Some readers wonder why this site is dedicated to St. Thomas Aquinas. It is really very simple. He is the only philosopher who ever produced a workable/functional total philosophical system which was not inherently contradictory. This is not to say that his philosophy is easy to put into practice because it is not. It is difficult. However, the philosophy of St. Thomas is true and much of modern philosophy is false.
St. Thomas was able to take the best of pagan (Greek and Roman) philosophy and Catholic Christian philosophy/theology and combine them successfully in the form of the Aristotelian/Thomistic synthesis.
Many philosophers throughout history have attempted to produce a complete philosophical system--what today we refer to as "Worldview"--made up of epistemology (theory of truth), metaphysics (theory of reality) and morality (theory of right and wrong). Virtually all have failed with the exception of St. Thomas. That is why prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church held the philosophy of St. Thomas in such high regard--it literally was the philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church.
All that was altered after Vatican Council II much of the documents of which were based in the so-called Nouvelle (Progressivist Theology) Theologie and elements of modern philosophy rather than the teachings of traditional (orthodox) Roman Catholicism. This is especially true in the areas of morality and metaphysics. A great deal of modern philosophical theory e.g. the nature of human anthropology, is not only contradictory, but is deficient in failing to recognize the authentic/genuine good of man (salvation and the beatific vision) as the sumum bonum. Instead it "deifies" man by making him a false god accountable only to himself. This leads to terrible struggles in this life and the potential loss of salvation in the next.
It is undeniable that since the Roman Catholic Church abandoned Thomism in the wake of Vatican II, the world has markedly deteriorated/regressed, particularly from a moral perspective--although this reality is multi-factorial. The authentic Roman Catholic faith which once preserved all of Western civilization must once again embrace Thomistic teaching. Until it does, the global moral/political environment will no doubt continue to worsen since the Roman Catholic Church from the time of Christ up until the Papacy of John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council he convoked had served as the "light of the world unto the nations."
For more information on the role the conciliar (post-Vatican II) church is playing in the current universal moral crisis see my companion site.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
NEO-MODERNISM: The Scourge of Western Culture
Neomodernism (in non-Theological terms) is characterized by a total repudiation of the perennial wisdom (wisdom of the ages).
In its "modern" form, neo-modernism reduces to "there is no God", in its post-modern form; "there is no truth." The later formulation is self-referentially absurd meaning it is self-contradictory. The former is demonstrably false on the basis of both deductive and inductive reasoning.
Many important advances have been made since the Enlightenment in both Science and Technology. Unfortunately, in the realms of Philosophy and Theology, much which was once known to advanced civilization has been lost through a variety of reductionist philosophical systems including scientism, utilitarianism, empiricism, idealism, panentheism (finite godism) and the like.
Neomodernist thinking has been particularly destructive to the so-called traditional morality (golden rule ethic) best exemplified by the Aristotelian/Thomistic synthesis.
In its "modern" form, neo-modernism reduces to "there is no God", in its post-modern form; "there is no truth." The later formulation is self-referentially absurd meaning it is self-contradictory. The former is demonstrably false on the basis of both deductive and inductive reasoning.
Many important advances have been made since the Enlightenment in both Science and Technology. Unfortunately, in the realms of Philosophy and Theology, much which was once known to advanced civilization has been lost through a variety of reductionist philosophical systems including scientism, utilitarianism, empiricism, idealism, panentheism (finite godism) and the like.
Neomodernist thinking has been particularly destructive to the so-called traditional morality (golden rule ethic) best exemplified by the Aristotelian/Thomistic synthesis.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Neomodernism Rejected
These are trying and confusing times. The Neo-modernist worldview stands rejected on the bar of history--"you shall know them by their fruits." (Matt. 12: 33)
We must return to the perennial wisdom of the ages which all great civilizations have embraced that is, a Traditional worldview and a more realist (21st century scientifically accurate) cosmology.
The 400 year old Cartesian /Newtonian view of the universe must finally be discarded. and with it Descartes Bifurcationist metaphysics. Our Worldview must reflect objective reality including the fixed nature of human anthropology. Until it does, the world will become an increasingly inhospitable place in which to live.
We must return to the perennial wisdom of the ages which all great civilizations have embraced that is, a Traditional worldview and a more realist (21st century scientifically accurate) cosmology.
The 400 year old Cartesian /Newtonian view of the universe must finally be discarded. and with it Descartes Bifurcationist metaphysics. Our Worldview must reflect objective reality including the fixed nature of human anthropology. Until it does, the world will become an increasingly inhospitable place in which to live.
A Catholic Lay-Driven Re-evangelization of Western Culture: Formation of a Comprehensive Catholic World View Apostolate
The answer to growing Neo-Paganism in the Developed West--Dr. J. P. Hubert
INTRODUCTION:
It is apparent to all thoughtful orthodox Catholics that once Christian Western Culture has devolved into a virulent form of neo-pagan secularism. It is marked by moral relativism combined with utilitarianism, materialism including largely unregulated free-market capitalism, wild inequitable consumption of precious resources and the goods of production and a dangerous version of rabid personal “freedom” in which truth itself is sacrificed at the “alter” of the autonomous self which pursues various “preferences” in the name of “human rights.”
These developments represent the logical extension of several atheistic post-Enlightenment philosophies which have finally made their way from the “elites” and academics into the secularist “pop-culture” of the West. They are predicated on a materialistic metaphysics in which no immaterial (spiritual) reality exists, an epistemology in which truth is either unknowable or non-existent, and a morality which denies in principle the possibility of moral absolutes (exceptionless moral norms). This is the milieu in which 21st century Catholics find themselves. The new paganism is much more virulent than the old paganism because it denies in principle that there is any truth, right or wrong and any spiritual realm. It maintains that good and evil are practical matters which can be arrived at by consensus and dialogue, and then ultimately subjected to a vote. Hence the great interest in “democracy” as an “end” rather than as a means to a noble end such as the ultimate good (virtue in this life and the beatific vision in the next). Such a circumstance gives rise to various tyranny’s of the majority perhaps more dreadful than those of totalitarian making. A good example is legalized abortion.
PROPOSAL:
Given that this is the situation in which by Divine providence we now find ourselves, the author has developed a proposal for how orthodox Catholic lay-persons might attempt to re-evangelize Western Culture in general and the United States in particular. The following represent some of the salient features of a Comprehensive Catholic World View Apostolate:
1.) Absolute and meticulous adherence to Catholic Magisterial teaching not that of various extra-Magisterial or so-called “Parallel Magisterial” imposters.
2.) Total conceptual separation of Catholic belief and practice from the political concepts of “right” and “left”, conservative and liberal particularly in the presentation and dissemination of Catholic dogma and doctrine as well as faith and practice (praxis).
Moreover, it is vital to underscore the fact that neither political party in the United States advocates policies that are completely compatible with the teachings of the Catholic Church on all relevant issues. In fact, both parties have significant portions of their platforms and public policy initiatives which are at direct variance with magisterial teaching. For prudential reasons, Catholics as individuals may belong to or associate from time to time with either political party when a particular initiative is advanced which is consistent with magisterial teaching as Pope John Paul II suggested on multiple occasions. However, blind acquiescence to the entire platform of either party will simply not be possible in good conscience.
3.) It is critical to recognize that at least 2 full generations of American Catholics have been subjected to inadequate catechesis. Many simply do not know what the Catholic Church actually teaches or why. Redressing this reality is complicated by the fact that there has been a generalized “dumbing-down” of education in general for at least 40 years particularly in the areas of logic and philosophy in general and metaphysics in particular. An appropriate vehicle must be found which contains the appropriate amount of pre-evangelization within it. The apostolate called for in this proposal provides it.
