ABSTRACT
Physicians play a very important role in the theological processes known as beatification canonization in the Catholic Church. In the first millennium of the Christian era, martyrs and other individuals who lived exemplary lives of Christian perfection in the opinion of the faithful in their locale were venerated as holy persons who had already obtained heaven upon their deaths. Thus, "saints" and their cults were created by action of local Christian communities. Bishops gradually recognized that such action was neither in the best interests of the local community of faithful Christians nor of its Church and Bishop. The creation of "saints" by local acclamatory action often leads to error, scandal, and heresy. In the beginning of the second millennium of the Christian era, the Popes gradually centralized this theological process under their direction. In the process which was developed, physicians were an essential group in certifying to the ecclesiastical authorities that a physical cure produced by a miracle was inexplicable by current medical knowledge. This paper subsequently describes this process of development as well as the special role of physicians in it.
Subject(s)
Catholicism , Physician's Role , Religion and Medicine , Saints , HumansABSTRACT
The Newman programs established at secular colleges and universities provided an opportunity for intellectual, spiritual, and social growth among the Catholic student population. As a young physician and junior medical faculty member, Andre Hellegers took part in the early organization and ongoing work of Carroll House, the Newman Center at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Helleger's experience at Carroll House enabled him to develop a clear blueprint of an academic center of excellence for the scientific, theological, and philosophical exploration of the many problems that he had seen and foresaw in medicine. That center would become Georgetown's Kennedy Institute of Ethics.
