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Catholic Church

Ordinary and Extraordinary Medical Care

12 Wednesday Nov 2014

Posted by in Catholic Church, Catholic Obligations, Morality, Pro-Life

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I just received the most recent edition of Ethics & Medics: A Commentary of the National Catholic Bioethics Center on Health Care and the Life Sciences (wow, they need to shorten that). It is a four page newsletter that comes out every month with various medical ethical issues being discussed. This month the issue in question is whether or not to deactivate someone’s pacemaker in given situations. The issue itself is not my reason for this post but instead information within the first article that I was not aware of beforehand, which has to do with ordinary and extraordinary means of medical care.

The distinction between ordinary and extraordinary does not take into account the entirety of a patient’s medical situation; it can only concern the relationship between a specific problem, its corresponding treatment, and that treatment’s effects.

Ethics & Medics, Nov. 2014, vol. 39, num. 11, page 2.

What this means is that you cannot combine all of a patient’s various and unrelated symptoms and say that any care given would therefore be extraordinary. For instance, the type of situation it discusses in the article is when someone has a serious and painful disease that would cause them to die if it were not for the fact that they had a pacemaker. But, the disease and the pacemaker are totally unrelated. Therefore, you cannot deactivate the pacemaker saying that it is extraordinary means of treatment because what it is treating is unrelated to that which is causing the severe pain. There could be other reasons in which the pacemaker could be viewed as extraordinary and therefore could be removed but it cannot be removed because of an unrelated illness – no matter how bad it may be.

But before anyone says, “The Catholic Church is so mean; why do they want people to suffer.” The Church does not want anyone to suffer but instead recognizes that suffering is a part of our experience in this life. In addition the Church does believe in and promote the use of medicines that can alleviate pain. Lastly, the Church does not allow euthanasia or anything else that could be done that would be for the express purpose of ending the patient’s life because she (the Church) recognizes that we are not the creators of our lives but instead the stewards of it. And, therefore, we are bound to protect our lives with the ordinary means that are available to us.

For more information on the subject you can go to §2278-9 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church or go to the USCCB document located here. (Helpful in particular is Part Five that starts on page 29 and especially §55-7 that starts on page 30.)

St. Gregory the Great

03 Wednesday Sep 2014

Posted by in Catholic Church, Christian Unity, Eternal Life, Loving our Neighbor, Pope Benedict XVI, Saints, Salvation

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St. Gregory the Great and St. Augustine of Canterbury

Perhaps you have heard this story before but not perhaps from St. Bede the Venerable. This passage starts on page 86 of the pdf, which is numbered 74 in the text of the book. The whole book can be found here for free.

Nor must we pass by in silence the story of the blessed Gregory, handed down to us by the tradition of our ancestors, which explains his earnest care for the salvation of our nation. It is said that one day, when some merchants had lately arrived at Rome, many things were exposed for sale in the market place, and much people resorted thither to buy: Gregory himself went with the rest, and saw among other wares some boys put up for sale, of fair complexion, with pleasing countenances, and very beautiful hair. When he beheld them, he asked, it is said, from what region or country they were brought? and was told, from the island of Britain, and that the inhabitants were like that in appearance. He again inquired whether those islanders were Christians, or still involved in the errors of paganism, and was informed that they were pagans. Then fetching a deep sigh from the bottom of his heart, “Alas! what pity,” said he, “that the author of darkness should own men of such fair countenances; and that with such grace of outward form, their minds should be void of inward grace. He therefore again asked, what was the name of that nation? and was answered, that they were called Angles. “Right,” said he, “for they have an angelic face, and it is meet that such should be co-heirs with the Angels in heaven. What is the name of the province from which they are brought?” It was replied, that the natives of that province were called Deiri. (Note: Southern Northumbria) “Truly are they Deira,” said he, “saved from wrath, and called to the mercy of Christ. How is the king of that called?” They told him his name was Aelli;’ and he, playing upon the name, said, “Allelujah, the praise of God the Creator must be sung in those parts.”

Then he went to the bishop of the Roman Apostolic see (for he was not himself then made pope), and entreated him to send some ministers of the Word into Britain to the nation of the English, that it might be converted to Christ by them; declaring himself ready to carry out that work with the help of God, if the Apostolic Pope should think fit to have it done. But not being then able to perform this task, because, though the Pope was willing to grant his request, yet the citizens of Rome could not be brought to consent that he should depart so far from the city, as soon as he was himself made Pope, he carried out the long-desired work, sending, indeed, other preachers, but himself by his exhortations and prayers helping the preaching to bear fruit. This account, which we have received from a past generation, we have thought fit to insert in our Ecclesiastical History.