4.) Any attempt to reach the totally uncatechized or marginally catechized Catholic or non-Catholic is complicated by the fact that the Gospel message is completely contradictory to their experience of everyday life. Our neo-pagan culture now worships selfishness, greed, fame, physical beauty, worldly success etc. and deprecates virtue, sacrifice, and acts of charity which are unrecognized. The vehicle mentioned in # 3 above must recognize and deal effectively with this reality.
5.) There is presently no coordinated attempt in the United States (specifically targeted at re-evangelizing the neo-pagan West) to offer or organize an adult Catholic advanced apologetics/evangelization program which can prepare people to live their faith as properly formed adults and confidently present it to others. Most American Catholics have a “childlike” understanding of the faith at best and throughout their lives make no attempt at increasing their level of understanding. A way must be found to offer a credible vehicle which people can utilize as adults in whatever station they find themselves. At the present time, anyone so interested must “hunt and peck” from the internet, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, certain Catholic authors etc. The process is very inefficient and the results largely unpredictable.
6.) In the United States there is no consistent/integrated attempt to present or offer Catholic social justice issues or Catholic social action projects to the appropriate “audiences.” For example, legislators hear from “liberal” or “neo-conservative” Catholics who are aligned with one party or the other, but not from those orthodox Catholics who wish to be faithful to the Magisterium in effecting changes and enacting public policy initiatives which reflect the thinking of the Catholic Church on relevant issues, such as Destructive Embryonic Stem Cell research, Euthanasia, Physician Assisted Suicide, Homosexual Marriage and the like.
Ideally, a third party of orthodox Catholics might arise in which its political positions would be selected in light of a Catholic understanding of morality and social justice rather than on the basis of secular concerns. Given the history of third parties in the United States however, this seems unlikely. It might be possible to build a fairly sizeable group of newly catechized orthodox Catholics who could progressively make their voices heard more and more loudly through the present two party system. Given the present geopolitical situation, such an orthodox group of Catholics should formulate relevant public policy positions on a variety of issues which reflect magisterial teaching including:
a) The need to aggressively address the problem of nuclear armaments not just from the perspective of controlling proliferation but from that of reducing the number of active warheads in existence throughout the world. There is at present virtually no active U.S. interest in the latter at least no coordinated social action among the populous. Recall that various Popes only accepted the concept of “mutually assured destruction” as a temporary situation along the way to staged reduction and eventual complete elimination, certainly not as a long term status quo reality.
b) The importance of re-evaluating American foreign policy to be certain that it is not succumbing to imperialism through utilitarian and inherently unjust utilization of other nations and peoples as if they were objects rather than subjects who deserve consideration and treatment in-keeping with their human status and dignity. The present zeal to “install” democracy around the world because it is “in our interest” as if it were an “end” in itself rather than a means is overly simplistic and self-centered. It assumes that “majority rule” (irrespective of whether the majority is virtuous and whether it has a developed sense of civil law derived from Divine/Eternal law and the principles of the Natural law) is inherently somehow productive of social justice and individual human flourishing which in the West has not been the case. A quick review of the presence of Euthanasia in the Netherlands and Belgium, the high incidence there of divorce and unmarried co-habitating couples with children, the high incidence of abortion in the United States, Britain and Canada establishes this quite nicely. It is not even true that democracies tend less to make war given the recent history of the Nato (US) led war in the Balkans, the first Gulf War and the latest Iraq War. While Western nations claimed to have good and justifiable reasons for these, the Magisterium opposed all three.
It is laudable for the United States to offer its help and experience with self government to other nations who have a desire to move in that direction. However, it can never be justly accomplished through the externally imposed and violent overthrow of governments which are presently in-place even if those governments were guilty of human rights violations. To do so is to utilize an immoral means to accomplish a perceived just end in direct violation of Romans 3: 8 and reams of Catholic Magisterial teaching. It is vital that orthodox American Catholics help devise appropriate moral strategies for helping our nation assist other nations move toward just and lawful self-government.
c) There is very little inventive thinking being done on the domestic front by which Catholic social justice might be advanced. Democrats tend to favor policies which addict those who are the beneficiaries into a life of continued need and dependence. Republicans tend to see the economic aid issues as a zero sum game in which for them to retain their wealth, others must remain poor. This is not their stated position of course, but the fact that Republicans spend precious little time helping others become self sufficient indicates that they are not really committed to an entire country full of entrepreneurs with an equity share in the machinery of production. The issue is usually reduced to a dispute about the “just wage” in the form of a “minimum wage” debate in Congress which does nothing to bring more people into economic independence though greater participation in ownership/equity. While important, the minimum wage is a stop-gap measure largely addressed at entry level jobs not an overall answer to the just distribution of goods and services or equal access to raw materials which is required if the “common good” is to be served as well as the flourishing of each individual.
A group of committed orthodox Catholics could have much to contribute to discussions and policies regarding taxation, wages, access to capital for the formation of equity and ownership in order to broaden the base of people who participate in the so-called “ownership society” the free markets and capital formation.
It is also of seminal importance for such a group to make clear that “unbridled capitalism” (where the laws of supply and demand alone are allowed to determine all economic conditions irrespective of the potential inequities which might be resultant thereto), is often immoral as it denies to certain human beings the necessary goods required for human flourishing and robs from the “common good” that which is necessary to build an acceptable material realm. This creates an imbalance in the “Two Cities” (i.e. the City of God v. the City of Man per St. Augustine) where some persons are deprived of sustenance in this world and through material depravity may be denied vital knowledge which would otherwise advantage them for the next. We trust that God in HIS infinite wisdom, justice and mercy makes up for our shortcomings. However, we know that even if we are somehow absolved of our responsibility in the matter, Christ has made it clear that the degree to which we helped the needy, so shall it be apportioned to us. Such a group could help focus attention on the fact that rabid or unbridled capitalism can be just as immoral as communism in its economic effects. Similarly, democracy in the absence of virtue and the natural law can be productive of tyranny, something the Founders of the American experiment also understood.
The life and sexual issues now suffer from the traditionalists having lost the war over terminology. The public now has a completely false understanding of what embryonic stem cell research and human cloning for biomedical research really are. A similar problem exists in the area of homosexual marriage, abortion and euthanasia. Much of this problem relates to secularists having succeeded in foisting a totally false view of human anthropology (including a false Cartesian view of human personhood) on the unsuspecting masses.
7.) There is at present no identifiable group of orthodox lay Catholic “experts” and other interested individuals committed to the goal of re-evangelizing the West. Such a group should be assembled and targeted individuals actively pursued irrespective of how small the group may initially be. This is consistent with the teaching laid out in the great social justice encyclicals especially those of Pope Leo XIII and Pope Pius XI with regard to how one begins to address problems of social justice.
It should be apparent that the project of re-evangelizing the West is a multifaceted one which requires recognizing that Western civilization has gone virulently neo-pagan in direct opposition to orthodox Catholic teaching and the authentic Gospel message of Christ. Western Culture is in the process of rapidly imploding. It has reached that point along the curve, where the rate of descent is accelerating ever more quickly. If it is not already too late, a massive Catholic Christian re-evangelization of the West must be commenced.
One realizes how tragic it is that the West did not follow the Magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church in the 20th century including the advice found in Humani vitae and the concerns voiced by Pope Pius XII regarding the effects of instrumenting human sexuality such that the body became only an object to be utilized as if it were separate from the integrated total person. As a result, all sorts of calamities have befallen us as a civilization. His remarks should now be seen as prophetic. The demographic problems in Europe alone are a testament to just how accurate his warnings were.
