THE HOSPITAL CHAPLAIN AS RELIGIOUS INTERPRETER IN BIOETHICAL DILEMMAS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.v12i2.21Keywords:
bioethics, religious beliefs, validity, pastoral role, dialogue, ambiguity, The Golubchuck CaseAbstract
Using a recent example of a highly publicized case in Canada in which a family’s demands for life-sustaining treatment based on religious beliefs were pitted against a physician’s re-fusal to provide “inappropriate” care, this article critiques the suggestion that chaplains function as “religious interpreters” in bioethics cases that seek to determine the medical validity of religious beliefs. It argues that the chaplain as interpreter of religious beliefs and values requires a full vision of the chaplain’s unique and complex role in healthcare that (1) regards the patient not the chaplain as the “expert,” (2) utilizes a variety of key images of pastoral care, and (3) engages a process of dialogical hermeneutics. It concludes that in its broadest understanding and fullest appreciation beyond judgemental interpretation of facts alone pastoral care provides a helpful re-source to healthcare teams and an influential model in the art of ethics consultation that embraces uncertainty to build trust among stakeholders.
References
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BEAUCHAMP, T., CHILDRESS, J. (2009) Principles of Biomedical Ethics. Sixth edition. New York: Oxford University Press.
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DWOSH, H. (2008). Golubchuck’s Final Battle. Canadian Jewish News (Thursday July 10)
DYKSTRA, R. C. (1990). Intimate Strangers: The Role of the Hospital Chaplain in Situations of Sudden Traumatic Loss. Journal of Pastoral Care 44(2): 139-152.
DYKSTRA, R. C., Ed. (2005). Images of Pastoral Care: Classic Readings. St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press.
FICHTNER, C., MCKENNY, G. (1991). Values Interpretation: A New Model for Ministry. Journal of Religion and Health 30(2), 109-118.
FRANK, A. W. (1995). The Wounded Storyteller: Body, Illness, and Ethics. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
GERKIN, C. V. (1984). The Living Human Document: Re-Visioning Pastoral Counseling in a Hermenutical Mode. Nashville: Abingdon.
Golubchuk v. Salvation Army Grace General Hospital and others, 2008 MBQB 49. Available: www.canlii.org/en/mb/mbqb/doc/2008/2008mbqb49/ 2008mbqb49.html
HART, C. W. (2002). The Contribution of Pastoral Care to Bioethics. Second Opinion No. 9 (Jan).
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MOORE, R. (2008). Capital. In Pierre Bourdieu: Key Concepts, ed. Michael Grenfell. Stocksfield: Acumen.
NOUWEN, H. (1978). Beyond the Skillful Response: Individual Pastoral Care. In Creative Ministry. New York: Doubleday.
PANIKKAR, R. (1995). Invisible Harmony: Essays on Contemplation and Responsibility, ed. Harry James Cargas. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
PRUYSER, P. (1976). The Minister as Diagnostician: Personal Problems in Pastoral Perspective. Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox.
SIMMONDS, A. L. (1994). The Chaplain’s Role in Bioethical Decision Making. Healthcare Management Forum. Winter 7(4), 5-17.
SMITH, M. (2008). Special Report: Court-Ordered End-of-Life Care for Comotose Man Deemed Torture. MedPage Today Available: www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/publich ealth/10552
STOUDER, D. (2009). When People Think You Are an Expert. Plainviews Vol 6, no. 11 (July).
WEIJER, C, SINGER, PA, DICKENS, BM, WORKMAN, S. Bioethics for clinicians: 16. Dealing with demands for inappropriate treatment. CMAJ 159(7): 817 (OCT. 6, 1998).
WHITMAN, W. (1855). Leaves of Grass. The Original 1855 Edition. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 2007.
ZOCK, H. (2008). The Split Professional Identity of the Chaplain as a Spiritual Caregiver in Contemporary Dutch Health Care: Are There Implications for the United States? Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling 62(1-2): 137-139.
BEAUCHAMP, T., CHILDRESS, J. (2009) Principles of Biomedical Ethics. Sixth edition. New York: Oxford University Press.
