Bishops to discuss pastoral care in face of terror

Closed-door workshop in Dallas will also focus on other questions posed by biotechnology

02/01/2003
By SUSAN HOGAN/ALBACH / The Dallas Morning News

In 1918, a deadly flu epidemic spread across the world. It was so severe that many congregations canceled worship services. Some Catholic priests stopped making house calls to administer last rites.

So what would happen today if terrorists unleashed infectious diseases upon the masses? Would clergy be immobilized and unable to provide pastoral care?

This is but one of the challenges posed by biotechnology that U.S. Catholic bishops will consider during a private meeting at the Crowne Plaza North Dallas-Addison hotel next week.

When the bishops last met in Dallas, in June, more than 800 journalists tracked their response to the church's sexual abuse crisis. By contrast, this meeting on science and medicine is a closed-door workshop that has drawn little public attention.

An elite group of scholars, theologians, physicians and attorneys will address the bishops on developments in biotechnology and the ethical dilemmas they raise for Catholics.

"The challenge of the church is not to allow technological advances to outstrip our ethical response to them," said Bishop Donald Wuerl of Pittsburgh, chairman of the event. "Today, we hear people talking about cloning as if it was something you could do without moral reflection at all."

This is the 19th time the bishops have come to Dallas to study the intersection of faith and science. The workshop is organized by the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Boston and paid for by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization.

Bishop Wuerl said the meeting is strictly informational; the bishops will ponder questions but not necessarily draw conclusions. Nor will the bishops issue any formal pronouncements or position papers, he said.

Dr. John Grabenstein, a pharmacist who has played a key role in the U.S. Army's anthrax vaccine program, will teach the bishops about deadly or contagious diseases that bioterrorists might use.

"This is a new age, and the bishops need to be thinking about how ministers can function if there are restrictions of movement because of bioterrorist attacks," he said. "Part of that planning has to include how to keep the clergy healthy as they tend to parishioners who've been infected."

He said the Army already has specialty teams of chaplains trained to respond in the event of nuclear attack or a biological accident. However, the possibility of widespread terrorism among civilian populations means non-military clergy must also plan how to minister in those situations.

On another topic, several speakers will discuss issues raised when Catholic hospitals collaborate with secular medical institutions that provide reproductive services in conflict with church teaching. Those include contraception, abortions and sterilizations.

"It seems strange to secular institutions bought by Catholic hospitals not to provide these services, because they've long been part of their medical culture," said Dr. Thomas Murphy Goodwin of Los Angeles, who will talk with the bishops about tubal ligation, a common method of birth control.

Dr. Daniel Submasy, a Franciscan priest who works at St. Vincent Hospital in New York, said he plans to talk about the push by some not to force-feed patients who want to die.

He said patients with terminal diseases sometimes seek physician-assisted suicide before they are debilitated. When denied, they may stop eating or seek treatments that hasten their deaths.

"We have to make sure that people like that aren't abandoned," he said.

Carol Hogan will talk about the Catholic battle in California over a requirement that workers' drug insurance include coverage for contraceptives. The church does not provide such coverage to its employees, she said.

"Mandating coverage is an infringement of religious liberty guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution," said Ms. Hogan, who works for the California Catholic Conference.

More than 100 bishops from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and the United States will attend the gathering, which begins Monday night and ends Friday morning with worship. The theme is "Avoiding Evil in the Pursuit of Good: The Challenges of Cooperation in a Pluralistic Society."

Carl Anderson, supreme knight of the 1.6 million member Knights of Columbus, said his group expected to spend more than $50,000 on the workshop, including the bishops' airfare and lodging. Local Knights will provide transportation.

"Bishops have primary responsibility as teachers for the church," he said. "We are committed to providing them a place to learn and meet with scholars. By helping the bishops, we help the church."
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