Fr. Tom Knoblach
Consultant for Healthcare Ethics,
Diocese of St. Cloud
1)
How should “mission” and “margin” be balanced?
2)
How should Catholic health care respond to
victims of sexual assault?
3)
When may labor be induced?
4)
May tubal ligation be performed to prevent risks
associated with a future pregnancy ?

5) How can we ensure that a patient’s preferences
for end of life care are honored?

6) When is the provision of medically-assisted
nutrition and hydration morally required?

7) When may implantable cardiac devices be
disabled?

8) May a Catholic hospital partner with another
provider that does elective sterilizations?

Others ? …

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I
send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on
them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” …

“Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have
believed.”
We begin with the Resurrection, because:
“The mystery of Christ casts light on every facet of
Catholic health care: to see Christian love as the
animating principle of health care; to see healing
and compassion as a continuation of Christ’s
mission; to see suffering as a participation in the
redemptive power of Christ’s passion, death, and
resurrection; and to see death, transformed by the
resurrection, as an opportunity for a final act of
communion with Christ.” [ERD, General Introduction]
When is health care Catholic health care?
◦ “When the bishop says it is”
 Can. 300 – No association shall assume the name
“Catholic” without the consent of the competent
ecclesiastical authority, in accord with the norm of
can. 312.
◦ possible points of reference:
 visible symbols, structures, and presence
 commitment to ERD and other moral teachings
 option for the poor / social witness
 canonical structures and reserved powers

from Ex Corde Ecclesiae, n. 17:
◦ animated by Christian inspiration
◦ manifests ongoing commitment to its proper mission in
the world
◦ maintains fidelity to the Gospel as it comes through the
Church
◦ provides visible service in witness to the transcendent

Goal: the practice of medicine in a genuinely
Catholic way
◦ animated by Christ’s teaching, a collaboration with the
healing ministry of Christ, as a mission of the Church
◦ a holistic view of the person, body and soul, and made in
the image of God
◦ a vocation to use one’s gifts wisely and generously for the
common good as a witness to charity (“beyond the
Hippocratic Oath”)
◦ upholding the inherent dignity of each human life,
regardless of the circumstances of the person’s
development or decline
◦ accepting the responsibilities and the limits of human
capabilities to restore health or preserve life, rooted in the
belief in eternal life

An open, honest, constructive, and routine
relationship with the bishop(s) is essential and
worth the time and effort it requires
◦
◦
◦
◦
Governance structures where applicable
Reporting relationships
Organizations (CMA) at the non-institutional level
Sense of personal ownership for the larger mission of the
Church
◦ Who is the liaison?

An awareness of Catholic moral
teaching as related to the practice of
medicine is required
◦ In general, natural law illumined by
revelation, reflecting on the complex and
composite nature of the human person
and his/her capacities
◦ The “three fonts” of morality
◦ The role of conscience
◦ The centrality of prudence
◦ The connection of the virtues
◦ The personal pursuit of holiness (cf. Spe
Salvi)
◦ Magisterial teaching on specific issues …

When ethical questions arise, what do I actually do?
◦ Gather the relevant facts
◦ Refer to the ERD
◦ Refer to general principles of Catholic moral teaching
◦ Refer to Catholic commentators / “auctores probati”
◦ Refer to experience (individual and collective,
institutional policy, consultation)
◦ Refer to secular standards of practice, legal factors,
current trends, “general secular morality” for context
and contrast

The reality: each of us forms our own personal
ethical synthesis from various sources
◦ Family system
◦ Educational experiences
◦ Religious tradition / beliefs
◦ Personal life experiences
◦ Listening to people we come to trust

For convenience, various principles develop

Principles are tools – templates developed from past
experiences that serve as shorthand and “starting
points” (points of reference) in deliberating about
specific cases

Not answers but help frame the right questions

They are general rules that must be applied with
prudence to particular situations









A few examples:
“The Georgetown Mantra” – Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Autonomy, and Justice
Double Effect (when an action has both good and bad
effects)
Totality (parts exist for the sake of the whole)
Common Good (conditions necessary in the community
for its members to thrive)
Confidentiality
Ordinary and Extraordinary Means
Informed Consent
Principles governing Cooperation (when I interact with
someone doing things against my own moral
commitments)

All the right theories, principles, and policies in the
world still need to be lived out by persons in
concrete circumstances – recall that ethics is a
practical discipline

Prudence grows with knowledge gained by study,
experience, and reflection

Prudence allows us to make the best choice, here
and now, in these circumstances, while respecting
our larger commitments with integrity

Where are your interests in learning more?

Where do you look for resources / information?

Questions / Discussion …