By Williesha Morris 

The chapel at St. Vincent’s Hospital in 2002. (Charles Nesbitt)bn

An Alabama bishop called the proposed merger of UAB Health and Ascension St. Vincent’s hospitals in Birmingham a “devastating loss” for Catholics in the region, and said the issue will need to be reviewed by the Vatican.

Bishop Steven Raica said in a statement Tuesday that he has expressed his concerns “about the wider impact that this transfer of ownership will have on the availability of Catholic healthcare in our area.”