Vas, C. J.

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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 53 | Number 2 Article 12May 1986A Report from the International Organization ofCatholic PhysiciansC. J. VasFollow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqRecommended CitationVas, C. J. (1986) "A Report from the International Organization of Catholic Physicians," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 53 : No. 2 , Article12.Available at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol53/iss2/12A Report from the International Organization of Catholic Physicians Dr. C. J. Vas, President Dear Colleagues, October and November appear to be months of increased activity for me each year. In this period of 1985, I have attended three meetings and I should like to share these experiences with you. All the meetings were held in Rome. These were: I. An ad hoc meeting convened by Dr. Robert Walley of Canada to discuss a "Draft Proposal for a Catholic Institute of Health". This was held on Oct. 26, 27, 1985, and attended by 15 individuals from all six regions of the world. 76 During the discussions, it appeared that all present were highly motivated to give witness in the health world and all revealed a tremendously filial devotion to His Holiness , Pope John Paull!. After long discussions over two whole days , as well as brief consultations during the Catholic Hospitals' Congress that followed, the general objectives , rationale and specific objectives were finalized. The structure and other practical details were also discussed and apfiroved in principle. Many of you will remember that this proposal was first mooted in FIAMC circles by Dr. Walley in Rome during the XV FIAMC Congress of 1982. Since that time. he has presented this idea in various parts of North America , Latin America. Africa , Asia, Oceania as well as Europe. A lone crusade! But many have begun to realize that there are some good points in this project which. if realized, will be of immense value to the Church worldwide . The group nominated Dr. Walley as executive director and empowered him to convert his ideas into a viable and practical project. We all hope that the succeeding 6-12 months will bear fruit by way of the establishment of a Secretariat with its own funds and effective activities . Should any wish to be associated with this project, please let me know, or certainly contact Dr. Robert Walley at: I Parliament Place St. John's AIA-225 NEWFOUNDLAND,CANADA Linacre Quarterly 2. The second meeting in which I was invited to participate was the 1st World Congress of Catholic Hospitals and Health Care Institutions , from Oct. 29-31 , 1985. This was held in the Vatican itself in the audience hall or Aula Paolo VI. Despite the advance publicity being patchy in some areas, due not to any fault of the organizers, the occasion was a great success in that it brought together about 1,500 participants (clergy, religious and laity) from all six regions . The credit for this successful meeting goes to the steering committee headed by our own Msgr. James P. Cassidy with Chev. Marcello Sacchetti as secretary general. He is well-known to us as president of the OSPEDALE BAMBINO GESU - a generous host for our FlAMC executive committee meetings. This congress was convened with the active encouragement of the Holy See to bring together representatives of the huge number of Catholic hospitals and health care institutions which comprise the single largest source of health care in the world. Many felt that the Congress would a ttend to the increased need for communication and cooperation '/ among all these groups to fulfill their divine vocation a nd realize their commitment. As the days of the Congress progressed , hopes ran high for the establishment of a new International Federation of Catholic Hosp itals and Health Institutes. The Congress began on Oct . 29 with Cardinal Eduardo Pironio , president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, as well as president of the Pontifical Commission for the Pasto ral Care of Health Workers, presiding at the inaugural function which was to have been addressed by Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, secretary of state. He was unfortunately in hospital under treatment for a severe injury. This was followed by an erudite ta lk on the theology of health by Msgr. Carlo Caffarra of Rome, who, as you will recall , is to be with us at our next XVI FIAMC Congress in Argentina . The afternoon of the first day was spent in listening to six continental representatives who addressed themselves to "What is a Catholic Hospital?" a nd the activities of Catholic hospitals in their regions. On the morning of the second day, continental group meetings were held . Attende@s discussed their problems and almost unanimously resolved to start an international federation of Catholic hospitals and health institutes. Moreover, they chose two individ uals from each continental or regional area, much in the way of FIA M C , to join a band of the "Chosen 12" to commence the arduous work of establishing an international Catholic organization of hospital s. This group met at the end of the Congress to discuss structures when I presented, on request, the FIAMC way. They are to meet again in Rome just before our own executive meeting in May, 1986. May, 1986 77 78 To re turn to the Congress. th e second afternoon had Fa the r Ca li sto Vendrame. the Superior General of the Ca millians and Advocate