Put more simply, the answer to 21st century cultural implosion is an orthodox Catholic conversion/re-conversion of the West. A conversion to generic Christianity would be helpful but not to the degree that the assumption of Catholic orthodoxy would. Generic Christianity simply lacks too many of the necessary doctrinal riches and centuries worth of praxis that only the Catholic Church in all it fullness has to offer. This of course is extremely controversial in an era of ecumenism. However, ecumenism is properly entered into from a position of strength, vigorous faith and confidence.
The practical dilemma involved in bringing Catholic orthodoxy to the West is that neo-pagan culture has an absolute aversion to it and for good reason. The two cannot exist harmoniously in direct opposition and as competitors for cultural ascendancy (Worldview supremacy). They are fundamentally and irrevocably contradictory in all three important elements which serve to define “worldview”; epistemology, metaphysics and morality. The radical neo-pagan secularists are of course well aware of this. They presently control most of the media, academia, the entertainment industry and much of the political power apparatus.
Thus, Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular has become the only entity against which overt bigotry is allowed and fostered. A realistic conversion/reconversion of the West to orthodox Catholicism requires the existence of an entity guided by the concept/notion of a Comprehensive Catholic World View which can intellectually compete with the reigning materialist neo-pagan hedonistic paradigm now in the forefront of public awareness thanks to the media, entertainment and much of academia’s constant support of same.
There are really only 2 worldviews of any consequence still vying for control in the West. One is hedonistic materialism (secular neo-paganism, or radical Secularism). The other is Traditionalism which comes from the historical Judeo-Christian tradition of which orthodox Catholicism is the purest and most all-encompassing form. Any effective program to re-convert the West must be capable of articulating the fundamental and foundational differences between these 2 worldviews and be able to ably defend the supremacy of Catholic orthodoxy through excellent apologetics. For example, the present dilemma with respect to social security would be non-existent were the West to have followed the teaching of Pope Pius XII on the evils of artificial contraception. Many other social/sexual ills of contemporary society can be traced to this phenomenon alone. Orthodox Catholics could add much to the debate over how to “fix” social security not the least of which would be to articulate the economic and demographic advantages of having more children, to date a concept which has been totally absent from the discussion.
What this proposal advocates then is the formation of a Comprehensive Catholic World View Apostolate whose sole function is to re-evangelize and convert the West from secular neo-paganism to orthodox Catholicism that is, from radical secularism to the purest form of Traditionalism. This means being committed to engage in Worldview clash, the waging of a culture war in which multiple different disciplines will need to be represented and integrated so as to formulate and hone the very best data and apologetics arguments in favor of the superiority of orthodox Catholicism.
The “3” primary disciplines which require integration include; theology, philosophy and science.
Certain prudential questions arise regarding how such an apostolate would best be structured. Briefly; “3” basic services would need to be provided by such an entity.
1. Catechesis
2. Apologetics/Pre-evangelization/Evangelization
3. Social Justice/Social Action/Public Policy Formation
There are “3” broad ways in which the work of the CCWVA might be carried out:
1. Broadcast/Print/Internet Media and Conferencing
2. Publishing of larger tracts, position papers and books.
3. Targeted Outreach (Lobbying of Legislative and Executive Branches of government and
Church, City and Regional area visits by invitation).
With respect to how such an enterprise might be started, numerous options are available including a physically fixed “Center of Operations” with its own free-standing “bricks and mortar” plant and necessary Real Estate all the way to a totally “Virtual” entity composed of as many committed persons of like mind as can be acquired. Such an entity could conceivably be started by only 2 such individuals.
The expert resources which would be required particularly in the “3” main areas of Theology, Philosophy and Science, could be initially acquired from presently retired volunteers who have the time and committed interest and who are willing to donate the work involved. Later on, some paid experts could be potentially brought aboard as funds allowed (obtained from proceeds of the apostolates work product including lectures, conferences, tapes, C.D.’s articles, books etc). Presumably, such an enterprise (CCWVA) would need to be structured as a 501c3 or other similar entity from the perspective of the Federal Government in order to avoid taxation on the proceeds of apostolate work product.
At this preliminary stage, it is important that a list of potential “experts” from the necessary disciplines be constructed who could then be approached and asked for their voluntary commitment. There may be very few who are free enough of political ties and other conflicts of interest to be able to actively participate in such an enterprise. Many who would be desirable will be unwilling to participate. It also seems prudent to inform the Vatican of the desire to form such an Apostolate and to request the permission and blessing of Pope Benedict XVI. His Holiness may even be able to assist the Apostolate in some way.
CONCLUSION:
Time grows short. Given the present negative trajectory, in the next several decades we could see the disappearance of the Catholic Church in multiple Western nations, the imprisonment of Priests and other vocal Catholics who dare to teach, preach and disseminate the Gospel as understood in orthodox Catholicism and as promulgated by the magisterium. Now is the time for all committed Catholics to take up their Cross and engage the Culture War. With the grace of God, perhaps we can retake the West for Christ. Should we be unsuccessful, at least we will have been admirably occupying our time.
INTRODUCTION:
It is apparent to all thoughtful orthodox Catholics that once Christian Western Culture has devolved into a virulent form of neo-pagan secularism. It is marked by moral relativism combined with utilitarianism, materialism including largely unregulated free-market capitalism, wild inequitable consumption of precious resources and the goods of production and a dangerous version of rabid personal “freedom” in which truth itself is sacrificed at the “alter” of the autonomous self which pursues various “preferences” in the name of “human rights.”
These developments represent the logical extension of several atheistic post-Enlightenment philosophies which have finally made their way from the “elites” and academics into the secularist “pop-culture” of the West. They are predicated on a materialistic metaphysics in which no immaterial (spiritual) reality exists, an epistemology in which truth is either unknowable or non-existent, and a morality which denies in principle the possibility of moral absolutes (exceptionless moral norms). This is the milieu in which 21st century Catholics find themselves. The new paganism is much more virulent than the old paganism because it denies in principle that there is any truth, right or wrong and any spiritual realm. It maintains that good and evil are practical matters which can be arrived at by consensus and dialogue, and then ultimately subjected to a vote. Hence the great interest in “democracy” as an “end” rather than as a means to a noble end such as the ultimate good (virtue in this life and the beatific vision in the next). Such a circumstance gives rise to various tyranny’s of the majority perhaps more dreadful than those of totalitarian making. A good example is legalized abortion.
PROPOSAL:
Given that this is the situation in which by Divine providence we now find ourselves, the author has developed a proposal for how orthodox Catholic lay-persons might attempt to re-evangelize Western Culture in general and the United States in particular. The following represent some of the salient features of a Comprehensive Catholic World View Apostolate:
1.) Absolute and meticulous adherence to Catholic Magisterial teaching not that of various extra-Magisterial or so-called “Parallel Magisterial” imposters.
2.) Total conceptual separation of Catholic belief and practice from the political concepts of “right” and “left”, conservative and liberal particularly in the presentation and dissemination of Catholic dogma and doctrine as well as faith and practice (praxis).
Moreover, it is vital to underscore the fact that neither political party in the United States advocates policies that are completely compatible with the teachings of the Catholic Church on all relevant issues. In fact, both parties have significant portions of their platforms and public policy initiatives which are at direct variance with magisterial teaching. For prudential reasons, Catholics as individuals may belong to or associate from time to time with either political party when a particular initiative is advanced which is consistent with magisterial teaching as Pope John Paul II suggested on multiple occasions. However, blind acquiescence to the entire platform of either party will simply not be possible in good conscience.
