UPDATE 10:01 pm 3/25: Sr. Carol Keehan will NOT be attending the Annual Dinner. A mass email sent this evening by JCS read: “Sister Carol Keehan has decided that our annual dinner this year is not the appropriate time to address our Society and friends. We continue to be grateful to her for her many years of service to the Church and especially the poor and those in need.” A followup personal email from Connie Mitchell read: “She will not be attending this year. We will not have a speaker.” So there you have it folks, problem averted.
The John Carroll
Society (JCS), the Catholic DC-based organization that annually sponsors the Red Mass, has scheduled Sr. Carol Keehan to be the speaker at their Annual Dinner on April 16. Sr. Carol Keehan is the President and CEO of the Catholic Health Association and has recently come under fire for her outright support of the healthcare bill that includes federal funding of abortion. On March 11, Sr. Keehan wrote a letter to the House of Representatives which urged the congressmen to “move quickly” to support the Senate-approved bill. For her strong support of the controversial health care bill despite the objections of U.S. Bishops, she was one of the 21 people to be awarded a pen used by Barack Obama in signing the health care bill. This is traditionally done to honor lawmakers and proponents who have played a major role in pushing through a piece of legislation.
In light of recent developments, it is a disgrace that Sr. Keehan should speak at the JCS Annual Dinner. JCS prides itself in its service to lay Catholic professionals in the DC area but if they still allow her to speak, it will severely undercut its credibility as a faithful Catholic organization. Please contact JCS to urge them to rescind their invitation to Sr. Carol Keehan.
Please write or call:
Connie Mitchell, Executive Director
The John Carroll Society
P.O. Box 454
Glen Echo, MD 20812
Phone: 202-537-6110
Email: jcs@johncarrollsociety.org
