The Day Our Faith Was Tested
June 1st, 2020
Job security was not a concern for Luca Tori. An elder partner in a private medical group, the award-winning surgeon was beloved by patients and colleagues alike. His unique perspective on Orthopedics, fueled by his post-graduate biomedical engineering studies, had propelled him to being one of the most sought-after hand and upper extremity surgeons in the region. Patients so loved his attention to detail and personal connection that, in a 20-year medical career, there had not been a single complaint lodged against him.
Dr. Tori felt that his Christian faith should be lived, not just professed. Desiring to “be the hands of Christ” led the surgeon to take his skills abroad on medical mission trips where he performed pro bono surgeries on a wide variety of patients in challenging circumstances. Closer to home, serving the homeless, helping adoptive families, and working with crisis pregnancies filled the doctor’s schedule. His heart for philanthropy led he and his wife, Caterina, to start a scholarship fund that provides instruments and instruction to aspiring musical students from less fortunate homes.
Dr. Tori was a model doctor and citizen. So, why did he lose admitting privileges at the hospital where he had served for 12 years as a level one trauma surgeon? Why was he, the top producer, forced out of his medical practice partnership? Why have leading insurers refused to accept claims if he puts his expertise to work on the patient? Two words: Cancel Culture.
In what may be the most egregious example to date of the cancel culture run amok, Dr. Tori, a hard-working, philanthropic, beloved, awarded, and successful surgeon has been driven from his field. This highly trained surgeon can not practice his craft, because the cancel culture says people like him do not deserve to have a job. In the enlightened world of leftist utopia, Dr. Tori is persona non grata.
What did he do? What did he say? Nothing. Not a word. You read that right. The doctor has been cancelled not because of something he said, but because of the political leanings of his wife.
Mrs. Tori has been actively involved in politics and culture for years, appearing on FoxNews, being invited to Conservative think tanks, and leading local political groups. She knew she was in the middle of a culture war, but she did not know just how low those who disagreed with her were willing to go. She expected hard conversations, but she did not know that daring to be a conservative Christian would lead to her entire world being shaken. Having an opinion came with a cost. Her dissent from the prevailing left-wing views of some in Pennsylvania, made Caterina, and her whole family, a target.
A handful of social media posts led to outrage in the community. An innocuous, tongue-in-cheek, questioning of Dr. Rachel Levine, a transgendered health secretary, bought the Tori family the label of being anti LGBT, even though Dr. Tori had served LGBT patients for decades with no complaints. A picture of Jerry Falwell Jr wearing a mask that chided the racism of Ralph Northam, Governor of Virginia, showed that the Tori household was “clearly racist.” So, there was no choice. Dr. Tori, who for twenty years had served LGBT patients and people of color, both for profit and as a missionary, had to be cancelled.
Dr. Tori was canceled for things he did not even say. His career was destroyed over social media posts he did not even know existed. If he can be “canceled” for that, is anyone safe?