Being Catholic and a Health Care Professional

On Tuesday 25th October at 7.30 pm in St John’s Cathedral Hall, I shall be giving a talk for Portsmouth Area Health Care Professionals on the subject of “Being a Catholic Healthcare Professional in Today’s World”. The topic is about what difference it makes being a Catholic and being in health-care, how our faith impacts upon our work. It will also be an opportunity to explore the updated Pontifical Charter for Health Care Workers (available, for example, on Amazon). The introduction to this document explains how anyone involved in health-care is a ‘Minister of Life.’ It then has three main divisions: Procreation and the beginnings of life, Living, which discusses the value of life and Dying, which discusses issues to do with the ned of life. Much of the document is an application of the Church’s basic moral principles to different medical procedures and the ethical aspects of medical care, including the difficult decisions that often need to be made. The Charter is addressed to everyone involved in health-care, from those at home looking after an elderly relative to highly specialised clinicians, and has been updated to take account of advances in medicine and recent legislation.

This event is being organised by Portsmouth Catholic Medical Association and will be followed by refreshments in the Cathedral Hall. All are welcome to attend.