7 Febr. 2021
As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc in countries – decimating people’s livelihoods, and leaving health systems struggling to provide healthcare and vaccines for the entire population - governments and donors should look to the Church
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as a partner. The essential Church networks, trusted and rooted in local communities, can reach the most vulnerable people and remote places where governments often struggle to reach. DR Congo is among several countries where the Catholic Church is the main provider of community health services, particularly in more remote areas.
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In 1964 medical mission was challenged and called to define its distinctiveness and its special role in the context of that particular time. The consultation "Tuebingen I" clearly stated: "The Christian
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church has a specific task in the field of health and healing"1, and developed a concept of wholeness and of the role of the congregation in health provision. 50 years later, the question of the proprium of Christian health services is again a very important one. At a time when governments, international non-governmental organizations and other philanthropic organizations participate in health care, the question has to be asked: What is the specific contribution of a Christian health service or ministry of healing? At a time when chronic disease challenges not only rich but now also poor countries, when infections like Ebola that for years were hidden in Africa pose a threat to the global situation, Christians have to reflect on the question of the proprium of Christian health care.
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An international field study by African and German theologicans and health workers.
An international field study by African and German Theologicans and health workers
This article deals with the burning issue of moral decision-making by major church assemblies, such as regional and general synods. Moral decisions by church assemblies have created man
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y conflicts in churches in the past and at times did an injustice to the prophetic testimony of churches in society. The question arises as follows: To what extent should church assemblies be involved in moral decision-making? The central theoretical argument of this study is that although the notion of a ‘biblical ethic’ is valid, synods and council of churches should be extremely cautious and even hesitant to formulate moral decisions because of differences in hermeneutical approaches and the principle that the church is primarily the ‘local congregation of believers’. The church is not in the first instance a national, general or international social structure that should pass conclusive resolutions and that testifies by way of moderators or elected church leaders. To unfurl this central theoretical argument, the researcher refers to the current hermeneutical discourses and proposes certain ideas regarding the possible role of the church with respect to moral decision-making. In view of the information provided, a point of view is advocated regarding the way in which churches could be involved in moral decision-making today.
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Christian morality consists of living one’s life with guidance and inspiration from the Christian scriptures and traditions. Christian ethics as
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an academic discipline uses these scriptures and traditions in developing and critiquing ethical norms and theories and applying them to ethical issues. Most Christian ethicists agree that the sources for doing ethics include revelation (scripture) and tradition, as well as human reason and experience.
accessed July 2020
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The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. As a community composed of men, united in Christ, they are led by the Holy Spirit toward the Kingdom of their Father. They have welcome
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d the news of salvation, meant for every man. This community realizes its link with mankindand its history by the deepest of bonds
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TO HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II
The Catholic Church maintains that the Imago Dei is the ground for human dignity. The secular world, too, endorses human dignity as the foundation for human rights without referring to Imago Dei. The Catholic
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Church and the secular world both agree on the importance of human dignity, even though they differ on their views about the source of human dignity. In this paper, we shall examine if human dignity can be the basis of a fruitful dialogue between the Catholic Church and the secular world in order to make our world a better place to live. The primary resources for our study are the Church documents on human dignity, and the opinions of distinguished thinkers on the need to promote a culture of dialogue between religions and secular world.
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A statement by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
1996
There are varying Christian perspectives on medical ethics, depending onthe differing beliefs, principles and practicesthat undergird them. Notonly are there numerous Christian churches a
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nd organisations but,within and between these, there are varying schools of thought that seek to guide theological and ethical enquiry. In addition, most Christian believers are encouraged to make their own personal ethical decisions. While biblical and theological reflection,especially on the life and teaching of Jesus, will play an important role in many individuals’ decision making, others will base their decisions more loosely on a mixture of their Christian ‘background’, their personal experience and their daily interaction with people and current ideas. It is not possible, therefore, to present a definitive Christian perspective on medical ethics, but it is possible to identify many of the features that contribute, consciously or, perhaps more often, subconsciously, to the perspectives that most Christians have.
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Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops, Clergy, Consecrated Persons and the lay faithul on the proclamation of the gospel in the today`s world
Geographical Paper No. 177
Accessed on: 18.06.2020
The “Wuppertal Call” – Contributions and Recommendations from an
International Conference on Eco-Theology and Ethics of Sustainability
Wuppertal, Germany, 16 – 19 June 2019
Report of Meeting: 4 November 2014, Roma