Richard Concannon of New York (advisor to the Catholic hospitals ) discus s the need s of the Church in hea lth care from th e ethical. po litical and legal po ints of view. It was of interes t that much tim e was made available for discu ss ions from the floor . Thi s is so mething we, in FI AM e. must a Is o e nsure at our own meetings . as it adds to the richness of the dialog ue . The third morning was c haired by Archbishop F. Angelini, pro-president of the Pontifical Commission for the Pastoral Care of H ea lth Workers. This sess ion was billed as a meetin g o f hea lth care operators. In our sess io n . time was tight for di scuss ion large ly because all were loo kin g forward to th e Talk of Talks and a v is it from the Holy Father. Pope J oh n Pa ull!. Excitement ran hig h and hundred s were clamoring to tou c h so me part o r o th e r of Hi s H o liness. A fantastic spectacle - as us ua l. I do not know how the Holy F a the r does it! Des pit e a hea vy sc hedule. he looked as bright as ever. re la xed. a nd had a lot of good things to say . Long may he li ve and be guided by th e Hol y Spirit! T he las t afternoon session received th e re port s of the various co ntine ntal groups und er the chairmanship of Msg r. Cassidy. This sess ion brought peo ple toge ther and cleared the confusion in the mind s of so me as to th e role of international Catholic hea lth organizations such as F l A Me. CICIAMS. F IPC and the new ho spital structure o n th e one ha nd and th e new Pontifical Co mmiss ion for th e Pastoral Care of Health Workers. created by His Holiness Pope John Pa ull!. o n the other hand . which is t o stimulat e. promote and coordinate the ex isting autonomous Catholic o rga ni za ti ons in the hea lth sphere. All in all. this was rea ll y a good a nd useful meet ing for a ll of u s. I found it e njo \'a bl e. stimulating and full o f promi se. I all,1 grateful to Msgr. Cass id y. Mr. Sacchet ti and t he stee rin g committee for ha ving in yited me. Permit me to briefly present so mc int e rest ing sidelights on m y presence 111 Rome. a) This Co ngress brought together for th e first time eve r (I think) . the presidents of C ICI A M S. FI PC and FIA MC as we ll as th e chairmen o f th c Health Co mmiss ion of the Organization of Int e rnati ona l Ca th o li c Orga ni za ti ons (OIC). b) I lea rned on good authority that th e Holy See is ac ti ve ly considering the allocation of space for a FIAMC secretariat in th e Vatican. c) T he Hol y See was also \e ry happ v th at o ur African med ica l colleagues were coming toget he r in ex te nsi on o f t he work of FI A M C in ea rl y Fe bruary. 1986. In a pprec iation o f thi s and the co ns id erabl e difficulti es faced by them. th e H o ly Sec mad e a hand so me donation to the o rgani ze rs in Ghana. Linacrc Quart e rl \' d) My meetings with Catholic doctors and others, such as bishops , in areas where no guilds, or associat io ns of Catholic d octors ex ist , have ma de me realize tha t they need he lp for thi s. I now a ppea l. Can yo u all please prepare a short note on what can be done by small groups of Catholic doctors in our field and how yo u ma naged to ove rco me the inertia that surro unds so ma y of us? These individuals want some advice and are prepared to learn from your ex periences . For instance, a Bishop from a Third World country asked me how to get his Catholic docto rs together. Recently, he found that a n organization in favor of famil y planning in general had some prominent Catholics for promoters. He wanted to know what is being done in this area by others. Please send yo ur suggesti o ns to our secretary generaL Dr. T. P. Linehan , or directly to me. 3. Afte r a brief rest and so me work at the Hospital , I found myse lf again on my wa y to the Eternal City. Having co ntracted a really seve re upper respiratory infection which aggravated some systemic di so rde rs, I felt I was on my way to eternity . Alas, Rome airport arrived and no st rik es . I a lso felt great that I had cheated so me taxi -drivers of their exorb ita nt fares by tak ing the buses. But it was nice to be back in Rome fo r the X I V a nnual Plenary Meeting of the Pontifical Council "COR UNUM" (P.e.e. U.) - my seco nd of a 5 yea r te rm. Our work was interrupted on the very first da y by the ghastly news from Colombia of a vo lcanic e rupti o n . The secreta riat sprang into action a nd within hours the Holy Father approved the emergency action taken by the Council. The highlight thi s yea r was the initiat io n of a wo rld-wide campaign for the detai led st ud y of charity and pove rty - what it rea lly mea ns for a nd in the Church a nd to each o ne of us. ' Concern was often expressed by th e members during the di sc uss ions at "hea lth" no longe r bei ng a rna nd a te of the P . e.e. U. as it has bee n since 1975. Nevertheless, all agreed that the subject of hea lth in vited increased a ttenti o n by the C hurch a nd a ll prayed, I a m sure, for the success of the new Pontifical Co mmission of Pastoral Care fo r Hea lth Workers. Without a ny doubt, the one even t on the age nd a which a lways attracts the most a ttention is the ve ry individual a udience with the Holy Father. All the robes - cri mson, red a nd purple, the best su its and dresses - are in evidence on the bus which takes us to the Vatican. It is curious that wh ile th is may happe n eve ry few months for some of us - such a visit is always a great and stim ulating occasion, one which fi ll s