A large Catholic health system is dropping saint names from its hospitals to create a more unified identity, the Associated Press is reporting.
Franciscan Alliance treats more than 1.3 million patients in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. It's changing its name to Franciscan Health. The Indiana-based organization announced Tuesday it will also rename 12 of its 14 hospitals.
The decision means two Illinois hospitals will no longer include the name "St. James." Franciscan St. James Health in Chicago Heights, Ill., will become Franciscan Health Chicago Heights. Franciscan St. James Health in Olympia Fields will become Franciscan Health Olympia Fields.
Franciscan Alliance board chair Sister Jane Marie Klein said the changes underscore the system's combined strength and still reflect the heritage of the founding Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration.
“Unified names for each hospital will create broader awareness of our standing as a large, multistate Catholic healthcare system with nationally recognized centers of excellence, numerous joint ventures, partnerships and physician relationships,” said Kevin Leahy, president and CEO of Franciscan Alliance. “The evolution of our hospital names further reflects our commitment assuring that the services we offer and our access points match ever more closely the needs of the people and communities we serve.”
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Not a good sign.
Who is this mindless act suppose to appease or curry favor with? The hospitals were named to honor particular saints who lived lives that inspired people and the fake secularization of the names by the Franciscans only further divides the Roman Catholic community to no purpose at all other than to dilute religious identification which must be their shameful goal.
What’s next? Louis (Missouri), Francisco (California), Paul (Minnesota)? We’ve become a nation of wimps, ashamed of our Christian heritage and afraid of everything. The community organizer said he would transform us and we surrendered. Clint Eastwood called it- pussy nation.