1 9 4 2
Celebrating 50 years of growth with the Detroit Jewish Community
1 9 9 2
THE JEWISH NEWS
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
APRIL 24, 1992 / 21 NISAN 5752
Father Coughlin's Church
Will Host Interfaith Event
Goodbye Kishke,
Hello Quiche
NOAM M.M. NEUSNER
Staff Writer
T
he house that
Coughlin built is now
toasting Jewish-
Christian friendship.
While known for shepher-
ding one of Michigan's finest
Catholic churches, the late
Father Charles Coughlin
left a legacy of anti-
Semitism after his 40 years
at the Shrine of the Little
Flower in Royal Oak.
Now, a fund-raising event
for the Ecumenical Institute
for Jewish-Christian Studies
is being held at the church
on May 11. About 100 people
will attend the event, and
each will donate at least
$250 for the institute.
"This could only happen in
America," said Rabbi M.
Robert Syme of Temple
Israel, who will speak at the
event. "Who would've
believed that a rabbi would
be invited to speak at the
Shrine?"
During the 1930s and ear-
ly '40s, Father Coughlin
Welcome to the new world
of kosher cuisine.
Page 24
The Shrine of the Little Flower.
hosted a radio show from his
Royal Oak church. On the
show, which gained a
nationwide audience during
the Depression, he routinely
vilified Jews as communist
conspirators and moral
degenerates. He was later
censored by the Roosevelt
administration and de-
nounced by the Roman
Catholic Church, but his
legacy as an anti-Semite is
still etched in the memories
of Detroit's Jews.
"Jews viewed it as a bas-
tion of anti-Semitism," said
Richard Lobenthal, director
Continued on Page 28
Negotiations For Sinai,
DMC Affiliation Halted
KIMBERLY LIFTON
Staff Writer
D
etroit Medical Center
on Wednesday called
off merger negotia-
tions with Sinai Hospital,
one of the last remaining
major independent health
care institutions in Detroit.
"The relationship has been
positive and educational for
both organizations," said
Phillip Schaengold, Sinai's
president and chief ex-
ecutive officer. "The timing
of this affiliation was ob-
viously not right."
Neither DMC President
David Campbell nor
spokesman Douglas Klegon
were available for comment.
In January, Sinai and
DMC launched a feasibility
study to evaluate a merger
arrangement for the two
organizations. It was the se-
cond round of merger talks
between the two institu-
CLOSEUP
tions, which halted negotia-
tions in December 1990.
Results of the study were
reviewed Tuesday by DMC's
board of trustees, whose
members voted to suspend
talks that would incorporate
Sinai into the DMC health
care system.
"I'm confident both organ-
izations will be able to con-
tinue successfully and in-
dependently while searching
for other opportunities," Mr.
Schaengold said. "It certain-
ly clears the air and sets a
direction for Sinai."
DMC's board agreed to ex-
plore opportunities for other
relationships of "mutual in-
terest" to Sinai and DMC.
Meanwhile, Sinai officials
said they will remain open to
future opportunities, but
added they are confident
they can make it alone.
Last month, Sinai released
its second quarter financial
report, showing profits of
$1.6 million. Last year, the
hospital reported a $2.8 mill-
ion loss during the same
period.
Sinai officials attribute its
economic recovery to many
factors, including the hiring
of an outside consulting
team, the Hunter Group,
who laid off 200 employees
last year in its quest to im-
prove a bleak financial pic-
ture.
Hunter consultants left
the hospital in February
when Mr. Schaengold came
on board, leaving the
hospital with a more consis-
tent daily census count,
averaging 380 in-patients,
and tighter financial con-
trols.
In addition, officials credit
Sinai physicians, who helped
boost the daily census count
after they formed a coalition
at the end of 1990 to actively
get involved in the hospital's
future. 111