We hear a lot of talk about ‘human dignity’ these days. Like many other terms that are often bantered about in the popular lexicon, the exact usage of the term may be different from what we have come to understand. (Think of the modern-day usage of the word “pride” as an example of an inversion of meaning.)
In some contexts, we hear the word “dignity” used to support the notion of a right to self-actualization. Recall that we are living in a time when a self-referential definition of values is deemed the highest good. By this standard, the highest protection of “human dignity” is expressed by creating ‘rights’ to such things as autonomy over choosing when one will die, whether one will continue a pregnancy (or not), and the expectation that others refer to us by how we define ourselves. By this criterion, the preservation of “human dignity” may even imply an obligation of others to affirm concepts that violate observable reality (think ‘preferred pronouns’), or to act in opposition to one’s own idea of dignity (such as the expectation of physicians’ participation in the legalization of physician-assisted suicide in the name of “death-with-dignity”).  It also implies that some people have a higher degree of ‘dignity’ than others, in keeping with a secular-humanist, utilitarian view of human worth (ie, qualifying human worth on conditions such as “consciousness”, or “quality of life”.)

So, what do we as Christians mean by ‘human dignity’?  And why is it so important in medicine?

One of the most radical propositions of the Judeo-Christian worldview is the idea that all human beings are made in the image and likeness of God--Imago Dei. Thus, the very essence of our nature as humans means that we have an irrevocable self-worth that cannot be erased. It is ours because we are creatures created by God, and as such we are all God’s children. Moreover, this concept of human dignity is present in all people, at all stages, irrespective of any other condition.

This Imago Dei concept of human dignity is of utmost importance in medicine; it defines medicine’s role in promoting and protecting all human life, and supporting human flourishing at all stages of development. It’s why we say that a doctor who cares for a pregnant woman has two patients—the woman and her unborn child. It’s why the American Medical Association is right to condemn physicians’ participation in executions and wrong to promote the killing of the unborn.  It means that doctors may not ‘play God’ in selectively choosing whether to carry out their professional duty to preserve and restore human life. As Pope Francis reminds us, ““Promoting the dignity of the person means recognizing that he or she possesses inalienable rights which no one may take away arbitrarily.”

​--James Breen, M.D.

This week, the Chesterton Society's weekly podcast features a conversation about how making medicine local, affordable and Catholic.
The discussion goes deeper into the reasons why a Catholic response to our current healthcare system is needed. We also touched upon the reasons why primary care is the natural starting point for the project to reanimate an approach to medicine around the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. 
To view the podcast on YouTube (also available on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms), click here:

Happy Thanksgiving!

​-James Breen, M.D.
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​Welcome to this inaugural blogpost of “In Not Of.” Through this medium I hope to publish reflections on the evening twilight where Christian physicians and patients find ourselves today—able to see just enough to make out the shapes of things, while still knowing the crepuscular lighting is a sign that we are on the verge of being consumed in darkness. By deriving strength from one another, we needn’t be afraid of the dark.

This blog is being written to further the mission of the Benedict Medicine Consortium—to renew the practice of medicine adherent to the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, restoring it as an expression of the corporal works of mercy and a means of evangelization through action. While this may sound novel to us today, it is not a new idea--for countless Christians dedicated to healing over the course of Church history, care for the sick led to the conversion of countless souls to the Faith.

In our tumultuous time, Catholic physicians are not only battling the ravages of human disease but also contending with societal decay and a Leviathan administrative state that casts orthodox Christian beliefs as inadmissible in the secular public square. Rather than recognize the existential therapeutic alliance between doctor and patient, our contemporary healthcare leaders believe that medicine should be a top-down, centralized institution ordered toward efficiency and uniformity of processes and outcomes. It must be devoid of any values except the preferences of the patient, as if the profession of medicine had nothing more substantive to offer than what is suggested by business experts in customer satisfaction. Tragically, this erroneous attitude leaves us with physicians who are considered interchangeable technicians, and patients with deep suspicions of the entire medical enterprise.

We are witnessing a time when the entire medical profession has adopted a way of thinking that rejects its Hippocratic calling to protect and preserve all human life, as evidenced by nearly all mainstream medical societies’ promotion of abortion as a right and a fundamental good, and the looming rise of physician-assisted suicide. Similarly, stating basic biological truths about the human person—things as heretofore incontrovertible as the immutability of the two sexes—is pilloried as contemptible speech. In fact, an entire field of ‘gender medicine’ has been fabricated in an attempt to pass off flagrantly ideological concepts as respected medical therapeutics.

For all the confusion present in the profession of medicine today, we must remember that its errors are not exclusive to medicine, but rather are reflective of errors in the broader culture. This is because medicine is a byproduct of societal norms and values. This proposition is even more unsettling because we have been led to believe that medicine is based on scientifically validated knowledge tempered by the wisdom of a longstanding tradition of medical ethics. In recent years, the confluence of pernicious ideologies in the fields of medicine and education has uprooted the healing profession from its Hippocratic (and later Judeo-Christian) foundations.

Despite the starkness of this message, it is not meant to be dourly pessimistic. On the contrary, I believe it represents an opportunity for Catholic physicians to partner with patients and revitalize the medical profession, refashioning it into something much better than it has been. Much like the classical Catholic education movement has arisen as a response to the depredations of the public school system, the Benedict Medicine Consortium seeks to give rise to a similar movement with primary care practiced in accord with Catholic Social Teaching, to offer a bold alternative based on scientifically sound medical care grounded in the truth of faith.

As Christians, we are called to relationship—within our families, our communities, and most importantly, with Our Lord Jesus Christ.  To this end, I believe that what is needed is a countervailing force in medicine, characterized by the collaboration of Catholic primary care physicians and people of faith who elevate the dignity of the human person, service of neighbor, grass-roots local control, and prudent stewardship of resources as essential principles. Staying focused on these ideas works to deepen our sense of Christian community while providing the world with a practical and bold witness. It’s up to us to stand watch for the first rays of the dawn.

In future posts we’ll delve into why the principles of Catholic Social Teaching are so fundamental to the practice of medicine.
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--James Breen, M.D.