The Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine

Spirituality, Religious Wisdom, and the Care of the Patient

Spirituality, Religious Wisdom, and the Care of the Patient
(continued)

Sidney Callahan
siddan@bestweb.net

Implications and Resources for Catholic Health Care

All Catholics are commanded to become holy and love their neighbor in imitation of Christ's love for the world.  They must seek to know God's will through consulting the authority of Scripture, reason, the traditions and teachings of the church, the examples of great saints and theologians, and human experience.  Today Catholics acknowledge that the Church is a learning church reading the signs of the times.  As a living communion the Church must evolve and develop under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Since faith and reason arise from the same Divine Creator, there can never be any ultimate contradiction between the truths of faith, morals, science or good medicine. 

Catholic doctrine affirms that God is a Trinity, three in one giving and receiving and fruitfully generating more love.  Ultimate reality is a dynamic mutual relationship of love.  So humankind is also basically embedded and embodied in relationships; we are members of one another, one family, one body.  In the Trinity there is union in difference so humankind also is different and various, as well as one.  God delights in difference and gives individuals the freedom to be unique.  Different gifts and roles and styles are celebrated. Catholics   respect the sanctity of the individual but also know that there is an intimate corporate unity of all.  The philosopher Charles Taylor reminds us that there are "together goods" which we can only enjoy with others and in common.  Isolated individuals cannot participate in the goods of mutuality and communion.  Catholic moral theology tries to balance the good of the whole community with that of the individual, since they flourish together.

One basic moral foundation for the vocation of health care workers is justice.  Paul VI taught that "Justice is love's absolute minimum." The ideal of "just care" requires that all human beings be treated with dignity and equal respect.  All humans are made in the image of God and as morally equal cannot be discriminated against or denied care.  No one earns their intrinsic dignity which is a gift from God.  All human beings no matter what their abilities or stage of growth possess an inalienable dignity granted by the Creator.  

Just care demands accountability from all.  Everyone is responsible for good work according to the highest moral standards.  Professional competence and effort is required from Christians who must also strive to make human institutions and social structures just.  Catholic spirituality is always social and mindful of human dignity.  Health professionals respect the dignity of their patients by being the best nurse, physician, or health care worker that they can be.  

Those who are called to heal, comfort and relieve suffering imitate the work of Christ the great physician.  Christ comes to heal and comfort his people.  Christ heals bodies, minds and hearts; he saves and liberates persons from sin.  Every suffering to be relieved in the practice of the works of mercy, traditionally divided into corporal or spiritual works of mercy.  All of these acts of loving service are devoted to relief of suffering.  Christian disciples are told to see Christ in everyone and relieve their suffering as a way to love their neighbor.   Great saints followed Christ in setting up hospitals and caring for the poor.  Rodney Stark in The Rise Of Christianity claims that Christians prevailed in the ancient world because they nursed the sick during plagues and performed other acts of love for neighbors who were not their kin.   To show mercy is to act with loving kindness, courtesy, respect and care as though caring for Christ.  A gracious care giver may not be able to cure a patient but they can always respect their dignity and give comfort.

On important doctrine within the Catholic tradition is the dignity given to the human body.  God is embodied in the Incarnation and born of woman lives a fully human life.  Jesus, son of Mary, the Mother of God, was vulnerable and could suffer, even to the horror of an unjust shameful death.  Jesus also could share the joys of humankind and celebrate with all in table fellowship.  Christ transcended the purity laws and declared all embodied life to be clean and good.  Only things that come from the heart can create impurity, nothing that comes out of the body.  To have a human body is to have dignity since it is like Christ, God incarnate. Christ accepts all of humankind, especially the poor and vulnerable such as women and children.  The diseased and despised such as lepers  the mentally ill, and sinners are accepted as beloved by God.  All the ills and sufferings of flesh are accepted and healed.  No one can lose dignity through their sufferings, impairments or disfigurements.

Patients have their dignity respected in just care and their responsibilities are also recognized.  Care giving is a relationship and patients who are equal in moral dignity can share in their treatment when it is possible.  They can cooperate in their care and healing.  They can communicate their privileged knowledge so it is important for care givers to take time to inform them and to listen to them.  Patients have information and resources for cooperating in their treatment and healing.

A patient's spirituality and spiritual resources should be respected as well.  Care givers should neither fear, or censor a patient's explorations or expressions of spirituality.  Why not take a spiritual history on intake? Spiritual autobiographies are enlightening, especially for atheists and agnostics. While nearly ninety percent of Americans report a belief in God, far fewer professionals do so.  A patient might easily feel more free to share intimate sexual matters, than bring up prayer or experiences of God.  In a secularized milieu, religion can be the original "don't ask, don't tell," topic.  Catholic tradition should counter these trends and welcome spiritual explorations and resources.  Catholics also respect the fact that God acts in many ways and through different kinds of spiritualities, so tact and tolerance are necessary in Catholic healthcare institutions.

Should care givers speak of own spirituality?  Perhaps they should be reticent, unless asked or in response to the patient's lead.  In any situation where there is an asymmetry of position, power, or health, it is important to avoid intrusiveness or subtle coercion.   I would speak of my faith and spiritual hopes and practices only if asked.  A Christian could pray for a patient and for guidance, but not pray with them unless it was specifically requested.  Yet surely, spiritual resources should be offered and made available to patients in a Catholic institution, unaccompanied by pressure.  The Christian commitment to benevolent care and the relief of suffering can be communicated in large and small ways.  As St. Francis said, "Always preach the gospel, sometimes use words."  Deeds and empathy, beneficence, courtesy and respect for the dignity of patients as fellow children of God will convey the good news.  A care giver should be trustworthy and never lie, but always make an effort to offer patients hope for as full a life as is possible for them-- even if no cure is possible.   Always, Christian care givers can be grateful for their vocation of healing.  They can demonstrate gratitude to their patients for the privilege of caring for them.

Published: March 22, 2002

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