St. Francis Medical Center will retain its Catholic identity if its merger with Southeast Missouri Hospital goes through, say the bishop of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese and the administrator of St. Francis.

"All that has been, will be," said James Sexton, president and chief executive officer of St. Francis.

The bishop, the Most Rev. John Leibrecht, recently met with a group of Catholics concerned about the impact of the merger on St. Francis' identity as a Catholic institution.

"Basically, I can ensure them that the hospital will not lose its Catholic identity," said Leibrecht.

The bishop said the diocese has appointed the Rev. Francis Morrisey, an attorney for the church, to oversee the diocese's interests in the proposed merger.

"He assures me that everything that is needed for St. Francis to be a Catholic hospital is in place," Leibrecht said.

Sexton said Leibrecht, as part of the merger negotiations, created a Catholic identity team "to audit the steps that have been taken to preserve or expand and improve the identity of St. Francis as Catholic."

"Additionally, we've met with the group of concerned individuals on three occasions and have made every attempt to assure them that there will be no changes physically, philosophically or spiritually to the manner in which patient care is conducted at St. Francis," Sexton said.

Crucifixes and other religious symbols will remain in place, pastoral care and the hospital's mission integration committee will remain in place and masses will still be performed every day, Sexton said.

"All the things that have been done in the past will continue in the future," he said.

Sexton said the hospital's Catholic identity "has never been an issue" in the negotiations.

"It's always been accepted St. Francis is and will remain a Catholic facility," he said. "We're somewhat confused as to how it's become an issue."

St. Francis and Southeast announced in December that they were considering joining forces.

Officials from both hospitals cite economic pressures and the need to stay competitive and retain local control as the guiding forces behind the merger proposal.

Sexton and James Wente, administrator of Southeast, have been meeting with employers and business leaders to outline the merger plan and build support for it.

They have offered to enter into a consent decree with the Missouri attorney general's office to guarantee $44.4 million in cost savings. As part of the consent decree, charges would be frozen for two years, and any shortfall in the projected savings would be used to establish a community health foundation.

Leibrecht said he hasn't endorsed the merger "because I don't know what the final form of it is."