Catholic Perspectives on Medical Morals

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vi

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2. Introduction

   1. Introduction

      • Edmund D. Pellegrino, John Langan, John Collins Harvey

      Pages 1-6

3. Prologue

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 7-7

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   2. Some Basic Considerations on Moral Teaching in the Church

      • Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini

      Pages 9-19

4. The Philosophical Foundations

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 21-21

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   2. Nature and Human Nature as the Norm in Medical Ethics

      • William A. Wallace

      Pages 23-53

   3. The Human Person and Philosophy of Medicine: A Response to William A. Wallace

      • David C. Thomasma

      Pages 55-60

   4. Philosophical Foundations of Catholic Medical Morals

      • Bruno Schüller

      Pages 61-78

   5. Moral Disagreements in Catholicism: A Commentary on Wallace, Schüller, and Thomasma

      • John Langan

      Pages 79-80

5. The Theological Foundations

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 81-81

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   2. “Catholic” Medical Moral Theology?

      • Joseph Fuchs

      Pages 83-92

   3. “Theological” Medical Morality? A Response to Joseph Fuchs

      • Lisa Sowle Cahill

      Pages 93-102

   4. Theological Argument and Hermeneutics in Bioethics

      • Klaus Demmer

      Pages 103-122

   5. The Doctrinal Starting Points for Theology and Hermeneutics in Bioethics: A Response to Klaus Demmer

      • Monika K. Hellwig

      Pages 123-128

   6. A Brief History of Medical Ethics from the Roman Catholic Perspective: Comments on the Essays of Fuchs, Demmer, Cahill and Hellwig

      • John Collins Harvey

      Pages 129-144

6. Pluralism within the Church

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 145-145

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   2. Pluralism within the Church

      • Richard A. McCormick

      Pages 147-167

   3. One Church, Plural Theologies

      • Jude P. Dougherty

      Pages 169-172

   4. Is Ethics One or Many?

      • Gerard J. Hughes

      Pages 173-196

   5. Can Ethics be Contradictory?: A Response to Gerard J. Hughes, S. J.

      • William E. May

      Pages 197-201

CATHOLIC PERSPECTIVES AND CONTEMPORARY MEDICAL MORALS A Catholic perspective on medical morals antedates the current world­ wide interest in medical and biomedical ethics by many centuries[5]. Discussions about the moral status of the fetus, abortion, contraception, and sterilization can be found in the writings of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church. Teachings on various aspects of medical morals were scattered throughout the penitential books of the early medieval church and later in more formal treatises when moral theology became recog­ nized as a distinct discipline. Still later, medical morality was incorpor­ ated into the many pastoral works on medicine. Finally, in the contemporary period, works that strictly focus on medical ethics are produced by Catholic moral theologians who have special interests in matters medical. Moreover, this long tradition of teaching has been put into practice in the medical moral directives governing the operation of hospitals under Catholic sponsorship. Catholic hospitals were monitored by Ethics Committees long before such committees were recommended by the New Jersey Court in the Karen Ann Quinlan case or by the President's Commission in 1983 ([8, 9]). Underlying the Catholic moral tradition was the use of the casuistic method, which since the 17th and 18th centuries was employed by Catholic moralists to study and resolve concrete clinical ethical dilem­ mas. The history of casuistry is of renewed interest today when the case method has become so widely used in the current revival of interest in medical ethics[ll].

• Medical Ethics
• bioethics
• ethics
• health
• history of medical ethics
• morality

• Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University, USA

  Edmund D. Pellegrino

• Kennedy Institute of Ethics and Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University, USA

  John P. Langan

• School of Medicine, Georgetown University, USA

  John Collins Harvey

Policies and ethics