catholicweekly.com.au 2 NEWS 26, April, 2020 Call 02 9649 6423 or visit www.catholiccemeteries.com.au Consecrated lawns and chapels Sydney’s only Catholic crematorium Monthly mass for the Repose of Souls Funeral directors available for a Catholic service Bereavement pastoral care Serving the Catholic community for over 150 years FROM P1 “It’s so wrong,” she said. “I don’t care how old that per- son is, they’ve got a right [to treatment].” Ms van der Linden said she is not surprised if people with disabilities “who do not have strong advocates fighting for them would be feeling espe- cially vulnerable in this cur- rent climate”. “The reality is that every person has value and is de- serving of society’s care and resources, no matter what,” she said. “Our health systems must reflect and adhere to this ba- sic principle of equality and human worth.” Chief executive officer of Catholic Health Australia Pat Garcia said that caregivers, patients, their families and the Australian people can be reas- sured that “we remain stead- fastly committed to our ethic of compassionate care for all”. “We care for, accompany and never abandon any per- son, regardless of their con- dition, to the best of our abil- ity and resources,” Mr Garcia said. “Catholic hospitals are particularly attentive to so- cial disadvantages which can compound the medical needs of vulnerable individuals and groups. “Catholic health care will always seek to serve and be advocates for those at the margins of society who are especially vulnerable to dis- crimination.” Group manager of ethics and formation at St Vincent’s Health Australia, Dr Dan Fleming, said that across its network “extensive prepa- rations” have been made to ready its services in case of a Don’t get Covid and go to hospital if you’re retired – or near it Second-class older Aussies surge of hospital patients. “If allocation of scarce resources (such as ICU beds) becomes necessary, our staff will base it on patient need, prognosis, and the prospect of success for therapy,” he said. “It will be based on wheth- er the treatment is therapeu- tic. “Determining this looks to all aspects of a patient’s con- dition and is never a case of employing crude exclusions on the basis of age, back- ground or any other personal attribute. “We have a sophisticated system in place, which in- cludes the establishment of triaging teams, to consider these kinds of questions if Medical staff treat a patient suffering from COVID-19 in an inten- sive care unit of a hospital near Paris on 15 April. PHOTO: CNS I n this edition News Streaming Archbishop’s homily World Opinion, comment 1-7 8-9 14-16 18-19 20-21 18 MEDICAL DOGMA AND THE FUTURE OF OUR KIDS EDITOR Peter Rosengren (02) 9390 5400 REPORTERS Marilyn Rodrigues (02) 9390 5410 David Ryan (02) 9390 5408 SUBSCRIPTIONS Rita Ng (02) 9390 5411 ADVERTISING AND MARKETING Steve Richards (02) 9390 5404 Paul Desmond (02) 9390 5406 DESIGNERS Renate Cassis Mathew De Sousa Our story begins in 1839 with the Australasian Chronicle, continuing with the Freeman’s Journal in 1850. Level 13, Polding Centre, 133 Liverpool Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. Phone (02) 9390 5400 | Vol 73, No 5130. The Catholic Weekly is published by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney ABN 60 471 267 587 and is printed by ACM Australian Community Media, 159 Bells Line of Road, North Richmond NSW, 2754. LEAVE A GIFT Archdiocese of Sydney Catholic CHARITIES Order your FREE Wills and Bequests Guide today 1800 753 959 or
[email protected] myWill SUPPORTINGTHE MINISTRIES OF THE CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY Leaving a gift in a they arise ... Importantly, we have also been doing a signif- icant amount of preparation work to ensure that there are care pathways available for all patients who come to us. “Every patient will be cared for, and no patient will be left behind.” A recent report by the Cen- tre for Public Integrity in the United States found that 25 out of 30 states with policies and guidelines about the ra- tioning of ventilators had “provisions of the sort advo- cates fear will send people with disabilities to the back of the line for life-saving treat- ment”. “These policies take into account — in ways that dis- ability advocates say are inappropriate — patients’ expected lifespan; need for resources, such as home ox- ygen; or specific diagnoses, such as dementia,” it said. “Some even permit hospi- tals to take ventilators away from patients who use them as breathing aids in everyday life and give them to other pa- tients.” TheCatholicbishopsofMex- ico and England said that while tough triage decisions must be made because of the pandem- ic, age should not be the only criteria for deciding which pa- tients receive treatment. The Mexican bishops’ con- ference issued on 16 April eth- ical guidelines as medical staff in the country are potentially forced to make life-and-death decisions on who will receive treatment. Similarly, the bishops of England and Wales on 20 April pleaded for fairness in the pos- sible rationing of health care to coronavirus patients amid rising fears that protective and life-saving equipment is run- ning out. Bishop Richard Umbers, a member of the Bishops Com- mission for Life, Family and Public Engagement, said that a society “grounded on useful- ness to the economy and pleas- ure, rather than on the dignity of all, will generate these kinds of abuses”. “Bytheirfruits,youwillknow them,” he said. Back in Perth, a statement from the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital apologising to Ms Lewis simply read that: “The clinician documented that Ms Lewis was accepting of the pro- posed course of action, when she may not have been at the time”. EDITORIAL P17