COVID-19 as a Cause of Death for Catholic Priests in Italy

An Ethical and Occupational Health Crisis

Authors

  • Katrina A. Bramstedt Bond University Medical Program

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.41620

Keywords:

pandemic, COVID-19, chaplain, pastoral care, occupational health

Abstract

While the number of deaths of doctors and dentists from COVID-19 in Italy is soaring, there is another vital population of healthcare team members who are also dying here: priests. This work explores the deaths of Italy’s Catholic priests due to COVID-19 during a three-month period in early 2020. Patients, families, and healthcare workers experience COVID-19 in various stressful ways, and priests and other pastoral care providers provide a well-being service that needs protection. The article explores the context of the recent mortality surge for priests in Italy and the role of pastoral care during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the broader issue of ethics and occupational health for these care providers.

Author Biography

  • Katrina A. Bramstedt, Bond University Medical Program

    Professor Katrina A. Bramstedt, MA, PhD, is a bioethicist with approximately 20 years’ experience across clinical and research ethics. She holds an adjunct Professorship at Bond University Medical Program in Queensland, Australia and has worked worldwide, including in the USA, Australia, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. She is an international speaker and has a private ethics consultancy practice, AskTheEthicist, LLC (Sheridan, Wyoming, USA): http://www.asktheethicist.com/home.html

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Published

2020-09-14

How to Cite

Bramstedt, K. A. (2020). COVID-19 as a Cause of Death for Catholic Priests in Italy: An Ethical and Occupational Health Crisis. Health and Social Care Chaplaincy, 8(2), 180-190. https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.41620