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THE BULLETIN. August S : 1955—?AGE 7-i
By Jim Kelly
(N.C.W.C. News Service)
SAN FRANCISCO — Catholic
Action found its way into the
convention of the American
Medical Association here.
“What was it you wanted to
know, Doctor? The morality of
the rhythm method? How do
Catholics feel about euthanasia?
Should cancer patients be told?”
These and other questions,
dealing with the ethics of med
icine, received an answer, or a
recommendation as to where
one could be found, at, a booth
sponsored and staffed by mem
bers of the Federation of Cath
olic Physicians’ Guild.
In five days visitors to the
booth filled out some 1,000 cards
requesting documented informa
tion about the Catholic teaching
on problems of medical and
surgical practice. Thousands of
queries were answered on the
spot.
Though small, and tucked
away in a corner of the vast ar
ray of technical exhibits in un
derground Brooks hall, Booth
E-33 got the attention of near
ly every passerby.
Most stopped to figure the
pamphlets and check the list of
topics (contraception, steriliza
tion, artificial insemination,
sterility, bobotomy, vasectomy).
Every third or fourth person
wanted more than a look.
“The most frequent question
might surprise you,” Dr. Gerarl
Griffin, of New York, said.
“There is great professional in
terest in the moral side of deal
ing with cancer patients —
whether terminal patients
should be told of their medically
hopeless condition.”
The advice: Yes, unless a
doctor has good reason to be
lieve his patient is susceptible
to immediate, perhaps fatal,
physical shock.
Other popular queries: How
do Catholics feel about sex
education? Will you explain the
rhythm method so that I can
advise my Catholic patients?
Some 20 Catholic physicians
here for the convention, none
from this area for the guild is
not organized here, volunteered
to man the booth during the
week. It meant a sacrifice. Sev
eral missed professional sessions
they would like to have attend
ed.
But the response has been
great — better than at New
York and Chicago conventions,”
said Dr. Clement P. Cunning
ham of Rock Island, 111. “Peo
ple are grateful for the infor
mation, so we can assume we’re
accomplishing some good.”
Dr. Bert J. Hoeflich, of Eu
gene, Ore., backed him up. “No
body’s approached us with a
chip on his shoulder. If they
stop to talk, the interest is us
ually serious.”
Catholic doctors were often
surprised to learn such an or
ganization as the guild exists.
Their colleagues in the booth re
plied with a sales pitch, and be
lieve they may have spurred
formation of new guilds to add
to the 73, with 5,000 members,
already operating in various
parts of the country.
From the questions asked by
non-Catholic M.D.’s, one impres
sion lingered.
“All made it clear they want
ed to be conscientious about not
giving their Catholic patients
medical advice that might vio
late the teachings of the
Church,” Dr. Griffin declared.
“We try to get across the idea
that good medicine is good eth
ics. I believe we’re succeeding,
because thinking in the AMA,
and articles in the AMA Jour
nal, are beginning to reflect the
fact that physicians recognize
there are God-giving moral prin
ciples which guide medical
practice.”
Available at the booth was a
selection of medico - moral
works, among them Father Ger
ald Kelly’s “Medico-M oral
Problems” and “Marriage: “A
Medical and Sacramental Stu
dy,” by Father Alan Keenan,
O.F.M., and John Ryan, M.D.
Many visitors placed orders for
the books.
Pamphlets included one about
the aims of the Federation of
Catholic Physicians’ Guilds. Its
primary objective: “To bring
spiritual counsel and moral
guidance to the physician so
that he may be a more deeply
religious man and a better
Catholic in his daily practice
of medicine.”
The Federation, sponsoring a
booth for the third straight
year at the AMA Convention, is
headquartered at 1438 S. Grand
Boulevard, St. Louis, 4, Mo.
President is Dr. William J.
Egan of Brookline, Mass., who
was among the 20 volunteer
staffers here.
(Photograph hy Dorickson Studio)
THIS PUMP OXYGENATOR, at St. Joseph's Atlanta takes
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(Continued From Page 1-B)
sirable.
“However, it is the responsi
bility of all who are engaged in
the health field to guard against
unnecessary utilization of hos
pital facilities. It can only lead
to an impairment of the quality
of medical care and hospital
service, produce unnecessary
costs and provide a serious
threat to the continued exist
ence of the voluntary health
movement,” he said.
In another session at the con
vention, Dr. John R. Cavanagh,
a Washington, D. C., psychia
trist, warned that hypnosis is
“not a parlor toy, (but) a thera
peutic instrument which, if not
properly used, has physical,
physiological, psychological and
moral dangers.”
Dr. Cavanagh, past president
of the guild of Catholic Phy-
chiatrists, a national organiza
tion, spoke to a session of the
22nd annual meeting of the Hos-
p i t a 1 Chaplains’ Conference
which met in conjunction with
the hospital association.
Speaking on “Hypnosis: Uses,
Implications and Problems,” Dr.
Cavanagh said:
“Hypnosis should be employ
ed only for a serious purpose by
one skilled in its use. Skill in its
use should be understood to in
clude an awareness of its dan
gers. With the possible excep
tion as an anaesthetic agent in
dentistry, its uses should be re
stricted to members of the med
ical profession.
“On the part of the subject,
care must be taken that when
he submits to hypnotic proced
ures, he is assured of the com
petence and honesty of the hyp
notist.”
Dr. Cavanagh’s speech touch
ed upon the question of whether
a hypnotized subject can be
made to carry out immoral acts.
He said that it has generally
been taught that “any sugges
tion which is repugant to the
subject’s conscience will be re
jected point blank.”
“Lately, however,” he added,
“experiments seem to demon
strate that the subject may be
induced to perform immoral
acts.” A powerful hypnotist can
cause such behavior by present
ing immoral suggestions “under
the guise that they are morally
ly acceptable.”
He said, too, it must be noted
that even though most subjects
will resist an immoral act, they
may not be able to resist ac
tions which are done to them
while they are in the trance.
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Father Thomas F. Hussey, S.J.
(above), of Worcester, Mass.,
is superior of the Jesuit Com
munity stationed in troubled
Iraq, which is staffed by the
New England Province of the
Society of Jesus. Father Hus
sey visited the United States
six months ago when this pic
ture was taken. (NC Photos)