Health Care A Catholic Perspective

Health Care A Catholic Perspective 2009 by Rev. Roberto M. Cid, St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church, Plantation, Florida. All rights reserved

God infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1.

Health Care Ethics

Human Dignity The desire for God is written in the human heart. The dignity of the human person rests above all on the fact that we are called to communion with God. The human person, created in the image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual. The call to grandeur and the depths of misery are both a part of human experience.

The Human Body Shares in the dignity of the image of God. Is good and honorable since God created it and will raise it up on the last day. Wounded by sin, we experience rebellious stirrings in our body. We are not allowed to despise our bodily life.

The Human Mind We share in the light of the divine mind. Our intelligence is not confined to observable data alone. The intellectual nature of the human person is perfected by wisdom and needs to be. For wisdom gently attracts the mind of man to a quest and a love for what is true and good. (Gaudium et Spes, 15)

Faith and Reason Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth in a word, to know himself so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves. John Paul II, Fides et Ratio, 1.

Conscience In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law which he does not impose upon himself, but which holds him to obedience. Always summoning him to love good and avoid evil, the voice of conscience when necessary speaks to his heart: do this, shun that. For man has in his heart a law written by God; to obey it is the very dignity of man; according to it he will be judged. Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a man. There he is alone with God, Whose voice echoes in his depths. In a wonderful manner conscience reveals that law which is fulfilled by love of God and neighbor

Conscience In fidelity to conscience, Christians are joined with the rest of men in the search for truth, and for the genuine solution to the numerous problems which arise in the life of individuals from social relationships. Hence the more right conscience holds sway, the more persons and groups turn aside from blind choice and strive to be guided by the objective norms of morality. Conscience frequently errs from invincible ignorance without losing its dignity. The same cannot be said for a man who cares but little for truth and goodness, or for a conscience which by degrees grows practically sightless as a result of habitual sin. (Gaudium et Spes, 16)

The Mystery of Suffering Human suffering evokes compassion; it also evokes respect, and in its own way it intimidates. Medicine, as the science and also the art of healing, discovers in the vast field of human sufferings the best known area, the one identified with greater precision and relatively more counterbalanced by the methods of "reaction" (that is, the methods of therapy). Nonetheless, this is only one area. The field of human suffering is much wider, more varied, and multi-dimensional.

The Mystery of Suffering In order to discover the profound meaning of suffering, following the revealed word of God, we must open ourselves wide to the human subject in his manifold potentiality This answer has been given by God to man in the Cross of Jesus Christ. Suffering is deeply human, because in it the person discovers himself, his own humanity, his own dignity, his own mission. John Paul II, Salvifici Doloris.

The Mystery of Death In its face, the riddle of human existence becomes most acute. We are tormented by pain and the advanced deterioration of our body, but even more by a dread of perpetual extinction. Technology, though extremely useful, cannot calm this anxiety. A prolongation of biological life is unable to satisfy the desire for higher life.

The Mystery of Death Christ s death and resurrection have freed us from death. Jesus said: I am the resurrection. (John 11:25) Death where is your victory? Death where is your sting? (1 Corinthians 15:55) God has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into a heritage that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away. (1 Peter 1:3)

The Mystery of Man The truth is that only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light. For Adam, the first man, was a figure of Him Who was to come, namely Christ the Lord. Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear. It is not surprising, then, that in Him all the aforementioned truths find their root and attain their crown

The Mystery of Man He Who is "the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15), is Himself the perfect man. To the sons of Adam He restores the divine likeness which had been disfigured from the first sin onward. Since human nature as He assumed it was not annulled, by that very fact it has been raised up to a divine dignity in our respect too. For by His incarnation the Son of God has united Himself in some fashion with every man. He worked with human hands, He thought with a human mind, acted by human choice and loved with a human heart. Born of the Virgin Mary, He has truly been made one of us, like us in all things except sin

The Mystery of Man All this holds true not only for Christians, but for all men of good will in whose hearts grace works in an unseen way. For, since Christ died for all men, and since the ultimate vocation of man is in fact one, and divine, we ought to believe that the Holy Spirit in a manner known only to God offers to every man the possibility of being associated with this paschal mystery

The Mystery of Man Such is the mystery of man, and it is a great one, as seen by believers in the light of Christian revelation. Through Christ and in Christ, the riddles of sorrow and death grow meaningful. Apart from His Gospel, they overwhelm us. Christ has risen, destroying death by His death; He has lavished life upon us so that, as sons in the Son, we can cry out in the Spirit; Abba, Father. Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, 22.