3.) It is critical to recognize that at least 2 full generations of American Catholics have been subjected to inadequate catechesis. Many simply do not know what the Catholic Church actually teaches or why. Redressing this reality is complicated by the fact that there has been a generalized “dumbing-down” of education in general for at least 40 years particularly in the areas of logic and philosophy in general and metaphysics in particular. An appropriate vehicle must be found which contains the appropriate amount of pre-evangelization within it. The apostolate called for in this proposal provides it.
4.) Any attempt to reach the totally uncatechized or marginally catechized Catholic or non-Catholic is complicated by the fact that the Gospel message is completely contradictory to their experience of everyday life. Our neo-pagan culture now worships selfishness, greed, fame, physical beauty, worldly success etc. and deprecates virtue, sacrifice, and acts of charity which are unrecognized. The vehicle mentioned in # 3 above must recognize and deal effectively with this reality.
5.) There is presently no coordinated attempt in the United States (specifically targeted at re-evangelizing the neo-pagan West) to offer or organize an adult Catholic advanced apologetics/evangelization program which can prepare people to live their faith as properly formed adults and confidently present it to others. Most American Catholics have a “childlike” understanding of the faith at best and throughout their lives make no attempt at increasing their level of understanding. A way must be found to offer a credible vehicle which people can utilize as adults in whatever station they find themselves. At the present time, anyone so interested must “hunt and peck” from the internet, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, certain Catholic authors etc. The process is very inefficient and the results largely unpredictable.
6.) In the United States there is no consistent/integrated attempt to present or offer Catholic social justice issues or Catholic social action projects to the appropriate “audiences.” For example, legislators hear from “liberal” or “neo-conservative” Catholics who are aligned with one party or the other, but not from those orthodox Catholics who wish to be faithful to the Magisterium in effecting changes and enacting public policy initiatives which reflect the thinking of the Catholic Church on relevant issues, such as Destructive Embryonic Stem Cell research, Euthanasia, Physician Assisted Suicide, Homosexual Marriage and the like.
Ideally, a third party of orthodox Catholics might arise in which its political positions would be selected in light of a Catholic understanding of morality and social justice rather than on the basis of secular concerns. Given the history of third parties in the United States however, this seems unlikely. It might be possible to build a fairly sizeable group of newly catechized orthodox Catholics who could progressively make their voices heard more and more loudly through the present two party system. Given the present geopolitical situation, such an orthodox group of Catholics should formulate relevant public policy positions on a variety of issues which reflect magisterial teaching including:
a) The need to aggressively address the problem of nuclear armaments not just from the perspective of controlling proliferation but from that of reducing the number of active warheads in existence throughout the world. There is at present virtually no active U.S. interest in the latter at least no coordinated social action among the populous. Recall that various Popes only accepted the concept of “mutually assured destruction” as a temporary situation along the way to staged reduction and eventual complete elimination, certainly not as a long term status quo reality.
b) The importance of re-evaluating American foreign policy to be certain that it is not succumbing to imperialism through utilitarian and inherently unjust utilization of other nations and peoples as if they were objects rather than subjects who deserve consideration and treatment in-keeping with their human status and dignity. The present zeal to “install” democracy around the world because it is “in our interest” as if it were an “end” in itself rather than a means is overly simplistic and self-centered. It assumes that “majority rule” (irrespective of whether the majority is virtuous and whether it has a developed sense of civil law derived from Divine/Eternal law and the principles of the Natural law) is inherently somehow productive of social justice and individual human flourishing which in the West has not been the case. A quick review of the presence of Euthanasia in the Netherlands and Belgium, the high incidence there of divorce and unmarried co-habitating couples with children, the high incidence of abortion in the United States, Britain and Canada establishes this quite nicely. It is not even true that democracies tend less to make war given the recent history of the Nato (US) led war in the Balkans, the first Gulf War and the latest Iraq War. While Western nations claimed to have good and justifiable reasons for these, the Magisterium opposed all three.
It is laudable for the United States to offer its help and experience with self government to other nations who have a desire to move in that direction. However, it can never be justly accomplished through the externally imposed and violent overthrow of governments which are presently in-place even if those governments were guilty of human rights violations. To do so is to utilize an immoral means to accomplish a perceived just end in direct violation of Romans 3: 8 and reams of Catholic Magisterial teaching. It is vital that orthodox American Catholics help devise appropriate moral strategies for helping our nation assist other nations move toward just and lawful self-government.
c) There is very little inventive thinking being done on the domestic front by which Catholic social justice might be advanced. Democrats tend to favor policies which addict those who are the beneficiaries into a life of continued need and dependence. Republicans tend to see the economic aid issues as a zero sum game in which for them to retain their wealth, others must remain poor. This is not their stated position of course, but the fact that Republicans spend precious little time helping others become self sufficient indicates that they are not really committed to an entire country full of entrepreneurs with an equity share in the machinery of production. The issue is usually reduced to a dispute about the “just wage” in the form of a “minimum wage” debate in Congress which does nothing to bring more people into economic independence though greater participation in ownership/equity. While important, the minimum wage is a stop-gap measure largely addressed at entry level jobs not an overall answer to the just distribution of goods and services or equal access to raw materials which is required if the “common good” is to be served as well as the flourishing of each individual.
A group of committed orthodox Catholics could have much to contribute to discussions and policies regarding taxation, wages, access to capital for the formation of equity and ownership in order to broaden the base of people who participate in the so-called “ownership society” the free markets and capital formation.
It is also of seminal importance for such a group to make clear that “unbridled capitalism” (where the laws of supply and demand alone are allowed to determine all economic conditions irrespective of the potential inequities which might be resultant thereto), is often immoral as it denies to certain human beings the necessary goods required for human flourishing and robs from the “common good” that which is necessary to build an acceptable material realm. This creates an imbalance in the “Two Cities” (i.e. the City of God v. the City of Man per St. Augustine) where some persons are deprived of sustenance in this world and through material depravity may be denied vital knowledge which would otherwise advantage them for the next. We trust that God in HIS infinite wisdom, justice and mercy makes up for our shortcomings. However, we know that even if we are somehow absolved of our responsibility in the matter, Christ has made it clear that the degree to which we helped the needy, so shall it be apportioned to us. Such a group could help focus attention on the fact that rabid or unbridled capitalism can be just as immoral as communism in its economic effects. Similarly, democracy in the absence of virtue and the natural law can be productive of tyranny, something the Founders of the American experiment also understood.
The life and sexual issues now suffer from the traditionalists having lost the war over terminology. The public now has a completely false understanding of what embryonic stem cell research and human cloning for biomedical research really are. A similar problem exists in the area of homosexual marriage, abortion and euthanasia. Much of this problem relates to secularists having succeeded in foisting a totally false view of human anthropology (including a false Cartesian view of human personhood) on the unsuspecting masses.
7.) There is at present no identifiable group of orthodox lay Catholic “experts” and other interested individuals committed to the goal of re-evangelizing the West. Such a group should be assembled and targeted individuals actively pursued irrespective of how small the group may initially be. This is consistent with the teaching laid out in the great social justice encyclicals especially those of Pope Leo XIII and Pope Pius XI with regard to how one begins to address problems of social justice.
It should be apparent that the project of re-evangelizing the West is a multifaceted one which requires recognizing that Western civilization has gone virulently neo-pagan in direct opposition to orthodox Catholic teaching and the authentic Gospel message of Christ. Western Culture is in the process of rapidly imploding. It has reached that point along the curve, where the rate of descent is accelerating ever more quickly. If it is not already too late, a massive Catholic Christian re-evangelization of the West must be commenced.