us wit h awe a t meeting the successor of Peter o n whom C hrist founded the C hurch. Looking around at the C hurch in the Vat ican, ex isting for a lmost 2,000 yea rs, and the many ep isodes of human frailty , one cannot but be convinced May. 1986 79 that the Holy Spirit is with us all in the Church. It is up to us to make the most of His guidance. There is much excitement in Rome with meetings of some of the Pontifical Councils, the cardinals of the Church and the Extraordinary Synod. Let us hope and pray that the coming weeks will see greater blessings for our Church. In conclusion, my kindest personal regards to you and your families and best wishes in your work. God bless you. Yours faithfully , CJ.VAS Bombay, India I. GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF FIAMC 1.1. To promote the fullness of life for all through community health care based on the Christian principle of respect for all human life , with a focus on the family as the chief guardian of health. 1.2. To act as a prophetic witness by reflecting on the teaching and practice of contemporary medicine in the light of the Gospel and its values. 2. RATIONALE Throughout the world, families in general and mothers and children in particular are facing an enormous tragedy as illustrated by maternal and infant mortality figures in the Third World , and the incidence of abortion and child neglect in the First. This situation arises not only because of poverty, hunger, ignorance and disease, and by inappropriate , inadequate , and destructive medical technologies , but also from utilitarian principles presently dominating international health policy. Throughout history the Catholic Church has been one of the largest providers of health care throughout the world in financial investment and in the number of its committed religious and la y people. However, even some church-related institutions have been caught up in the dilemma of the maldistribution of available resources. The pressing needs of these times call for new initiatives to promote the formation of health care workers by providing them with the means to integrate new insights in the health services, which include the primary health care concept and current theologjcal reflection on the Church's healing ministry . 80 Linacre Quarterly .\ 3. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES 3.1. To provide a permanent, professional, interdisciplina ry center for the support and development of health care workers who are committed to its general objectives. 3.2. To help Catho li c deci sion-makers in health work set appropriate priorities . 3.3. To collect information on existing programs relating to the general objectives, to evaluate them and to adapt them where necessary to provide improved approaches. 3.4. To be a communication center and to pub~i s h on a regular basis. 3.5. To develop close liaison with other church and government organizations sharing these objectives. 3.6 To provide assistance through such activities as consu ltation services, workshops a nd education programs . 4. STRUCTURE 4 .1 A central headquarters which wou ld have no permanent overseas structure but would conduct activities at central headquarters and on site in existing structures wh ich ma y be health related organizations or dioceses, community groups, hospitals, both secular and religious , etc. Activities would be by invitation on ly responding to requests for assistance. It would be prepared to train all levels of health care workers- M.D.s, nurses. diocesan health co-ordinators, etc ... . as requested. The organizations options are: I. A totally independent organ izat ion II. Part of an exist ing organization, for example: university, institute, hospital .. III. An organization sponsored by a consortium of religious orders with the laity as a new dimension for their health care apostolate . IV. An organization of lay and rel igious sponsored by a bishop(s), episcopal conference(s), or the Holy See. 4.2. Location Europe, possibly England because: a. b. c. d. May, 1986 centra l better for communications fund raising management 81 e. travel f. more "neutra l" territory politically g. more professional and academic resources and support. 4.3 Personnel a. A small permanent staff with long or short-term consultants working with local counterparts in particular countries. b. Team approach - physicians , nurses, health auxiliaries, ethicists , theologians , from different cultures, both religious and lay. 4.4 Finances I. Government grants. Projects could be undertaken with grants received from international agencies , for example: US Aid , CIDA, WHO, etc .... II. Financia l support through Church organizations, for example: a) local churches b) Knights of Columbus c) Misereor d) Missio e) Development and Peace f) CAFOD g) religious orders h) Caritas , etc . . . . 111. Tax deductible contributions from: a) individuals , b) corporate businesses, c) private foundations. 4.5. Budget 82 Initial capital cost for premises, office equipment, office furniture, word processor, computer , photocopier; library, telephone, postage, stationery, travel. Initially , a small team of a director, research assistance and secretary would be required to develop the project. Linacre Quarterly 

A Report from the International Organization of Catholic Physicians

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A Report from the International Organization of Catholic Physicians

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