Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, May 3, 2001
The Southern Cross, Page 9
The Bible’s moral vision
By Father Eugene LaVerdiere, SSS
Catholic News Service
he moral principles (or ethical
principles) fundamentally are based
on what we are or who we are — on
our identity:
—We are human beings, created by
God in his image.
—We are Christians, called by
Christ to follow him.
Born by water and Spirit, we who
standing of moral principles, asking:
“Which is the first of all the com
mandments?”
Jesus answered that the first is
“You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart ...” And Jesus re
lated the second of all commandments
to the first: “You shall love your neigh
bor as yourself.”
Admiring the answer, the scribe
interpreted Jesus’ response: “You are
right.... ‘To love him with all your
heart ... and to love your neighbor as
CNS photo from Cleo Freelance Photography
are Christians have a new identity as
children of God in Christ. Christian
moral principles are based on baptism.
St. Paul said in the Letter to the
Galatians that “all of you who were
baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves
with Christ” (Gal 3:27).
We clothe ourselves
with Christ in baptism.
In the Bible, garments
symbolize a person’s
identity.
The early Christians
1 inherited the moral
principles from the
Jewish community and
related them to their
new Christian identity.
Like Jewish people, we
Christians have a long, historical rela
tionship with a personal God.
Baptized Christians are followers of
Jesus Christ. “Following” means four
i things:
—Being with Jesus in solidarity —
in good times and bad times.
—Patterning life on Jesus’ life.
—Taking up Jesus’ mission to pro
claim the Gospel.
—Giving one’s life so that the whole
human race might live.
A rich man once came to Jesus
asking, “Good teacher, what must I do
to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus answered: “You know the
i commandments: ‘You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery; you
still not steal ...’”
Responding, the rich man said,
“Teacher, all of these I have observed
from my youth” (Mk 10:17-20).
Jesus answered, “You are lacking
in one thing. Go, sell what you have,
and give to [the] poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven; then come,
follow me” (Mk 10:21). Jesus chal
lenged the rich man to be a follower in
the community of the disciples.
Mark also tells of a scribe who
tested Jesus’ knowledge and under -
For the scribe, ‘the
neighbor’ is a Jewish
person. For Jesus,
‘the neighbor’ is a
human person. The
kingdom of God is
universal!”
yourself is worth more than all burnt
offerings and sacrifices.”
Jesus concluded, “You are not far
from the kingdom of God” (Mk 12:28-
34).
For the scribe, “the
neighbor” is a Jewish
person. For Jesus, “the
neighbor” is a human
person. The kingdom
of God is universal!
In the stories I’ve
recalled, Jesus ex
panded the moral prin
ciples of the old cov
enant to the new cov
enant. On what basis?
The Christians’ new
identity!
(Blessed Sacrament Father
LaVerdiere is a Scripture scholar and
senior editor of Emmanuel maga
zine.)
FAITH IN THE MARKETPLACE
lna Nutshell
Being ethical or moral is an “overflow” of who we are — of
our identity. Through baptism, Christians have a new
identity in Christ.
For Christians, living morally means conforming themselves
to the pattern of Jesus’ life.
Morality is more than sincere intentions, for we can be
sincerely wrong. Morality is more than achieving good
results, for Jesus’ love led to the cross.
Ethicist at work
By Father Kevin O’Rourke, OP
Catholic News Service
T
have served as an ethicist in
health care facilities for more than 25
years. Most of these facilities were
sponsored by the Catholic Church, but
I often have been called into other
facilities to offer advice on ethical is
sues.
Some of this advice was offered to
physicians or other clinical profession
als regarding patient care; other
times I worked with administrative
teams or ethics committees to develop
general norms for delivering health
care ethically.
Most of my work at Catholic hospi
tals and clinics occurred at the St.
Louis University Medical Center
where I founded and then directed the
Center of Health Care Ethics for more
than 20 years. Together with some
wonderful people working at the cen
ter, we were able to develop an educa
tional program for those preparing for
the health care profession both as phy
sicians and nurses.
At present, I am at the Stritch
School of Medicine at Loyola Univer
sity in Chicago.
This somewhat long introduction to
the work I have been involved in is
really an introduction to answer a
question I frequently am asked: “How
can I practice the science and art of
medical ethics in my health care pro
fession?”
Though many books have been
written about health care ethics, espe
cially in the past 25 years, I try to
whittle these books down to one prin
ciple — the principle Jesus offered:
“Do for others what you would have
Tell of an ethical/moral principle that guides your decisions.
“I was raised a Catholic and trained (as a nurse).... I was assigned to
admit a young woman who was scheduled for an abortion.... I had to tell
the charge nurse that I was not going to do it, and she would have to get
someone else.... The rest of the day I was given the cold shoulder and
angry looks.... I stood up for what I believe and hopefully gave others food
for thought.” — Claire Papp, Toms River, NJ
“I guess it would be how the decision would affect other people — my
wife, my children, my grandchildren, the people I work with.” — Deacon
Tony N. Beltran, Phoenix, Ariz.
“As principal of a school, I perhaps come from a different angle on this
than others. I would say that most of what I decide is based on Catholic
doctrine. But a big part of it is relationship-based as well: How do we as
Christian people support and help each other by our day-to-day decision
making?” — Sister Arlene Connelly, IBVM, Citrus Heights, Calif.
“Professing my faith and living by the Ten Commandments.” — Joanne
Sexton, Fairbanks, Alaska
An upcoming edition asks: What might lessen divisions and polarization within the
church? If you would like to respond for possible publication, please write: Faith
c-/*y7—> Alive! 3211 Fourth St. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017-1100.
them do for you.”
In health care, I believe this prin
ciple starts not with patient care, but
with care for other health care profes
sionals.
I often have spoken about the abu
sive way physicians treat nurses or
the way nurses treat the people who
help them in immediate patient care
such as nurses aides. Those who have
an ethical relationship to their fellow
workers will be able to make the right
ethical choices regarding patients.
Why? Because character tells.
How we treat other people, espe
cially those closest to us, reveals our
capacity to love others.
Jesus told us that love fulfills God’s
law for us. Unless we develop the ca
pacity to love, we will not be ethical
people.
Being ethical, then, is an “overflow”
of who we are.
Some of the more difficult cases I
have experienced in health care have
been concerned with the removal of
life support. The Catholic Church has
wise norms in this regard. Life sup
port may be removed when it is inef
fective or is a serious burden for the
patient.
While the principles are clear, in
particular situations people often have
a difficult time determining what is
effective therapy and what therapy
would impose serious burdens.
In cases which seem difficult for
decision making, I often ask the fam
ily members or health care profession
als what they would like done in re
gard to life support if they were the
patient. In other words, if you were in
that condition, what would you like us
to do?
In most cases I’ve experienced, this
allows people to overcome the emo
tional commitment to prolong life
when prolonging life is not beneficial
for the patient. Most have already
come to this conclusion by the time
they get around to calling me.
The health care profession is a min
istry, a service offered in Christ’s
name. Fulfilling a ministry in an ethi
cal manner depends upon the charac
ter we have developed — upon our
capacity to love in the true sense of the
word.
(Dominican Father O’Rourke is an
ethicist at the Stritch School of Medi
cine, Loyola University, Chicago.)
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