One realizes how tragic it is that the West did not follow the Magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church in the 20th century including the advice found in Humani vitae and the concerns voiced by Pope Pius XII regarding the effects of instrumenting human sexuality such that the body became only an object to be utilized as if it were separate from the integrated total person. As a result, all sorts of calamities have befallen us as a civilization. His remarks should now be seen as prophetic. The demographic problems in Europe alone are a testament to just how accurate his warnings were.
Put more simply, the answer to 21st century cultural implosion is an orthodox Catholic conversion/re-conversion of the West. A conversion to generic Christianity would be helpful but not to the degree that the assumption of Catholic orthodoxy would. Generic Christianity simply lacks too many of the necessary doctrinal riches and centuries worth of praxis that only the Catholic Church in all it fullness has to offer. This of course is extremely controversial in an era of ecumenism. However, ecumenism is properly entered into from a position of strength, vigorous faith and confidence.
The practical dilemma involved in bringing Catholic orthodoxy to the West is that neo-pagan culture has an absolute aversion to it and for good reason. The two cannot exist harmoniously in direct opposition and as competitors for cultural ascendancy (Worldview supremacy). They are fundamentally and irrevocably contradictory in all three important elements which serve to define “worldview”; epistemology, metaphysics and morality. The radical neo-pagan secularists are of course well aware of this. They presently control most of the media, academia, the entertainment industry and much of the political power apparatus.
Thus, Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular has become the only entity against which overt bigotry is allowed and fostered. A realistic conversion/reconversion of the West to orthodox Catholicism requires the existence of an entity guided by the concept/notion of a Comprehensive Catholic World View which can intellectually compete with the reigning materialist neo-pagan hedonistic paradigm now in the forefront of public awareness thanks to the media, entertainment and much of academia’s constant support of same.
There are really only 2 worldviews of any consequence still vying for control in the West. One is hedonistic materialism (secular neo-paganism, or radical Secularism). The other is Traditionalism which comes from the historical Judeo-Christian tradition of which orthodox Catholicism is the purest and most all-encompassing form. Any effective program to re-convert the West must be capable of articulating the fundamental and foundational differences between these 2 worldviews and be able to ably defend the supremacy of Catholic orthodoxy through excellent apologetics. For example, the present dilemma with respect to social security would be non-existent were the West to have followed the teaching of Pope Pius XII on the evils of artificial contraception. Many other social/sexual ills of contemporary society can be traced to this phenomenon alone. Orthodox Catholics could add much to the debate over how to “fix” social security not the least of which would be to articulate the economic and demographic advantages of having more children, to date a concept which has been totally absent from the discussion.
What this proposal advocates then is the formation of a Comprehensive Catholic World View Apostolate whose sole function is to re-evangelize and convert the West from secular neo-paganism to orthodox Catholicism that is, from radical secularism to the purest form of Traditionalism. This means being committed to engage in Worldview clash, the waging of a culture war in which multiple different disciplines will need to be represented and integrated so as to formulate and hone the very best data and apologetics arguments in favor of the superiority of orthodox Catholicism.
The “3” primary disciplines which require integration include; theology, philosophy and science.
Certain prudential questions arise regarding how such an apostolate would best be structured. Briefly; “3” basic services would need to be provided by such an entity.
1. Catechesis
2. Apologetics/Pre-evangelization/Evangelization
3. Social Justice/Social Action/Public Policy Formation
There are “3” broad ways in which the work of the CCWVA might be carried out:
1. Broadcast/Print/Internet Media and Conferencing
2. Publishing of larger tracts, position papers and books.
3. Targeted Outreach (Lobbying of Legislative and Executive Branches of government and
Church, City and Regional area visits by invitation).
With respect to how such an enterprise might be started, numerous options are available including a physically fixed “Center of Operations” with its own free-standing “bricks and mortar” plant and necessary Real Estate all the way to a totally “Virtual” entity composed of as many committed persons of like mind as can be acquired. Such an entity could conceivably be started by only 2 such individuals.
The expert resources which would be required particularly in the “3” main areas of Theology, Philosophy and Science, could be initially acquired from presently retired volunteers who have the time and committed interest and who are willing to donate the work involved. Later on, some paid experts could be potentially brought aboard as funds allowed (obtained from proceeds of the apostolates work product including lectures, conferences, tapes, C.D.’s articles, books etc). Presumably, such an enterprise (CCWVA) would need to be structured as a 501c3 or other similar entity from the perspective of the Federal Government in order to avoid taxation on the proceeds of apostolate work product.
At this preliminary stage, it is important that a list of potential “experts” from the necessary disciplines be constructed who could then be approached and asked for their voluntary commitment. There may be very few who are free enough of political ties and other conflicts of interest to be able to actively participate in such an enterprise. Many who would be desirable will be unwilling to participate. It also seems prudent to inform the Vatican of the desire to form such an Apostolate and to request the permission and blessing of Pope Benedict XVI. His Holiness may even be able to assist the Apostolate in some way.
CONCLUSION:
Time grows short. Given the present negative trajectory, in the next several decades we could see the disappearance of the Catholic Church in multiple Western nations, the imprisonment of Priests and other vocal Catholics who dare to teach, preach and disseminate the Gospel as understood in orthodox Catholicism and as promulgated by the magisterium. Now is the time for all committed Catholics to take up their Cross and engage the Culture War. With the grace of God, perhaps we can retake the West for Christ. Should we be unsuccessful, at least we will have been admirably occupying our time.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Vatican Commentary on Artificial Hydration and Nutrition
The Vatican has once again clarified that nutrition and hydration is obigatory for patients who are medically stable and in whom a diagnosis of "persistent vegetative state" has been made. The following material from Zenit contains a very useful review of the major statements which the Holy See has made on this vital topic beginning in 1957 and extending up to the present. These pronouncements are completely compatible with the Aristotelian/Thomistic view of the human person which from a metaphysical perspective is the composite unity of matter and form i.e. body and soul...
--Dr. J. P. Hubert
The Sick "Have the Right to Basic Health Care"
VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 14, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a commentary issued today by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on "Responses to Certain Questions of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Concerning Artificial Nutrition and Hydration."
* * *
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has formulated responses to questions presented by His Excellency the Most Reverend William S. Skylstad, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a letter of July 11, 2005, regarding the nutrition and hydration of patients in the condition commonly called a "vegetative state."
The object of the questions was whether the nutrition and hydration of such patients, especially if provided by artificial means, would constitute an excessively heavy burden for the patients, for their relatives, or for the health care system, to the point where it could be considered, also in the light of the moral teaching of the Church, a means that is extraordinary or disproportionate and therefore not morally obligatory.
The address of Pope Pius XII to a congress on anesthesiology, given on Nov. 24, 1957, is often invoked in favor of the possibility of abandoning the nutrition and hydration of such patients. In this address, the Pope restated two general ethical principles. On the one hand, natural reason and Christian morality teach that, in the case of a grave illness, the patient and those caring for him or her have the right and the duty to provide the care necessary to preserve health and life.
On the other hand, this duty in general includes only the use of those means which, considering all the circumstances, are ordinary, that is to say, which do not impose an extraordinary burden on the patient or on others. A more severe obligation would be too burdensome for the majority of persons and would make it too difficult to attain more important goods. Life, health and all temporal activities are subordinate to spiritual ends. Naturally, one is not forbidden to do more than is strictly obligatory to preserve life and health, on condition that one does not neglect more important duties.
One should note, first of all, that the answers given by Pius XII referred to the use and interruption of techniques of resuscitation. However, the case in question has nothing to do with such techniques. Patients in a "vegetative state" breathe spontaneously, digest food naturally, carry on other metabolic functions, and are in a stable situation. But they are not able to feed themselves. If they are not provided artificially with food and liquids, they will die, and the cause of their death will be neither an illness nor the "vegetative state" itself, but solely starvation and dehydration.
