Pastoral Medicine

In my view, pastoral medicine is the sum of those explanations anatomical-physiological, as well as pathological therapeutical, a knowledge of which is necessary to the priest in the exercise of his pastoral functions. I prefer to extend the scope of pastoral medicine so as to meet likewise the exigencies of physicians. Consequently, it will be my aim, in this work, to communicate to physicians those dogmatical and moral principles, a sufficient knowledge of which is indispensable to...
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In my view, pastoral medicine is the sum of those explanations anatomical-physiological, as well as pathological therapeutical, a knowledge of which is necessary to the priest in the exercise of his pastoral functions. I prefer to extend the scope of pastoral medicine so as to meet likewise the exigencies of physicians. Consequently, it will be my aim, in this work, to communicate to physicians those dogmatical and moral principles, a sufficient knowledge of which is indispensable to render their professional acts always safe and consistent with Christian morals. To all appearances, physicians nowadays do not feel the need of becoming acquainted with those principles and teachings of theology which have a bearing On their profession; at least not so much as priests feel, on Their part, the necessity of obtaining that amount of medical knowledge. The need, nevertheless, exists, and it would be manifested but for the materialism now prevalent in medical science. Priests are often at a loss to decide some moral questions, because they have no knowledge, or an insufficient one, of physiological and pathological details. Physicians, likewise, are apt to do violence more or less to their own conscience, or that of their patients, through a lack of knowledge of certain positive teachings and principles of moral, and even dogmatic, theology. Students of medicine have little time to add the study of theology to that of their own science, and still less opportunity of doing so at our universities, even if they were so inclined. It must be also deeply regretted that the theoretical, and not unseldom, the practical instructions given at our universities are often at variance with good morals.Lectures upon medical jurisprudence are delivered both to law-students and students of medicine, and' the books thereon are arranged to enable both lawyer and physician to gain all necessary information about a science which is, otherwise, foreign to each respectively. In the same manner, pastoral medicine shonld, in my opinion, meet tho exigeneies of both priest and physician, the more so as the questions at issue cannot be clearly determined, unless theology and medicine mutually complete each other. It is, of course, unavoidable in such a work to treat on matters that were well known before, either to the priest or to the physician.