The Catholic Diocese of Phoenix has placed Sister Louise Zwick on administrative leave after she admitted to forging the signature of Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York on a letter to the Department of Defense demanding an end to military medevac flights for pregnant women seeking abortions..
In a letter to the diocese dated August 12, Zwick admitted to creating and sending the fraudulent letter, which was received by the Department of Defense on July 22. In the letter, Zwick falsely claimed that Dolan had authorized her to send the letter on his behalf, and she demanded that the Defense Department immediately cease all medevac flights for pregnant women..
The Defense Department has since confirmed that the letter was a forgery, and Zwick has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the diocese..
Zwick’s actions have been condemned by both the Catholic Church and pro-choice advocates. Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement that Zwick’s actions were .