At the same time, the artificial administration of water and food generally does not impose a heavy burden either on the patient or on his or her relatives. It does not involve excessive expense; it is within the capacity of an average health care system, does not of itself require hospitalization, and is proportionate to accomplishing its purpose, which is to keep the patient from dying of starvation and dehydration. It is not, nor is it meant to be, a treatment that cures the patient, but is rather ordinary care aimed at the preservation of life.
What may become a notable burden is when the "vegetative state" of a family member is prolonged over time. It is a burden like that of caring for a quadriplegic, someone with serious mental illness, with advanced Alzheimer's disease, and so on. Such persons need continuous assistance for months or even for years. But the principle formulated by Pius XII cannot, for obvious reasons, be interpreted as meaning that in such cases those patients, whose ordinary care imposes a real burden on their families, may licitly be left to take care of themselves and thus abandoned to die. This is not the sense in which Pius XII spoke of extraordinary means.
Everything leads to the conclusion that the first part of the principle enunciated by Pius XII should be applied to patients in a "vegetative state": in the case of a serious illness, there is the right and the duty to provide the care necessary for preserving health and life. The development of the teaching of the Church's magisterium, which has closely followed the progress of medicine and the questions which this has raised, fully confirms this conclusion.
The Declaration on Euthanasia, published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on May 5, 1980, explained the distinction between proportionate and disproportionate means, and between therapeutic treatments and the normal care due to the sick person: "When inevitable death is imminent in spite of the means used, it is permitted in conscience to take the decision to refuse forms of treatment that would only secure a precarious and burdensome prolongation of life, so long as the normal care due to the sick person in similar cases is not interrupted" (Part IV).
Still less can one interrupt the ordinary means of care for patients who are not facing an imminent death, as is generally the case of those in a "vegetative state"; for these people, it would be precisely the interruption of the ordinary means of care which would be the cause of their death.
On June 27, 1981, the Pontifical Council Cor Unum published a document entitled "Some Ethical Questions Relating to the Gravely Ill and the Dying," in which, among other things, it is stated, "There remains the strict obligation to administer at all costs those means which are called 'minimal': that is, those that normally and in usual conditions are aimed at maintaining life (nourishment, blood transfusions, injections, etc.). The discontinuation of these minimal measures would mean in effect willing the end of the patient's life" (No. 2.4.4.).
In an address to participants in an international course on forms of human preleukemia on Nov. 15, 1985, Pope John Paul II, recalling the Declaration on Euthanasia, stated clearly that, in virtue of the principle of proportionate care, one may not relinquish "the commitment to valid treatment for sustaining life nor assistance with the normal means of preserving life," which certainly includes the administration of food and liquids. The Pope also noted that those omissions are not licit which are aimed "at shortening life in order to spare the patient or his family from suffering."
In 1995 the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers published the Charter for Health Care Workers, paragraph 120 of which explicitly affirms: "The administration of food and liquids, even artificially, is part of the normal treatment always due to the patient when this is not burdensome for him or her; their undue interruption can have the meaning of real and true euthanasia."
The Address of John Paul II to a group of bishops from the United States of America on a visit "ad limina," on Oct. 2, 1998, is quite explicit: Nutrition and hydration are to be considered as normal care and ordinary means for the preservation of life. It is not acceptable to interrupt them or to withhold them, if from that decision the death of the patient will follow. This would be euthanasia by omission (cf. No. 4).
In his address of March 20, 2004, to the participants of an international congress on "Life-sustaining Treatments and the Vegetative State: Scientific Progress and Ethical Dilemmas," John Paul II confirmed in very clear terms what had been said in the documents cited above, clarifying also their correct interpretation. The Pope stressed the following points:
1) "The term permanent vegetative state has been coined to indicate the condition of those patients whose 'vegetative state' continues for over a year. Actually, there is no different diagnosis that corresponds to such a definition, but only a conventional prognostic judgment, relative to the fact that the recovery of patients, statistically speaking, is ever more difficult as the condition of vegetative state is prolonged in time" (No. 2).[1]
2) In response to those who doubt the "human quality" of patients in a "permanent vegetative state," it is necessary to reaffirm that "the intrinsic value and personal dignity of every human being do not change, no matter what the concrete circumstances of his or her life. A man, even if seriously ill or disabled in the exercise of his highest functions, is and always will be a man, and he will never become a 'vegetable' or an 'animal'" (No. 3).
3) "The sick person in a vegetative state, awaiting recovery or a natural end, still has the right to basic health care (nutrition, hydration, cleanliness, warmth, etc.), and to the prevention of complications related to his confinement to bed. He also has the right to appropriate rehabilitative care and to be monitored for clinical signs of possible recovery. I should like particularly to underline how the administration of water and food, even when provided by artificial means, always represents a natural means of preserving life, not a medical act. Its use, furthermore, should be considered, in principle, ordinary and proportionate, and as such morally obligatory, to the extent to which, and for as long as, it is shown to accomplish its proper finality, which in the present case consists in providing nourishment to the patient and alleviation of his suffering" (No. 4).
4) The preceding documents were taken up and interpreted in this way: "The obligation to provide the 'normal care due to the sick in such cases' (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, p. IV) includes, in fact, the use of nutrition and hydration (cf. Pontifical Council Cor Unum, "Some Ethical Questions Relating to the Gravely Ill and the Dying," No. 2, 4, 4; Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, Charter for Health Care Workers, No. 120).
The evaluation of probabilities, founded on waning hopes for recovery when the vegetative state is prolonged beyond a year, cannot ethically justify the cessation or interruption of minimal care for the patient, including nutrition and hydration. Death by starvation or dehydration is, in fact, the only possible outcome as a result of their withdrawal. In this sense it ends up becoming, if done knowingly and willingly, true and proper euthanasia by omission" (No. 4).
Therefore, the responses now given by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith continue the direction of the documents of the Holy See cited above, and in particular the Address of John Paul II of March 20, 2004. The basic points are two.
It is stated, first of all, that the provision of water and food, even by artificial means, is in principle an ordinary and proportionate means of preserving life for patients in a "vegetative state": "It is therefore obligatory, to the extent to which, and for as long as, it is shown to accomplish its proper finality, which is the hydration and nourishment of the patient."
It is made clear, secondly, that this ordinary means of sustaining life is to be provided also to those in a "permanent vegetative state," since these are persons with their fundamental human dignity.
When stating that the administration of food and water is morally obligatory in principle, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith does not exclude the possibility that, in very remote places or in situations of extreme poverty, the artificial provision of food and water may be physically impossible, and then "ad impossibilia nemo tenetur."
However, the obligation to offer the minimal treatments that are available remains in place, as well as that of obtaining, if possible, the means necessary for an adequate support of life. Nor is the possibility excluded that, due to emerging complications, a patient may be unable to assimilate food and liquids, so that their provision becomes altogether useless. Finally, the possibility is not absolutely excluded that, in some rare cases, artificial nourishment and hydration may be excessively burdensome for the patient or may cause significant physical discomfort, for example resulting from complications in the use of the means employed.
These exceptional cases, however, take nothing away from the general ethical criterion, according to which the provision of water and food, even by artificial means, always represents a natural means for preserving life, and is not a therapeutic treatment. Its use should therefore be considered ordinary and proportionate, even when the "vegetative state" is prolonged.
