Reviving American Higher Education: An Analysis and Blueprint for Action

Most of the problems in higher education are rooted in an unexamined rejection of Western civilization's moral tradition. This malady requires moral correction and meaningful accountability.

The Doctor–Patient Relationship: Does Christianity Make a Difference?

The nature of the doctor–patient relationship is central to the practice of medicine and thus to bioethics. The American Medical Association (in AMA principles of medical ethics, available at: https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/ethics/patient-physician-relationships, 2016) states, “The practice of medicine, and its embodiment in the clinical encounter between a patient and a physician, is fundamentally a moral activity that arises from the imperative to care for patients and to alleviate suffering.” In this issue of Christian Bioethics, leading scholars consider what relevance (if any) Christianity brings to the relationship between physician and patient: does Christianity make a difference? The contributors consider this question from several different perspectives: the proper model of medicine, the role that the Christian moral tradition can play in medicine in a secular pluralistic society, how a Christian understanding of virtue can inform practices such as perinatal hospice and physician-assisted suicide, and whether or not appeals to Christian values can (or should) ground a physician’s right to conscientious objection.

The Catholic Moral Tradition, Conscience, and the Practice of Medicine

One contested moral commitment shared by the American Medical Association (AMA) and American Nurses Association (ANA) has to do with the place of conscience in the practice of medicine. These organizations, each in their own way, urge their respective members to engage in careful moral discernment regarding their professional life, and they assert the existence of an obligation on the part of others to respect the conscientious objections of healthcare professionals and to accommodate objecting individuals. Yet despite the value that these organizations place on conscience and objector rights, these organizations do not offer elaborate philosophical defenses of their positions. This shortcoming is exposed by the light of contemporary philosophical challenges to conscience-friendly policies. What such challenges demand is a philosophical defense of these organizations’ moral commitments and corresponding policy recommendations. The point of this article is to indicate how the Catholic philosophical tradition’s account of the nature and importance of conscience can philosophically underwrite these organizations’ conscience-related principles and practices. It can be seen, then, that the Catholic tradition is far from inimical to the contemporary practice of medicine and that, on the contrary, this tradition offers philosophically serious grounds on which to rest (and from which to defend) some of the most morally significant values and guidelines endorsed by these contemporary health-professional organizations and their members.

Revising the ERDs for the 21st Century

Since their inception in 1948, The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs) have guided Catholic health care ministries in the United States, aiding in the application of Catholic moral tradition to modern health care delivery. The ERDs have undergone two major revisions in that time, with about twenty years separating each revision. The first came in 1971 and the second came twenty-six years ago, in 1995. As such, a third major revision is due and will likely be undertaken soon.

Encyclical Letter Humanae Vitae in the Course of Time

The content of Humanae Vitae (1968) caused an ongoing debate all over the world. It has also stirred up factual crisis of moral theology. The crisis has caused subjectivity of morality and this has caused further crisis. The most serious feature of the crisis seems to be an effort to accept moral pluralism inside the Catholic Church. The renewal of moral theology the Second Vatican Council talked about has been left blocked. A couple of years after the Second Vatican Council, but before publishing Humanae Vitae, warning of St. Paul VI calls for continuity with moral tradition as a criterion for the autonomy of Catholic moral theology. In spite of much opposition of some bishops, theologians, and laypeople, the teaching of the encyclical letter has priceless value. The truth about marital love and value of life is in its center. It is proclaimed in an overview of the teaching of the Catholic Church from Humanae Vitae to Evangelium Vitae. In its nature, family is invited to fullness of love and, at the same time, it is the heart of civilization of love. Unfortunately, current family has found itself between the two civilizations—civilization of love on the one hand and civilization of death and uncontrolled pleasure on the other. The teaching of the encyclical Humanae Vitae is a constant guide when protecting true marital love and family in the course of time.

Human Flourishing in Christ: A Journey of Hope in the Christian Community

Promoting human flourishing among the sick and the dying as the spiritual goal of life—union with Christ—presents one of the most challenging experiences for patients, families, clinicians, and the Christian community in today’s healthcare environment. This article will present a framework and the important Catholic moral principles that can help guide and facilitate ethical decisions in end-of-life care that promotes and protects human dignity, freedom, and human flourishing in Christ as the telos of the journey of hope in the Christian community. Summary: As members of the Christian Community we have been called to bring the healing message of salvation and hope to one another. This ministry calls each of us to reach beyond ourselves and to touch our loved ones, our neighbors, those made vulnerable by the circumstances of their illness and to protect and defend human dignity, freedom and promote human flourishing. As Jesus did in his own time, each of us is called to help bring healing and wholeness to the sick and the dying in our world. How we can respond to our obligation to care for the sick and dying at the end-of-life, grounded in the principles of the Catholic moral tradition that govern our care and treatment decisions, is the focus of this paper.