The North Side

I've just started working at St Joseph's Hospital, which was started by Franciscan nun's after the Civil War. They bought three buildings: a saloon, a dance hall, and a house of ill repute and converted them into a hospital. I'm far from catholic, but I keep finding myself working with catholic organizations from the Birthing Center in Weslaco to Sister's of Mercy in Guatemala, to St Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse. When I'm working with Catholic organizations, there's always something that sticks in my craw, like the fact that the health insurance policy provided to residents doesn't cover contraception for women, an exclusion clause for religious employers that was approved by the NY State legislature a few years back.   On the other hand the involvement of the hospital in revilatizing the north side of Syracuse is commendable. All bags are mixed.