The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, St. Bede

I have always thought this to be a wonderful story. I suppose the main reason I find this story so intriguing and inspiring is because it led to the salvation of the English people, which is very important for me as an Anglican convert to the Catholic Faith. But of course there would be no ‘Anglican’ if St. Gregory had not first sent St. Augustine, which eventually led to Anglicanism after Henry VIII. So it is very appropriate that as Gregory sent Augustine to preach the Catholic Faith to the people and bring them into the one Fold of Christ, so also Benedict XVI published Anglicanorum coetibus to bring the lost sheep of Anglicanism back into the one Fold originally proclaimed by Augustine.

But there is another reason I am bringing up this story today. Notice what happens when Gregory sees the Angles being sold in the marketplace. His immediate and primary concern is not to see the slaves freed from their physical chains that hold them down. Instead, he is focused on another slavery that is far worse – that of being pagans, of being completely and hopelessly lost without a knowledge of Christ. It was the chains that enslaved their souls that he sought to free them from because it is those which have eternal consequences.

Many people today though have it completely backwards. They might see physical chains of some sort, some form of ‘social justice’ that needs to be performed, and through mere sentiment they seek to put right the perceived wrong. But of the spiritual situation of those in need they could not care less. This mindset is at least understandable in relief work done for the needy through various non-sectarian agencies. But when this is the attitude of those within the Church it makes no sense whatsoever!

Our Lord died to bring eternal, not temporal, salvation to mankind. This isn’t to say that we should not be concerned with the physical needs of our suffering brothers and sisters. We should – in fact our Lord demands it of us. But, we must have our priorities straight and remember that the help that others need most desparately, more than anything else, is not ‘justice’, whether it be social or otherwise. Instead what they need is mercy – the mercy that we can only receive through Christ’s redemption that He won for us on the Cross. St. Gregory understood this and we, as a Church that can see pagans of all kinds surrounding us, need to understand it.

The Catholic Conception of Confession

28 Monday Jul 2014

Posted by in C.S. Lewis, Catholic Church, Catholic Obligations, Sacraments, Salvation

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My post today is yet another quote from C.S. Lewis. But, I am not posting it to show an instance of truth but one of misunderstanding. Lewis was much smarter than I can ever hope to be but his understanding of confession misses the mark.

So why point out this misunderstanding of confession? Primarily, it is to correct any misunderstandings that a Catholic may have about the Sacrament of Penance. (And hopefully to explain why confession is necessary to a non-Catholic.) But also my purpose is to give a more balanced view of Lewis. What I mean is that most of the quotes I post from him could have come from a Catholic saint – but Lewis was not Catholic and he should be treated as such. There is a danger inherent in accepting what someone says as the Truth just because you happen to like the person. And if we accept as true what Lewis has to say about confession then it would be very dangerous indeed.

I think our* official view of confession can be seen in the form for the Visitation of the Sick where it says “Then shall the sick person be moved (i.e., advised, prompted) to make a . . . Confession . . . if he feel his conscience troubled with any weighty matter.” That is, where Rome makes Confession compulsory for all, we make it permissible for any: not “generally necessary” but profitable. We do not doubt that there can be forgiveness without it. But, as your own experience shows, many people do not feel forgiven, i.e., do not effectively “believe in the forgiveness of sins,” without it. The quite enormous advantage of coming really to believe in forgiveness is well worth the horrors (I agree, they are horrors) of a first confession.

Also, there is the gain in self-knowledge: most of [us] have never really faced the facts about ourselves until we uttered them aloud in plain words, calling a spade a spade. I certainly feel I have profited enormously by the practice. At the same time I think we are quite right not to make it generally obligatory, which wd. force it on some who are not ready for it and might do harm.

From a letter by C.S. Lewis

* – By “our” he means the Anglican view of confession.

So what is the dangerous part in this letter? It is the fact that Lewis thinks of the ‘Roman’ way of confession as merely obligatory, which according to canon law it is, when he should have first understood confession as necessary, which he did not as evidenced by his saying that confession is “not ‘generally necessary’ but profitable.” But, the reason that confession is obligatory for a Catholic is because it is necessary for our salvation. (At least it is necessary for those of us who have committed a mortal sin, which I think would include almost every person, if not every person, that has ever reached the age of reason.)

Here is a basic summary of why confession is in fact necessary: after baptism incorporates us into the life of God – the life of grace – (which was lost to mankind through the sin of Adam and Eve) we can, and do, still sin. Some of those sins are venial and some are mortal. And if a sin is mortal then we once again loose that life of grace – that connection with God that was given to us through baptism. In a sense, therefore, we have crucified Christ in our own hearts by sinning deliberately against Him. What is to be done to be forgiven and return to the life of grace? The Anglicans, just as Catholics, believe that baptism can only be administered once and so if you break that connection with God that was given to you through baptism then how can you get it back? The answer seems quite clear, if of course you believe what Jesus said to His Apostles, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:23) Jesus gave His Apostles (and their successors) this authority to forgive sins because He knew that we would continue to sin while we remain on this earth.

