Catholic Physicians\u27 Guild

English

epublications@Marquette

The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 37 | Number 2 Article 22May 1970A Right to Health-An EpilogueCatholic Physicians' GuildFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqRecommended CitationCatholic Physicians' Guild (1970) "A Right to Health-An Epilogue," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 37 : No. 2 , Article 22.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol37/iss2/22FiN, he will understand that his quasi-sacramental capacity to heal the sick is not without its limitations. A doctor is a man , and only one man. He can not reach everyone in his ministra-tions, and sometimes, inevitably, his ministrations wiU fa il. Not only will he not always defeat death, but he him-self will someday surrender to that grim sergeant. Second, the Catholic physician will appreciate that his heal-ing charism involves a particular dedi-cation that is rooted in his whole Christian philosophy of life. Briefly, for the medical man of faith the pat ient is not simply a problem -which, one way or another, he often is - but a person. The insistence of contemporary philosophy on the value , the uniqueness, the sacredness of the individual person stands in agreement with tradiUonal Christian teaching. It can be an enlightening experience to ride (for example) the crowded New York subway and pass the time looking about you with some thoughtfulness. Here are many people, some old, some young, they are black and white and brown, they speak in various tongues, some are shabby and even dirty, most seem tired, all are heading toward eternity as they ride the real but symbolic subway. God created each one of these ; He loves each one with an infinite love; for each, as if alone, Christ laid down His life; each has an eternal destiny. To fastidious human eyes these people, collectively and individually, may not seem like much ; in God's view, each 114 one of them is precious be~ td all description, and for each one them God in tends, final ly, only wha . best. As often as it has been soun d, the warning may and must be rep~ ed: of all men, the doctor and the pri must battle the demon of disillus; ment. As the years pass and ll rosy optimism of youth fades, it I comes perilously easy for the pn t and doctor, whose joint busines ts the essential well-being of men, 1 lose faith in men. The process ay bt subtle, and only half adcno· !dged. We all remember the declar on of one of the characters in the cc brated Charley Brown comic strip: I love mankind. I just can't stand pel le ." If, in addition to cynicism ab tl the human anirrtal, the Catholic d ·tor or the Catholic priest begins t suffer disiUusionment with regard 6 his Church, he will stand, profes onally, in a kind of double jeopardy. ln one word , that one wor which wiU survive all abuse and mi:-. se, the doctor, like the priest, must J, ·e. The task is not easy; often it wil1 b carried out in despite of the most unc rstand-able human reluctances. J H the Christian doctor, one most oncrete exercise of that love will be a l> stained effort to see to it that as far . in him lies, every man's right to health, properly understood, be impk nented, and to capacity. Therein the . race of God will not be wanting; and anyone who believes in Christian cha ism be· lieves in grace. A Right To Health-An Epilogue the outset , we were committed to raise questions rather than defmitively to t;.;r them. I think that our essayists have contributed greatly to that purpose. .. ~clearJy defined are three questions central to the issue of the right to health •; viz, {1) what is connoted by the term "A Right to Health Care", (2) what is .. legitimacy of the citizens, demand for health care , and, (3) what ought be the fction of the Christian humanist physician? ~fessor Buckley, interpreting, analogizing and developing the thought of the ~ magisterium of the church makes a strong case for a relative right to J'~· care. Professor Cohen confirms this thinking from a public health poin t of !further ligh t could have been shed on the interpretation of a right to health Ia by those in government but unfortunately two of our prospective authors, =son of prior committment were unable to complete their essays in time for lion. TI1e nature and the extent of the ethical and juridical relationships of ment to the citizen who through no failure of his own has not the means liilable to protect his life (nee, health ; nee, health care) has been left unexplored this discussion. Griffin comes to grips with the problem from the vista of a practicing ciao and christian. Reading between the lines, one visualizes a struggle in Dr. 's thinking between an overt, unlimited, Franciscan type contribu tion to IJCiety and the maintenance of the physician's continued personal identity and fledom to exercise his profession. Dr. l.eithart recognizes and stresses the nghts of the individual physician. He is 41Dc:emed to emphasize that the physician too is a citizen whose welfare ought be the concern of the governed :: 1d those governing. Implied is that the is a person and not a thing to be utilized simply for the need of the - IIIUIU[V , hOWeVer impOrtant that neCO may be. very nature of the service whicl the phys: :ian provides is such that the --;··-'s righ t to be sole judge of wh re, wl en c. td h0w this service is disposed 115 has been and continues to be called into question - and I am not sati sufficient consideration has been given to this crucial point. It would require considerable clarification. I think that there will be a ten( government to train and hire physicians for the provision of health nee' imagined) if the profession as a whole doesn't accept the concept of " health care". Graver evils (personal, fmanciaJ , medical , etc.) partially allu Dr. Griffm couJd,however, conceivably flow from such intervention . Finally , but very importantly, it has been left to Father McCorry , SJ to bWJ into the conscious awareness of the physician a concept of his, the pi sician's, "charisma"; that he possesses a spiritual as well as a scientific gift of h ling -a gift which takes on double meaning and importance in our pre essive~ developing understanding of what it means to be a human perst . Thus, ultimately it is a Pauline charity which is called upon to reign supret ~ in the physician's breast; a physician's charity which wiiJ necessarily recognize nd then overlook all the annoying foibles and faiJures of human nature and ' ich will make available health care to those in need to the limits of the physic n's owl total health. V.HI. I 16 Abortion- Part XV Rt. Rev. Msgr. Paul V. Harrington, P.A., J.C.L. The campaign to sell liberal abortion to the people of the United States and It the people of Massachusetts is well 81pnized, well coordinated and well r..c:ed. The presentation is based lpOn error, half-truths, myths, exag--d statistics, personal opinion , an taoring of fact and reality, poor logic, ~sistency, ridiculous conclusions. 1lle proponents of Liberal abort ion Jlltfer to appeal to the emotions and IJ!Dpathies of people. while they fanake reason; they choose to con-lleltrate on the expectant mother -- personal ideas and opinions, her ~ and physical health, her lilting or not wanting t11e child, her lbility to afford and care for the ifant, her decision as to how many ~dren she will ha•· ~, her right not to :: birth , her control over her own ility - to the almost complete lldusion of the unborn fetus and his They discuss the subject just as fetus did not exist, just as if he possess real human Life and did have a right to be free from an upon his life; just as if he did have a right to Live and to be born. Even when the pro-abortionists speak of the unborn child, it is always in reference to the mother. 1l1ey consider the unwanted child but al-ways in terms of the mother having no obligation to give birth to a child she doesn' t want. Titey discuss the possi-bility of an in fa nt being born handi-capped or retarded but always with a concern for the inconvenience and the added burden that this defect will place on the mother, who must care for him. Those who oppose a change in the current statutes are not without reeling, understanding, sympathy and compassion for the mother and her specia l problems and difficulties but they do not fee l that abortion, which is the deliberate termination and Msgr. !/arrington is Vice-Officialis, the 4rcl liocese of Boston. I 17 