Reverence for the Human Person Whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or self-willed destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, 27.

Euthanasia Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve respect. Putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick or dying persons is morally unacceptable. An act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitute a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person.

Ending Over-zealous Treatment Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of over-zealous treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one s inability to impede it is merely accepted. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2278.

Ordinary Care Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to alleviate the sufferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not willed as either an end or means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2278.

Ordinary vs. Extraordinary Care Patients and caregivers have the right and duty to provide care necessary to preserve health and life. This duty in general includes only the use of those means which, considering all circumstances are ordinary, that is to say, which do not impose an extraordinary burden on the patient or others.

Ordinary vs. Extraordinary Care When inevitable death is imminent in spite of the means used, it is permitted in conscience to take the decision to refuse forms of treatment that would only secure a precarious and burdensome prolongation of life, so long as the normal care due to the sick person in similar cases is not interrupted. Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, Part IV.

Nutrition and Hydration The administration of food and water even by artificial means is, in principle, an ordinary and proportionate means of preserving life. It is therefore obligatory to the extent to which, and as long as, it is shown to accomplish its proper finality. A patient in a permanent vegetative state is a person with fundamental human dignity and must, therefore, receive ordinary and proportionate care which includes, in principle, the administration of water and food even by artificial means.

Pastoral Care of the Sick

Sacraments Seven Baptism Confirmation Eucharist Reconciliation Annointing of the Sick Marriage Holy Order Instituted by Christ. Entrusted to the Church.

Sacraments Signs and instruments by which God communicates his Divine Life to us. Their purpose is to sanctify, to build up the Church and worship God. They are efficacious because in them Christ is at work. Ex opere operato. Rites signify and make present the grace proper to each sacrament.

Reconciliation Mark 2:10-12, John 20:23 Any baptized who is aware of having committed a mortal sin ought to go to confession. Sorrow of the soul for the sin committed. Resolution not to sin again. Integral. Auricular individual confession.

Reconciliation Restores dignity and blessings of Divine filiation and friendship with God. The priest is not the master of God s forgiveness, but its servant. Every priest who hears confessions is bound by absolute secrecy. This secrecy admits of no exceptions.

Annointing of the Sick James 5:14-16 Intended to strengthen those who are being tried by illness. It is not a sacrament for those who are at the point of death. Peace and courage. Union with the passion of Christ. Preparation for the final journey.

Eucharist John 6, Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14: 22-25, Luke 22: 19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:17-33.

Eucharist Sacrament of Sacraments. Source and summit in the life of the Church. Real presence. Eucharistic communion also confirms the Church in her unity as the body of Christ. The Eucharist, as the supreme sacramental manifestation of communion in the Church, demands to be celebrated in a context where the outward bonds of communion are also intact.

References

Holy Bible. Catechism of the Catholic Church, http://www.vatican.va/archive/eng0015/_index.htm. Second Vatican Council. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat -ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html. John Paul II. Fides et Ratio, On the relationship between faith and reason, http://www.vatican.va/edocs/eng0216/_index.htm John Paul II. Salvifici Doloris, On the Christian meaning of Human Suffering http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp -ii_apl_11021984_salvifici-doloris_en.html Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. Responses to Certain Questions of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Concerning Artificial Nutrition and Hydration, http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cf aith_doc_20070801_risposte-usa_en.html Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. Declaration on Euthanasia, http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cf aith_doc_19800505_euthanasia_en.html