So, like I said at the beginning, for Lewis to sound so negative about the Catholic obligation to go to confession shows that he missed the mark. The Catholic Church makes it an obligation for her members to go to confession out of love for our eternal souls – because she knows that it is necessary after we have committed post-baptismal mortal sin. If only Lewis had understood that then perhaps he would have done the one thing that I regret he never did – become Catholic.

The Call of Kultala

11 Friday Jul 2014

Posted by in Catholic Church, Dictatorship of Relativism, Politically Incorrect, Pro-Death 'Catholics'

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Fr. Z hits the nail on the head yet again. Read his article here to find out about the most recent pro-death 'Catholic', Kelly Kultala, that is running for political office.

Here's the first few sentences but you really should read the rest:

First, there is no such thing as a pro-choice Catholic.

Catholics are not free to choose what they are going to believe and what they are going to reject when the teachings are defined by the Church.

After reading the whole article I thought to myself – is it just a coincidence that this lady's name is so similar to Cthulhu?

What IS the Atonement Academy?

27 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by in Catholic Church, Catholic Schools, The Kingdom of Christ

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It is a very special day for the Atonement Academy, which is the parochial school here at Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. Today the Archbishop of San Antonio will be coming for the official groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of the school. This will give the school much needed room because, while many Catholic schools across the country are struggling to survive, this school continues to grow. As I often point out to visitors – we have so many students that we literally have to use large closets for classrooms. In fact, I am writing this piece from inside of one of those closets, which I call my office. (And although it may be selfish this is one reason I am very glad for the coming expansion – because I will get a real office at the time it is complete.)

But it is not the growth of the school or the standardized test scores of its students that makes this place what it is. Our society has a tendency to view the value of an organization, whether it be a school, business or non-profit organization, based on what it achieves by way of some measurement. For example a school is judged on its ability to get high scores on standardized tests, a business is judged on how much money it makes and non-profits are judged on how many people it serves. But I think this way of thinking is to emphasize the wrong aspect, at least for a parochial school.

When people come here for the first time they always (at least in my experience) remark on the beauty of the place (school and church). And oftentimes people have pointed out to me that the whole complex is styled like a castle. I have never discussed with Fr. Phillips (our Pastor who is also the founder of the parish and the school) why it is styled in such a manner but I have my own thoughts about the meaning behind its style, which also leads to my understanding of what this place is.

First, let us address this question: what is a castle for? Obviously, it is for protection from invading hordes who seek to destroy a society. But while awaiting the coming enemy, those within the walls must be trained for battle so that they will be ready – prepared for whatever may be coming. Because once the hordes have started to advance against that society, it cannot stay hiding within those walls or it will be conquered. At some point you must venture out through the gate in order to protect that which you are safeguarding. True, you may be harmed and take loses by so doing but it is the only way to win the victory and thereby protect that which the society within the castle truly values above all else.

And that is how I view the Atonement Academy, as well as Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. Within these walls we are preparing for battle against the advancing horde: a secular and pluralistic society that wants to see the destruction of the Catholic Church (and not just this one parish but the entire Church). And we prepare for the coming battle through the teaching in the classroom and the catechesis that takes place in the Mass. But we do not lock ourselves within these walls, instead we go out and defend the Catholic Church to the best of our abilities because it is worth protecting – in fact, it is worth dying for if necessary. And with every graduation from the school and every dismissal from Mass that takes place we go forth to do battle with the hordes that await us at the gates.

But there is still one very important element that is necessary: within every fortified castle is one who leads so that the society might be victorious against the advancing horde. In a castle it would be the king and the success of the society within would depend upon the effectiveness of the one in charge. With the Catholic Church it is no different. Jesus Christ is the King that defends the Catholic Church against the advancing horde and it is He who has promised that the “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18b, KJV) But within the Kingdom of Christ on this earth, which is the Catholic Church, there are many outposts, many castles that are established to defend the faithful against the advancing horde. I am speaking of dioceses and within them the parishes and the ones who leads them – the pastor, whether it be Bishop within his diocese or a priest within a parish. And we must thank God for all good and faithful pastors that seek to follow the teachings of the King, which is the only way any diocese or parish can win its various battles against secular society.

Therefore, let me end with a personal note to Fr. Phillips: Congratulations on the official groundbreaking we will have today because with the expansion of the school we will be able to train more people to go out and do battle with the advancing hordes. And in addition let me say thank you for being a true and faithful pastor. May this place that is prospering through your hard work produce more pastors like you.