A Right to Health-An Epilogue

The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 37 | Number 2 Article 10May 1970A Right to Health-An EpilogueCatholic Physicians' GuildFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqRecommended CitationCatholic Physicians' Guild (1970) "A Right to Health-An Epilogue," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 37 : No. 2 , Article 10.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol37/iss2/10FiN, he will understand that his quasi-sacramental capacity to heal the sick is not without its limitations. A doctor is a man , and only one man. He can not reach everyone in his ministra-tions, and sometimes, inevitably, his ministrations wiU fa il. Not only will he not always defeat death, but he him-self will someday surrender to that grim sergeant. Second, the Catholic physician will appreciate that his heal-ing charism involves a particular dedi-cation that is rooted in his whole Christian philosophy of life. Briefly, for the medical man of faith the pat ient is not simply a problem -which, one way or another, he often is - but a person. The insistence of contemporary philosophy on the value , the uniqueness, the sacredness of the individual person stands in agreement with tradiUonal Christian teaching. It can be an enlightening experience to ride (for example) the crowded New York subway and pass the time looking about you with some thoughtfulness. Here are many people, some old, some young, they are black and white and brown, they speak in various tongues, some are shabby and even dirty, most seem tired, all are heading toward eternity as they ride the real but symbolic subway. God created each one of these ; He loves each one with an infinite love; for each, as if alone, Christ laid down His life; each has an eternal destiny. To fastidious human eyes these people, collectively and individually, may not seem like much ; in God's view, each 114 one of them is precious be~ td all description, and for each one them God in tends, final ly, only wha . best. As often as it has been soun d, the warning may and must be rep~ ed: of all men, the doctor and the pri must battle the demon of disillus; ment. As the years pass and ll rosy optimism of youth fades, it I comes perilously easy for the pn t and doctor, whose joint busines ts the essential well-being of men, 1 lose faith in men. The process ay bt subtle, and only half adcno· !dged. We all remember the declar on of one of the characters in the cc brated Charley Brown comic strip: I love mankind. I just can't stand pel le ." If, in addition to cynicism ab tl the human anirrtal, the Catholic d ·tor or the Catholic priest begins t suffer disiUusionment with regard 6 his Church, he will stand, profes onally, in a kind of double jeopardy. ln one word , that one wor which wiU survive all abuse and mi:-. se, the doctor, like the priest, must J, ·e. The task is not easy; often it wil1 b carried out in despite of the most unc rstand-able human reluctances. J H the Christian doctor, one most oncrete exercise of that love will be a l> stained effort to see to it that as far . in him lies, every man's right to health, properly understood, be impk nented, and to capacity. Therein the . race of God will not be wanting; and anyone who believes in Christian cha ism be· lieves in grace. A Right To Health-An Epilogue the outset , we were committed to raise questions rather than defmitively to t;.;r them. I think that our essayists have contributed greatly to that purpose. .. ~clearJy defined are three questions central to the issue of the right to health •; viz, {1) what is connoted by the term "A Right to Health Care", (2) what is .. legitimacy of the citizens, demand for health care , and, (3) what ought be the fction of the Christian humanist physician? ~fessor Buckley, interpreting, analogizing and developing the thought of the ~ magisterium of the church makes a strong case for a relative right to J'~· care. Professor Cohen confirms this thinking from a public health poin t of !further ligh t could have been shed on the interpretation of a right to health Ia by those in government but unfortunately two of our prospective authors, =son of prior committment were unable to complete their essays in time for lion. TI1e nature and the extent of the ethical and juridical relationships of ment to the citizen who through no failure of his own has not the means liilable to protect his life (nee, health ; nee, health care) has been left unexplored this discussion. Griffin comes to grips with the problem from the vista of a practicing ciao and christian. Reading between the lines, one visualizes a struggle in Dr. 