the candle is an “open flame” and violates federal safety standards.
