March 30, 2020
On behalf of the Board and staff of the Catholic Medical Association, I bid you a Happy Doctor’s Day! Doctor’s Day comes each year. This anniversary seems to have more significance as the healthcare community and nation as a whole advance to confront the coronavirus pandemic.
For me, this day helps summon memories of why I chose to become a physician. Our profession allows us to accompany people during some of their most vulnerable, joyful, and tragic times. We are not just physicians. We are confidants, friends, trusted sources of information, shoulders to cry on, and spiritual counselors. Emotions of sorrow, fear, hope, despair, and joy can be experienced in one day if not in one patient encounter.
Now more than ever, the world needs physicians who exercise the principles of our Catholic Faith in the art and science of medicine. Tough decisions need to be made very shortly on the allocation of valuable and scarce medical resources. Our Faith supports us in these determinations with principled teachings on the dignity of the human person. The Ethics Committee for the Catholic Medical Association has published “Guiding Principles For Catholic Healthcare Professionals During a Pandemic” to help when faced with these trials.
As we rise to meet the needs of the suffering, the Catholic Medical Association realizes each member is experiencing some form of physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual strain. We are directing efforts towards finding resources to assist our members in this challenging time. Please know that the Board, chaplain, and Episcopal Advisor pray for each one of you daily during our Memorare Novena.
Easter will be here soon. On that day, we will renew our commitment to the Catholic Faith. The dawn will bring the light of our resurrected Lord and Savior. We must keep our focus on Him as the source of our strength and purpose.
May the Divine Physician be with you, may His Spirit fill and guide you, and may His Mother Mary comfort you in the days to come.
Thank you for your fiat to this noble profession.
Sincerely in Christ,
Michael S. Parker, M.D.
President