BOCK, G. L. (2008). Medically Valid Religious Beliefs. Journal of Medical Ethics 34 (6) 437-440.
BOISEN, A. (1936). The Exploration of the Inner World: A Study of Mental Disorder and Religious Experience. New York: Harper and Brother Publishers.
BRETT, A, JERSILD, P. (2003). “Inappropriate” Treatment Near the End of Life: Conflict Between Religious Convictions and Clinical Judgement. (Repr.) Archives of Internal Medicine 163 (July 28)
BULKA, R. (2008). Destroying Jewish Myths About Organ Donation. Canadian Jewish News (Thursday, 17 July).
CURLIN, F., NWODIM, C, VANCE, JL, CHIN, MH, LANTOS, JD (2008). To Die, To Sleep: US Physicians’ Religious and Other Objections to Physician-Assisted Suicide, Terminal Sedation, and Withdrawal of Life Support. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 25(2): 112-120.
DITTES, J E. (1999). Pastoral Counseling: The Basics. Louisville: Westmnister John Knox Press.
DWOSH, H. (2008). Golubchuck’s Final Battle. Canadian Jewish News (Thursday July 10)
DYKSTRA, R. C. (1990). Intimate Strangers: The Role of the Hospital Chaplain in Situations of Sudden Traumatic Loss. Journal of Pastoral Care 44(2): 139-152.
DYKSTRA, R. C., Ed. (2005). Images of Pastoral Care: Classic Readings. St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press.
FICHTNER, C., MCKENNY, G. (1991). Values Interpretation: A New Model for Ministry. Journal of Religion and Health 30(2), 109-118.
FRANK, A. W. (1995). The Wounded Storyteller: Body, Illness, and Ethics. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
GERKIN, C. V. (1984). The Living Human Document: Re-Visioning Pastoral Counseling in a Hermenutical Mode. Nashville: Abingdon.
Golubchuk v. Salvation Army Grace General Hospital and others, 2008 MBQB 49. Available: www.canlii.org/en/mb/mbqb/doc/2008/2008mbqb49/ 2008mbqb49.html
HART, C. W. (2002). The Contribution of Pastoral Care to Bioethics. Second Opinion No. 9 (Jan).
MICOLI, F. (2008). Examining the Case of Samuel Golubchuck. Bioethics Matters Vol. 6, No. 9 (September). Toronto: Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute.
MOORE, R. (2008). Capital. In Pierre Bourdieu: Key Concepts, ed. Michael Grenfell. Stocksfield: Acumen.
NOUWEN, H. (1978). Beyond the Skillful Response: Individual Pastoral Care. In Creative Ministry. New York: Doubleday.
PANIKKAR, R. (1995). Invisible Harmony: Essays on Contemplation and Responsibility, ed. Harry James Cargas. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
PRUYSER, P. (1976). The Minister as Diagnostician: Personal Problems in Pastoral Perspective. Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox.
SIMMONDS, A. L. (1994). The Chaplain’s Role in Bioethical Decision Making. Healthcare Management Forum. Winter 7(4), 5-17.
SMITH, M. (2008). Special Report: Court-Ordered End-of-Life Care for Comotose Man Deemed Torture. MedPage Today Available: www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/publich ealth/10552
STOUDER, D. (2009). When People Think You Are an Expert. Plainviews Vol 6, no. 11 (July).
WEIJER, C, SINGER, PA, DICKENS, BM, WORKMAN, S. Bioethics for clinicians: 16. Dealing with demands for inappropriate treatment. CMAJ 159(7): 817 (OCT. 6, 1998).
WHITMAN, W. (1855). Leaves of Grass. The Original 1855 Edition. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 2007.
ZOCK, H. (2008). The Split Professional Identity of the Chaplain as a Spiritual Caregiver in Contemporary Dutch Health Care: Are There Implications for the United States? Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling 62(1-2): 137-139.
Published
2013-04-06
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Mundle, R. (2013). THE HOSPITAL CHAPLAIN AS RELIGIOUS INTERPRETER IN BIOETHICAL DILEMMAS. Health and Social Care Chaplaincy, 12(2), 21-28. https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.v12i2.21