[1] Terminology concerning the different phases and forms of the "vegetative state" continues to be discussed, but this is not important for the moral judgment involved. [Original text: English]
--Dr. J. P. Hubert
The Sick "Have the Right to Basic Health Care"
VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 14, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a commentary issued today by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on "Responses to Certain Questions of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Concerning Artificial Nutrition and Hydration."
* * *
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has formulated responses to questions presented by His Excellency the Most Reverend William S. Skylstad, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a letter of July 11, 2005, regarding the nutrition and hydration of patients in the condition commonly called a "vegetative state."
The object of the questions was whether the nutrition and hydration of such patients, especially if provided by artificial means, would constitute an excessively heavy burden for the patients, for their relatives, or for the health care system, to the point where it could be considered, also in the light of the moral teaching of the Church, a means that is extraordinary or disproportionate and therefore not morally obligatory.
The address of Pope Pius XII to a congress on anesthesiology, given on Nov. 24, 1957, is often invoked in favor of the possibility of abandoning the nutrition and hydration of such patients. In this address, the Pope restated two general ethical principles. On the one hand, natural reason and Christian morality teach that, in the case of a grave illness, the patient and those caring for him or her have the right and the duty to provide the care necessary to preserve health and life.
On the other hand, this duty in general includes only the use of those means which, considering all the circumstances, are ordinary, that is to say, which do not impose an extraordinary burden on the patient or on others. A more severe obligation would be too burdensome for the majority of persons and would make it too difficult to attain more important goods. Life, health and all temporal activities are subordinate to spiritual ends. Naturally, one is not forbidden to do more than is strictly obligatory to preserve life and health, on condition that one does not neglect more important duties.
One should note, first of all, that the answers given by Pius XII referred to the use and interruption of techniques of resuscitation. However, the case in question has nothing to do with such techniques. Patients in a "vegetative state" breathe spontaneously, digest food naturally, carry on other metabolic functions, and are in a stable situation. But they are not able to feed themselves. If they are not provided artificially with food and liquids, they will die, and the cause of their death will be neither an illness nor the "vegetative state" itself, but solely starvation and dehydration.
At the same time, the artificial administration of water and food generally does not impose a heavy burden either on the patient or on his or her relatives. It does not involve excessive expense; it is within the capacity of an average health care system, does not of itself require hospitalization, and is proportionate to accomplishing its purpose, which is to keep the patient from dying of starvation and dehydration. It is not, nor is it meant to be, a treatment that cures the patient, but is rather ordinary care aimed at the preservation of life.
What may become a notable burden is when the "vegetative state" of a family member is prolonged over time. It is a burden like that of caring for a quadriplegic, someone with serious mental illness, with advanced Alzheimer's disease, and so on. Such persons need continuous assistance for months or even for years. But the principle formulated by Pius XII cannot, for obvious reasons, be interpreted as meaning that in such cases those patients, whose ordinary care imposes a real burden on their families, may licitly be left to take care of themselves and thus abandoned to die. This is not the sense in which Pius XII spoke of extraordinary means.
Everything leads to the conclusion that the first part of the principle enunciated by Pius XII should be applied to patients in a "vegetative state": in the case of a serious illness, there is the right and the duty to provide the care necessary for preserving health and life. The development of the teaching of the Church's magisterium, which has closely followed the progress of medicine and the questions which this has raised, fully confirms this conclusion.
The Declaration on Euthanasia, published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on May 5, 1980, explained the distinction between proportionate and disproportionate means, and between therapeutic treatments and the normal care due to the sick person: "When inevitable death is imminent in spite of the means used, it is permitted in conscience to take the decision to refuse forms of treatment that would only secure a precarious and burdensome prolongation of life, so long as the normal care due to the sick person in similar cases is not interrupted" (Part IV).
Still less can one interrupt the ordinary means of care for patients who are not facing an imminent death, as is generally the case of those in a "vegetative state"; for these people, it would be precisely the interruption of the ordinary means of care which would be the cause of their death.
On June 27, 1981, the Pontifical Council Cor Unum published a document entitled "Some Ethical Questions Relating to the Gravely Ill and the Dying," in which, among other things, it is stated, "There remains the strict obligation to administer at all costs those means which are called 'minimal': that is, those that normally and in usual conditions are aimed at maintaining life (nourishment, blood transfusions, injections, etc.). The discontinuation of these minimal measures would mean in effect willing the end of the patient's life" (No. 2.4.4.).
In an address to participants in an international course on forms of human preleukemia on Nov. 15, 1985, Pope John Paul II, recalling the Declaration on Euthanasia, stated clearly that, in virtue of the principle of proportionate care, one may not relinquish "the commitment to valid treatment for sustaining life nor assistance with the normal means of preserving life," which certainly includes the administration of food and liquids. The Pope also noted that those omissions are not licit which are aimed "at shortening life in order to spare the patient or his family from suffering."
In 1995 the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers published the Charter for Health Care Workers, paragraph 120 of which explicitly affirms: "The administration of food and liquids, even artificially, is part of the normal treatment always due to the patient when this is not burdensome for him or her; their undue interruption can have the meaning of real and true euthanasia."
The Address of John Paul II to a group of bishops from the United States of America on a visit "ad limina," on Oct. 2, 1998, is quite explicit: Nutrition and hydration are to be considered as normal care and ordinary means for the preservation of life. It is not acceptable to interrupt them or to withhold them, if from that decision the death of the patient will follow. This would be euthanasia by omission (cf. No. 4).
In his address of March 20, 2004, to the participants of an international congress on "Life-sustaining Treatments and the Vegetative State: Scientific Progress and Ethical Dilemmas," John Paul II confirmed in very clear terms what had been said in the documents cited above, clarifying also their correct interpretation. The Pope stressed the following points:
1) "The term permanent vegetative state has been coined to indicate the condition of those patients whose 'vegetative state' continues for over a year. Actually, there is no different diagnosis that corresponds to such a definition, but only a conventional prognostic judgment, relative to the fact that the recovery of patients, statistically speaking, is ever more difficult as the condition of vegetative state is prolonged in time" (No. 2).[1]
2) In response to those who doubt the "human quality" of patients in a "permanent vegetative state," it is necessary to reaffirm that "the intrinsic value and personal dignity of every human being do not change, no matter what the concrete circumstances of his or her life. A man, even if seriously ill or disabled in the exercise of his highest functions, is and always will be a man, and he will never become a 'vegetable' or an 'animal'" (No. 3).
3) "The sick person in a vegetative state, awaiting recovery or a natural end, still has the right to basic health care (nutrition, hydration, cleanliness, warmth, etc.), and to the prevention of complications related to his confinement to bed. He also has the right to appropriate rehabilitative care and to be monitored for clinical signs of possible recovery. I should like particularly to underline how the administration of water and food, even when provided by artificial means, always represents a natural means of preserving life, not a medical act. Its use, furthermore, should be considered, in principle, ordinary and proportionate, and as such morally obligatory, to the extent to which, and for as long as, it is shown to accomplish its proper finality, which in the present case consists in providing nourishment to the patient and alleviation of his suffering" (No. 4).
4) The preceding documents were taken up and interpreted in this way: "The obligation to provide the 'normal care due to the sick in such cases' (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, p. IV) includes, in fact, the use of nutrition and hydration (cf. Pontifical Council Cor Unum, "Some Ethical Questions Relating to the Gravely Ill and the Dying," No. 2, 4, 4; Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, Charter for Health Care Workers, No. 120).
The evaluation of probabilities, founded on waning hopes for recovery when the vegetative state is prolonged beyond a year, cannot ethically justify the cessation or interruption of minimal care for the patient, including nutrition and hydration. Death by starvation or dehydration is, in fact, the only possible outcome as a result of their withdrawal. In this sense it ends up becoming, if done knowingly and willingly, true and proper euthanasia by omission" (No. 4).