's thinking between an overt, unlimited, Franciscan type contribu tion to IJCiety and the maintenance of the physician's continued personal identity and fledom to exercise his profession. Dr. l.eithart recognizes and stresses the nghts of the individual physician. He is 41Dc:emed to emphasize that the physician too is a citizen whose welfare ought be the concern of the governed :: 1d those governing. Implied is that the is a person and not a thing to be utilized simply for the need of the - IIIUIU[V , hOWeVer impOrtant that neCO may be. very nature of the service whicl the phys: :ian provides is such that the --;··-'s righ t to be sole judge of wh re, wl en c. td h0w this service is disposed 115 has been and continues to be called into question - and I am not sati sufficient consideration has been given to this crucial point. It would require considerable clarification. I think that there will be a ten( government to train and hire physicians for the provision of health nee' imagined) if the profession as a whole doesn't accept the concept of " health care". Graver evils (personal, fmanciaJ , medical , etc.) partially allu Dr. Griffm couJd,however, conceivably flow from such intervention . Finally , but very importantly, it has been left to Father McCorry , SJ to bWJ into the conscious awareness of the physician a concept of his, the pi sician's, "charisma"; that he possesses a spiritual as well as a scientific gift of h ling -a gift which takes on double meaning and importance in our pre essive~ developing understanding of what it means to be a human perst . Thus, ultimately it is a Pauline charity which is called upon to reign supret ~ in the physician's breast; a physician's charity which wiiJ necessarily recognize nd then overlook all the annoying foibles and faiJures of human nature and ' ich will make available health care to those in need to the limits of the physic n's owl total health. V.HI. I 16 Abortion- Part XV Rt. Rev. Msgr. Paul V. Harrington, P.A., J.C.L. The campaign to sell liberal abortion to the people of the United States and It the people of Massachusetts is well 81pnized, well coordinated and well r..c:ed. The presentation is based lpOn error, half-truths, myths, exag--d statistics, personal opinion , an taoring of fact and reality, poor logic, ~sistency, ridiculous conclusions. 1lle proponents of Liberal abort ion Jlltfer to appeal to the emotions and IJ!Dpathies of people. while they fanake reason; they choose to con-lleltrate on the expectant mother -- personal ideas and opinions, her ~ and physical health, her lilting or not wanting t11e child, her lbility to afford and care for the ifant, her decision as to how many ~dren she will ha•· ~, her right not to :: birth , her control over her own ility - to the almost complete lldusion of the unborn fetus and his They discuss the subject just as fetus did not exist, just as if he possess real human Life and did have a right to be free from an upon his life; just as if he did have a right to Live and to be born. Even when the pro-abortionists speak of the unborn child, it is always in reference to the mother. 1l1ey consider the unwanted child but al-ways in terms of the mother having no obligation to give birth to a child she doesn' t want. Titey discuss the possi-bility of an in fa nt being born handi-capped or retarded but always with a concern for the inconvenience and the added burden that this defect will place on the mother, who must care for him. Those who oppose a change in the current statutes are not without reeling, understanding, sympathy and compassion for the mother and her specia l problems and difficulties but they do not fee l that abortion, which is the deliberate termination and Msgr. !/arrington is Vice-Officialis, the 4rcl liocese of Boston. I 17 

https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3007&amp;context=lnq

A Right to Health-An Epilogue

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

epublications@Marquette

epublications@Marquette