Catholic Physicians\u27 Guild

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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 1 | Number 2 Article 3March 1933"The Apollonian" AnsweredCatholic Physicians' GuildFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqRecommended CitationCatholic Physicians' Guild (1933) ""The Apollonian" Answered," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 1: No. 2, Article 3.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol1/iss2/3( ( ( ( I l ( ( THE LINACRE QUARTERLY "THE APOLLONIAN" ANSWERED A N EDITORIAL on THE LINACRE QUARTERLY in the recent issue of The Apollonian raised a point of both interest and importance on the activities of the Catholic Physicians' Guilds. We feel this was somewhat answered by the editorial on our publication in the February lIth edition of America in: "Unless our professional men listen to the voice of the Vicar of Christ, a force of great power for the establish-ment of the Kingdom of God on earth, the end of all Catholic Action will be lost." Since further explanation seems to be in order, a short discourse on the aims and objects of the Catholi c Physicians' Guilds is offered. Our Guilds and publication were established in part to enable the medical man to put into practice the necessary relationship between medicine and the teachings of the Catholic Church on medico-religious questions. There have been Catholic Physicians' Guilds in various parts of the world, but until quite recently but few here. We feel that the Catholic physicians of America should unite, rally to the defense of Christian morality, fulfill the duty to defend and advance the Faith from our particularly favorable position, and be a part of Catholic Action. No group of men, not even the priests themselves, are as aware of what is going on in our profession as we are, are better able to study the r easons why, and can exert as potent a force against the wrongs. The practice of medicine today is largely a case of this or that and a deep interest in the science pertaining to whatever the disorder might be as expressed in an entity term. Too many of us have lost sight of the fact that illness occurs in a human being and that the human being is more than a physical affair . To lead us properly we have taken a position from what Cardinal Newman saw the necessity of when he said: "There cannot be a worse calamity for Catholic people than to have its medical attendants alien or hostile to Catholicity; there can-not be a greater blessing than when they are intelligent Catholics who acknowledge the claims of religious duty and the subordinations and limits of their own functions." Thus our movement has one of its roots in the belief that no matter how advanced or scientific a physician may be, where or how situated, or what the conditions may be at the moment, man is not a mere animal or a case of this or that, but an individual'. with a soul, a rational and responsible being. vVe feel that the patient,. ourselves, and the Church would all be benefited by better understand-ing, consideration and application of those principles the Church has taught for centuries, but of which we have somewhat lost sight. The Guilds have been established to be a connecting link between the b~o great sciences of theology and medicine, and while deepening [ 27] THE LIN AC R E Q UA RTERLY the knowledge of Catholic t eaching with regard to very important subj ect s, they act as a factor for the inc rease of Faith among phys i-cians themselves so as to make them capable of applying the principles of the Church properly. W e believe that part of our r esponsibilities and activities as medical men should be devoted t o comba ting all legis-lative movements that tyrannize over the inalienable right of every individual to every function of the human body , to oppose immoral laws such as have t o do with st erilization, birth prevention , etc., and in t hi s be missiona ries to other organizations of all kinds. ~VVe encour-age confer ences between ourselves and member s of the clergy for the discuss ion of medico-theological a nd medico-ethical problems. '''Te hope to take an a ctive pa rt as Catholi c phys icians in publi c life, a nd, in t aking p a r t, discha rge our duties as citi zens of the commonwealth , r ecognizing th at the Catholic Church, in t he futur e as in the p ast, is the main st a bilizer of Christia n morals and of civilization itself. The battle should be ca rried forw a rd between t he Catholic exeget e and the evolutionist, since scientifi c conclusions do not in t he least a ffect the essential trut h of Genesis. W e feel much of the weakness of Christian-ity t oday has been brought abou t by theories a nd ideas not scient ific 01' a·ccurate which t end to make human life an affair of all sorts of improper activities. Against these the Catholic Church has stood as a unit . In all these matter s t he assistance of Catholic Physicians' Guilds for t he defense of F a ith and morality and hum an well-being should be an invaluable, even decisive, influence The purpose of t he Catholi c Physicia ns' Guilds is to constitute a brotherhood of all members of the medi cal profession; to provide mutual ass ist ance in their religi ous and professiona l life; to fa cili tat e intercourse between them and member s of cognat e bra nches a nd the clergy and others ( such as judges , magistrates, lawyers, educators, politi cians, etc.) who are interest ed in the study and discuss ion of medico-religious questions and those tou ching on the science of dut y and ethics ; t o investigate the r elati ons of medical theory a nd p ractice to Catholic theology and philosophy ; t o uphold the principles of Ca tholic fa it h and morality aga inst an unchri sti an and unsc ientific mat erialism; to r ender such assist a nce to Catholic medi cal institutions and missions as may be practi cable; and, in gener al, to p romote among Catholic members of the profession such solidarity as may be advan-t ageous to both their r eligion and their profession. These a r e our aims and obj ect s, a nd we hope that God in His power, Christ in His mercy, and the priests in their r emembrances and goodwill, will bring success to our efforts. Ther e is mu ch to be done and we have a long way to go, but to the above we have subscribed ourselves and valiantly we will ca rry on. r 2S I ( ( ( ( ( ( 

The Apollonian  Answered

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The Apollonian Answered

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