Local center removed from Catholic Directory
By Lou Baldwin
Special to The CS&T
The Center for Human Integration (CHI), an entity sponsored by the Medical
Mission Sisters in the Fox Chase section of Philadelphia, has been formally
notified that, beginning with the 2008 edition, it will no longer be included
in the Official Catholic Directory published by P.J. Kenedy & Sons.
Listing in the national directory is a requirement for an entity to be
included in the “Group Ruling of the IRS/USCCB,” which designates
entities as organizations that are associated with the Catholic Church.
A formal notification of the decision was sent Jan. 15, 2008 by Msgr.
Alexander J. Palmieri, archdiocesan Chancellor and Vicar for Consecrated
Life, to the CHI director.
Msgr. Palmieri gave permission for the listing in 2000. In his January
notification, a theologian had reviewed the catalogue material reported
on CHI’s Web site, and stated that it was clearly determined that
the CHI does not meet the requirements for inclusion in the OCD from the
perspective of the Catholic Church.
A theological review that was enclosed with the notification stated many
of the courses and therapies, as described in the CHI catalogue, “are
associated with Eastern religions and have come to the West by way of
the New Age Movement. Many of the services and therapies offered are controversial
from a medical perspective and are objectionable from the perspective
of the Catholic Faith.”
The review quoted from the Apostolic See’s 2003 document, Jesus
Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life, which stated: “It is difficult
to separate the individual elements of New Age religiosity — innocent
though they appear — from the overarching framework which permeates
the whole thought-world of the New Age Movement. … From the point
of view of Christian faith, it is not possible to isolate some elements
of New Age religiosity as acceptable to Christians, while rejecting others.”
The official notification of the removal of CHI from the OCD does not
affect any other entity or service sponsored by the Medical Mission Sisters
or the congregation itself.
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a freelance writer.
CHANCERY
NOTICE
On October 26, 2000, the Application for Inclusion in the Official Catholic
Directory [OCD] (P.J. Kenedy & Sons) of the entity known as the “Center
for Human Integration” [CHI], submitted by the Medical Mission Sisters,
North American Sector, was approved by the Chancery as required by the
IRS/USCCB Group Ruling of March 25, 1946, and subsequently renewed annually
by those two entities jointly with some revisions. On May 10, 2001, this
entity was approved for inclusion in the 2001 OCD, and subsequent issues,
dependent upon ongoing review.
While an agency such as CHI may have an independent 501 c (3) ruling from
the IRS, listing it as a not-for-profit, tax-exempt agency, it must further
show its connection to the Catholic Church in order to be listed in the
OCD. Our civil legal counsel offered the opinion that CHI qualified, from
a civil law perspective, as a tax-exempt organization for purposes of
inclusion in the Group Ruling and listing in the Official Catholic Directory.
After concerns were raised, the services of a Catholic theologian were
enlisted to review the catalogue material as reported on CHI’s website.
As a result, it has been clearly determined that this entity does not
meet the requirements for inclusion in the OCD from a Catholic Church
perspective. Accordingly, the Chancery has repealed the decision of October
26, 2000, and directed that the “Center for Human Integration”
be removed in any future editions of the OCD, beginning with the 2008
edition.
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