Therefore, the responses now given by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith continue the direction of the documents of the Holy See cited above, and in particular the Address of John Paul II of March 20, 2004. The basic points are two.
It is stated, first of all, that the provision of water and food, even by artificial means, is in principle an ordinary and proportionate means of preserving life for patients in a "vegetative state": "It is therefore obligatory, to the extent to which, and for as long as, it is shown to accomplish its proper finality, which is the hydration and nourishment of the patient."
It is made clear, secondly, that this ordinary means of sustaining life is to be provided also to those in a "permanent vegetative state," since these are persons with their fundamental human dignity.
When stating that the administration of food and water is morally obligatory in principle, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith does not exclude the possibility that, in very remote places or in situations of extreme poverty, the artificial provision of food and water may be physically impossible, and then "ad impossibilia nemo tenetur."
However, the obligation to offer the minimal treatments that are available remains in place, as well as that of obtaining, if possible, the means necessary for an adequate support of life. Nor is the possibility excluded that, due to emerging complications, a patient may be unable to assimilate food and liquids, so that their provision becomes altogether useless. Finally, the possibility is not absolutely excluded that, in some rare cases, artificial nourishment and hydration may be excessively burdensome for the patient or may cause significant physical discomfort, for example resulting from complications in the use of the means employed.
These exceptional cases, however, take nothing away from the general ethical criterion, according to which the provision of water and food, even by artificial means, always represents a natural means for preserving life, and is not a therapeutic treatment. Its use should therefore be considered ordinary and proportionate, even when the "vegetative state" is prolonged.
[1] Terminology concerning the different phases and forms of the "vegetative state" continues to be discussed, but this is not important for the moral judgment involved. [Original text: English]
Vatican on Nutrition to Patients in Vegetative State
Contrary to the prior statements of multiple disenting theologians, nutrition and hydration is obligatory for patients who are medically stable and in whom a diagnosis of Persistent Vegetative State (PVS) has been made. See my article at LULU. com entitled "Fr. Richard Mc Brien and others Mislead Catholic Public: Allege Schiavo Feeding Tube Removal OK". For further details See here
--Dr. J. P. Hubert
"A Person With Fundamental Human Dignity"
VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 14, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is the note published today by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith entitled "Responses to Certain Questions of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Concerning Artificial Nutrition and Hydration."* *
*First question: Is the administration of food and water (whether by natural or artificial means) to a patient in a "vegetative state" morally obligatory except when they cannot be assimilated by the patient's body or cannot be administered to the patient without causing significant physical discomfort?
Response: Yes.
The administration of food and water even by artificial means is, in principle, an ordinary and proportionate means of preserving life. It is therefore obligatory to the extent to which, and for as long as, it is shown to accomplish its proper finality, which is the hydration and nourishment of the patient. In this way suffering and death by starvation and dehydration are prevented.
Second question: When nutrition and hydration are being supplied by artificial means to a patient in a "permanent vegetative state," may they be discontinued when competent physicians judge with moral certainty that the patient will never recover consciousness?
Response: No.
A patient in a "permanent vegetative state" is a person with fundamental human dignity and must, therefore, receive ordinary and proportionate care which includes, in principle, the administration of water and food even by artificial means.
* * *
The Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, at the audience granted to the undersigned cardinal prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved these responses, adopted in the Ordinary Session of the Congregation, and ordered their publication.
Rome, from the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Aug. 1, 2007.
William Cardinal Levada, Prefect
Angelo Amato, S.D.B. Titular Archbishop of Sila, Secretary
--Dr. J. P. Hubert
"A Person With Fundamental Human Dignity"
VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 14, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is the note published today by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith entitled "Responses to Certain Questions of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Concerning Artificial Nutrition and Hydration."* *
*First question: Is the administration of food and water (whether by natural or artificial means) to a patient in a "vegetative state" morally obligatory except when they cannot be assimilated by the patient's body or cannot be administered to the patient without causing significant physical discomfort?
Response: Yes.
The administration of food and water even by artificial means is, in principle, an ordinary and proportionate means of preserving life. It is therefore obligatory to the extent to which, and for as long as, it is shown to accomplish its proper finality, which is the hydration and nourishment of the patient. In this way suffering and death by starvation and dehydration are prevented.
Second question: When nutrition and hydration are being supplied by artificial means to a patient in a "permanent vegetative state," may they be discontinued when competent physicians judge with moral certainty that the patient will never recover consciousness?
Response: No.
A patient in a "permanent vegetative state" is a person with fundamental human dignity and must, therefore, receive ordinary and proportionate care which includes, in principle, the administration of water and food even by artificial means.
* * *
The Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, at the audience granted to the undersigned cardinal prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved these responses, adopted in the Ordinary Session of the Congregation, and ordered their publication.
Rome, from the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Aug. 1, 2007.
William Cardinal Levada, Prefect
Angelo Amato, S.D.B. Titular Archbishop of Sila, Secretary
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
"6" Years Later, what is the Lesson of 9/11?
While the attacks on New York and Washington can never be justified since they clearly violated the first and second principles of the Natural Law--do good/avoid evil and treat your neighbor fairly, it must in all intellectual honesty be admitted that the blatantly imperialistic foreign policy of the United States including the garrisoning of American troops on Muslim soil (prior to the first gulf war) was the precipitating factor. This much is known beyond reasonable doubt if only by examination of the numerous public pre-9/11 statements of Osama bin Laden. In addition, copious data now exist which establish the same, well presented by many among the academic foreign policy community. See my War, Peace and Terrorism for references.
Had it not been for our uneven support of right wing Israeli (Likud) politics over those of the Arab Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and our decades long interference in the affairs of Arab and Iranian governments, 9/11 might not have occurred. This is painful to admit yet rationally demanded nonetheless upon examination of the historical record and in the absence of a-priori bias in favor of what now is the ascendant Neoconservative policy views of both US political parties.
The answer to so-called "Jihadi based terrorism" is not to be found in further immoral wars of aggression or the occupation of additional Arab lands but in the return to a humble foreign policy in which war is engaged in as a last resort for defensive purposes only. This means a repudiation of the Bush Doctrine of Pre-emptive (preventive) war at a minimum. It also implies that a paradigm shift in US energy policy is absolutely imperative! The fact that global fossil fuel reserves (primarily concentrated in the Middle East) are likely to last less than 30 more years strongly suggests that American presence in the Persian Gulf area is primarily energy related.
The United States simply does not have the moral right or the necessary resources to monopolize the distribution of increasingly scant hydrocarbon energy reserves.
Had it not been for our uneven support of right wing Israeli (Likud) politics over those of the Arab Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and our decades long interference in the affairs of Arab and Iranian governments, 9/11 might not have occurred. This is painful to admit yet rationally demanded nonetheless upon examination of the historical record and in the absence of a-priori bias in favor of what now is the ascendant Neoconservative policy views of both US political parties.
The answer to so-called "Jihadi based terrorism" is not to be found in further immoral wars of aggression or the occupation of additional Arab lands but in the return to a humble foreign policy in which war is engaged in as a last resort for defensive purposes only. This means a repudiation of the Bush Doctrine of Pre-emptive (preventive) war at a minimum. It also implies that a paradigm shift in US energy policy is absolutely imperative! The fact that global fossil fuel reserves (primarily concentrated in the Middle East) are likely to last less than 30 more years strongly suggests that American presence in the Persian Gulf area is primarily energy related.
The United States simply does not have the moral right or the necessary resources to monopolize the distribution of increasingly scant hydrocarbon energy reserves.
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