They'd Rather Curse the Darkness

Church-state frictions manifest across many cultural touchpoints, but this is a new one:

The sanctuary candle: dangerous to the hospital (CNA)

Feds tell Catholic hospital to blow out sanctuary candle or face penalties

The federal government recently told a Catholic hospital in Oklahoma to either blow out a small candle or stop serving elderly, disabled, and low-income patients...

Saint Francis Health System is a premiere health system with five hospitals in Eastern Oklahoma. The health system cares for nearly 400,000 patients each year, has given away more than $650 million dollars in free medical care in the past five years, and employs more than 11,000 Oklahomans...

Since Saint Francis opened its doors in 1960, the health system has had a sanctuary candle with a living flame as an act of worship. The flame, far removed from medical equipment and patients, is shielded by two glass holders, sits on a brass basin, is affixed to a wall and has a brass top covering it, with many sprinkler heads above it...The federal government now threatens to tell all patients who rely on Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP that they can no longer receive care at Saint Francis—all over a candle.

After the hospital's lawyer responded, the government retreated:

The hospital was informed that it will receive a waiver, provided it posts signs warning about keeping oxygen equipment away from the tabernacle candle, which is already enclosed and on a wall six feet off the ground.

IMHO, government employees could not possibly have believed that a single candle posed a danger to thousands of Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) patients. This was a demonstration of power that showed that even minor disputes with the government can be costly. And no, Catholics, you're just imagining that this is retribution for your stances on abortion and same-sex marriage.

One thing is certain: Florence Nightingale, aka "the Lady with the Lamp" and founder of modern nursing, would have been persona non grata on battlefield hospitals if these bureaucrats had been around in 1854.