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Medicine

The Pope Praises Medical Workers, Criticizes 'Personal Freedom' Protests (nytimes.com) 196

More Americans travelled Wednesday than on any other day in the last eight months — 1.1 million Americans — continuing the country's long-standing annual tradition of gathering to give thanks.

The same week the Pope apparently felt compelled to publish an opinion piece in one of the country's largest newspapers to share his own thoughts about the pandemic.

First, the Pope remembered life-saving medical procedures he'd had when he was 20 — including a wise nurse who'd doubled a dosage recommended by a doctor "because she knew from experience I was dying... Because of her regular contact with sick people, she understood better than the doctor what they needed, and she had the courage to act on her knowledge." And he also remembers another nurse who'd prescribed him extra painkillers for intense pain. "They taught me what it is to use science but also to know when to go beyond it to meet particular needs. And the serious illness I lived through taught me to depend on the goodness and wisdom of others. This theme of helping others has stayed with me these past months."

Then he points out the great sacrifices made during the pandemic by doctors, nurses, and caregivers: Whether or not they were conscious of it, their choice testified to a belief: that it is better to live a shorter life serving others than a longer one resisting that call. That's why, in many countries, people stood at their windows or on their doorsteps to applaud them in gratitude and awe. They are the saints next door, who have awakened something important in our hearts, making credible once more what we desire to instill by our preaching. They are the antibodies to the virus of indifference...
He contrasts this with groups opposing government measures protecting the public health: [S]ome groups protested, refusing to keep their distance, marching against travel restrictions — as if measures that governments must impose for the good of their people constitute some kind of political assault on autonomy or personal freedom! Looking to the common good is much more than the sum of what is good for individuals. It means having a regard for all citizens and seeking to respond effectively to the needs of the least fortunate. It is all too easy for some to take an idea — in this case, for example, personal freedom — and turn it into an ideology, creating a prism through which they judge everything...

Our fears are exacerbated and exploited by a certain kind of populist politics that seeks power over society. It is hard to build a culture of encounter, in which we meet as people with a shared dignity, within a throwaway culture that regards the well-being of the elderly, the unemployed, the disabled and the unborn as peripheral to our own well-being.

To come out of this crisis better, we have to recover the knowledge that as a people we have a shared destination. The pandemic has reminded us that no one is saved alone. What ties us to one another is what we commonly call solidarity. Solidarity is more than acts of generosity, important as they are; it is the call to embrace the reality that we are bound by bonds of reciprocity. On this solid foundation we can build a better, different, human future.

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The Pope Praises Medical Workers, Criticizes 'Personal Freedom' Protests

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  • by dskoll ( 99328 ) on Saturday November 28, 2020 @11:43AM (#60773148) Homepage

    I am not a fan of religion, and certainly not of the Catholic Church. However, he's right. The last paragraph of the quote is spot-on and is completely counter to current political culture.

    To come out of this crisis better, we have to recover the knowledge that as a people we have a shared destination. The pandemic has reminded us that no one is saved alone. What ties us to one another is what we commonly call solidarity. Solidarity is more than acts of generosity, important as they are; it is the call to embrace the reality that we are bound by bonds of reciprocity. On this solid foundation we can build a better, different, human future.

  • This just in... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by dmay34 ( 6770232 ) on Saturday November 28, 2020 @11:48AM (#60773172)

    Leader of largest Christian denomination is more pro-science, pro-life, and anti-poverty than the vast, vast majority of secular jerks on the internet. Secular jerks, who have never actually done anything in their lives to help another person, on internet struggle to convince themselves why they are still morally superior. News at 9.

  • by mykepredko ( 40154 ) on Saturday November 28, 2020 @11:58AM (#60773214) Homepage

    I can't RFTA and I'm going by the summary - so my comments below may not match the Pope's actual statement.

    That's great that he had caring nurses that to save his life. But the nurse did it by trusting her gut and not following the doctor's orders, which I presume was based on the understanding of the disease along prescribed medications which would be calculated using various factors (age, weight, sex, etc.). So the nurse's behaviour was right, the doctor's science was wrong and she did not have to follow her superior's directives.

    Then he says that people doing the same thing in terms of their response to the pandemic (rejection of masks, social distancing, etc. - basically following their gut - ) are wrong, the science is right and they should follow government's directives.

    The two messages seem at odds with one another.

    • by dmay34 ( 6770232 ) on Saturday November 28, 2020 @12:07PM (#60773246)

      It's more that the nurses understood the dosing needs better than the doctor did in this particular case. It's not like they swapped out the drug for pot instead because they read some blog on the internet.

      Experience still counts for something in this world.

      • It's more that the nurses understood the dosing needs better than the doctor did in this particular case. It's not like they swapped out the drug for pot instead because they read some blog on the internet.

        Experience still counts for something in this world.

        Instructions unclear, all cheetos within 2 nautical miles are gone, I forgot why I’m looking in the fridge, and for some reason the damn rash on my arm is getting worse.

