Catholic health care is one of the key places where the church lives Catholic social teaching (CST). Yet the individualistic methodology of Catholic bioethics inherited from the manualist tradition has yet to incorporate this critical component of the Catholic moral tradition. Informed by the places where Catholic health care intersects with the diverse societal injustices embodied in the patients it encounters, this book brings the lens of CST to bear on Catholic health care, illuminating a new spectrum of ethical issues and practical recommendations from social determinants of health, immigration, diversity and disparities, behavioral health, gender-questioning patients, and environmental and global health issues.
"This book is an important advance in our efforts to understand how social factors-violence, racism, mental illness, ecology, gender and business practices-affect health status and outcomes. It is a contribution to our ongoing efforts to make the person, 'fully and adequately considered' the heart of our ethical undertaking."
Charles E. Bouchard, The Catholic Health Association of the United States
"Social justice has been a primary concern in Catholic teaching for a long time. This book presents a collection of essays that open new avenues for the contemporary bioethical debate. It goes beyond the usual fixation on individual autonomy and addresses vulnerability, social responsibility, and solidarity. The authors also take the implications of globalization seriously while at the same time f
Henk ten Have, Professor of Healthcare Ethics, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
"The twenty-four essays in this book, along with the helpful introduction to Catholic social thought, spark the reader's imagination to reconstruct and reconsider the nature of Catholic bioethics. The 'traditional' questions will never leave us, but considered by themselves, they simply do not do justice to the range of moral issues facing Catholic health care providers and institutions. This book
Bernard Brady, University of Saint Thomas, Minnesota
