Religious Doctors Less Likely to End Lives of Terminally Ill Than Non-Religious
London, England, Aug 30, 2010 - (EWTN News) - Compared to very religious doctors, British doctors who are atheist or agnostic are twice as likely to make decisions that can end the lives of their terminally ill patients, a study claims. Religious doctors and specialists in palliative care were also the most likely to oppose euthanasia legislation.
Dr. Clive Seale, a professor at the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, conducted a random mail survey of more than 3,700 doctors across Britain about how they cared for their last terminal patient. According to the Associated Press, 2,923 responded.
The study, paid for by Britain’s National Council for Palliative Care, was published in the Journal of Medical Ethics.
Many of the doctors surveyed were neurologists or doctors specializing in care of the elderly and palliative care, though other specialists such as family doctors were also surveyed.
Respondents who described themselves as “extremely” or “very non-religious” were nearly twice as likely to report that they decided to provide
“restorationism” taking place in the Church since Pope John Paul II, he said. He described this phenomenon as “the carefully planned dismantling of the theology, ecclesiology, pastoral vision, indeed the ‘opening of the windows’ of Vatican II -- in order to ‘restore’ a previous, or more controllable model of church through an increasingly centralized power structure.”
According to the bishop, the decrees and decisions of the Pope and Vatican since the Second Vatican Council “are simply the theological or pastoral interpretations or opinions of those who have power at the centre of the church.” In particular, he criticized clerical celibacy and the refusal to “ordain” women. This “restorationist” approach has led to “an inward looking church,” said the bishop, that is “fearful of if not antagonistic towards a secularist world.”
He further charged that the Church’s leadership “undermines” the Catholic principle of subsidiarity, which holds that higher levels in society should leave to lower levels what they can do or decide on their own. He also suggested that the Church today is lacking an appreciation for the importance of conscience.
In their response, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, which represents bishops from South Africa, Botswana, and Swaziland, affirmed the “positive changes” brought about through Vatican II, but stressed that “it is nonetheless true that the council itself must be interpreted and applied in the light of the history of the Church’s teaching and cannot be divorced from it.”
The bishops' remarks echoed the sentiments of Pope Benedict XVI, who has stressed the need to apply a "hermeneutic of continuity" to Vatican II, rather than the "hermeneutic of discontinuity" that has guided various aberrations in Catholic teaching and practice.
They explained that “even between councils” the Pope, in collaboration with the Cardinals and Bishops, “exercises teaching authority and governs the church.”
They stressed, further, that disagreements between bishops should be handled with “tolerance and sensitivity.” “Above all care should be taken not to label bishops e.g. as ‘restorationists’, conservatives or progressives but rather to address the issues,” they wrote.
According to the bishops, the Church engages in dialogue by consulting experts, Episcopal conferences, and her members. “It is precisely through such dialogue that the Church is not inward looking as sometimes claimed,” they wrote.
Further, they affirmed the Church’s teaching on the principle of subsidiarity, insisting that “the very structure of the church,” from the parishes up to the Pope, “is evidence of the principle of subsidiarity in the Church.”
They agreed with Bishop Dowling that each person must follow his conscience, but stressed the need for a proper formation of the conscience. “An upright and true moral conscience is formed by education and by assimilating the Word of God and teaching of the Church,” they wrote, quoting the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (# 374).
Concluding, the bishops called on Catholics to be “bold in standing up for the doctrinal, social and the moral teaching of the Church.
"Doing so is a crucial part of the evangelizing mission of the Church for transforming society.”