    • by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

      To be fair, when the pope was 20 medicine wasn't very scientific. Not like now, when it's moderately scientific.

    • by sjames ( 1099 )

      Nurses also have extensive medical training.

    • The two messages seem at odds with one another.

      Following their gut based on dealing with numerous sick people.
      Following their gut based on never actually being in a pandemic before.

      Hmm how are these things different...

      I've decades of relevant practical experience.
      I saw a YouTube video that showed up in my Facebook feed.

    • The two messages seem at odds with one another.

      Only to a clueless troll who cherry picks. In the face of such willful ignorance I can only offer this: The individual nurse and mass of scientists are both working forward from knowledge and experience. That the "doctors science was wrong" is a complete ass pull on your part.

  • by groobly ( 6155920 ) on Saturday November 28, 2020 @12:13PM (#60773276)

    The catholic church has always been against personal freedom. Why is this news?

    • by Firedog ( 230345 )

      It's news because the leader of one of the largest religions in the world (which has historically been very anti-science) has come out and said that we need to follow the advice of scientists in order to get through the pandemic as quickly as possible.

      It places the official doctrine of the Catholic Church firmly among other semi-progressive brands of Christianity.

    • Why is this news?

      Because the people harping on about "muh freedoms" happen to overwhelmingly be on the side of thumping on Bibles, so it's refreshing to see someone with a different opinion from the usual religious right cesspool.

    • As recently as Pope John Paul II, the Catholic Church at least moderately agitated for forms of government that featured personal and political freedom. John Paul II stood against totalitarian Communism.

      This Pope seems to be attacking anti-maskers, believing them to be wound up with nationalist fascist movements. He wants you to do what you are told by your local government, even if you might question the efficacy of some of their regulations.

  • It's pretty clear why the pope is doing this, and that's to protect the church from being sued. The church's lawyers probably pointed out that even with the SCOTUS decision barring governments from putting restrictions on church attendance, they could still be sued if someone catches COVID and dies as a result of going to church.

    This way, the church can say "We directed all of our priests to obey the law, and if any of them were opening their churches it was specifically against our orders."

    • So it seems the Pope is more progressive than the US Supreme Court.

    • Yeah. That's precisely what happened. Yesterday SCOTUS made a decision and within 24 hours the Pope wrote *an entire 160 book* to cover himself. He is truly powered by God.

      Let me guess, you didn't bother reading TFA.

    • by reiscw ( 2427662 )

      Just as a disclaimer, I'm an active Catholic. So you can decide to ignore what's to follow if you like. I lean left politically, and I would describe myself as a "moderate" Catholic, somewhere in the middle theologically. We go to Mass every Sunday. The church we attend has a lot of measures in place to prevent spread, it is frankly safer than my school (I'm a teacher). Even reception of Communion is pretty safe, with everyone cleaning hands before and after. This only works because the building is bi

    • The church's lawyers probably pointed out that even with the SCOTUS decision barring governments from putting restrictions on church attendance

      The SCOTUS decision doesn't bar governments from putting restrictions on church attendance.

      The churches/synagogues involved in the SCOTUS suit are still under restrictions, just not the draconian ones. They are currently limited to 50% capacity in the "yellow zone", and "shall adhere to Department of Health guidance" - which I take to mean following mask/social distancing/disinfection/etc. protocols.

  • by WindBourne ( 631190 ) on Saturday November 28, 2020 @02:25PM (#60773794) Journal
    For American businesses that have been ordered to shut down, and want to stay open, I suggest that we simply offer them an alternative:
    1) require that the business have FULL insurance on all employees. THat means health, short term unemployment and life.
    2) require that the owners/Executives (along with family members that were working there BEFORE covid) be on-site and working with customers.
    3) require that the owners/Executives to agree that they are turning down ALL MEDICAL ASSISTANCE while they are running against the law/advisement/etc.

    Far too many business ppl want all of the advantages, but never the responsibility.
    They have a responsibility to take care of the employees if they get sick.
    They have a responsibility to put themselves in as much danger as they put their employees.
    And finally, they do NOT have the right to go and KNOWINGLY expose themselves and then run around and expose medical workers.

    I think that with these simple modifications, businesses should then not be shut down if they adhear to these rules.
  • A person's freedom matters more than another person's well being. Zero question about this.

  • Where I live, the disease control authorities list church services as known super-spreading events every day, and they attract risk-groups primarily. And still, while all sorts of healthy activities are banned, churches remain open. And church leaders are among those who deny being at risk: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/1... [cnn.com]
  • 50% of US Christians: Damn him, the commie!
    Other 50% of US Christians: Who?

  • by anarcobra ( 1551067 ) on Saturday November 28, 2020 @07:47PM (#60774586)
    The dutch government announced mandatory masks except for places of religious worship.
    Maybe the pope should start by telling governments not to be scared of the religious nuts and just tell them to wear the mask too?
  • That's fine... just sign a Do Not Resuscitate in case you get infected first.

Children begin by loving their parents. After a time they judge them. Rarely, if ever, do they forgive them. - Oscar Wilde

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