![]() ![]() Showers, a barber's booth, toiletry kits and changes of underwear are available to the homeless men who come to get cleaned up in order to feel a bit more human. Recently he approved and supported the installation of showers inside the colonnade of St. ![]() In the 21st century, Pope Francis reaches out to those who are crippled and deformed by illness, on the margins of acceptable society and in prison. Through his own journey of conversion, Francis overcame his revulsion of lepers, came to see Christ in their disfigured faces and began to minister to them with reverence and respect. In the 12th and 13th centuries, self-preservation was essential without consideration for people who were poor, vulnerable, sick or in need. Stories tell us that Francis held his nose as he passed a leper and occasionally threw coins in the direction of a diseased person. Initially, Francis of Assisi might have had the same concerns as the priest and the Levite. However, someone already outside the circle of acceptability, a Samaritan, passed by and "attended to the whole person" as he ministered to the victim's immediate needs and later paid the innkeeper in advance for future costs of care. Whatever the reason, neither the priest nor the Levite could free himself from the fear of contamination in order to attend to his brother in need. Scripture scholars and preachers have offered multiple explanations why the priest and the Levite passed by the wounded man. Jesus set the standard for respect and care in his parable and in the person of the Good Samaritan. He dined with sinners and tax collectors he called unlearned fishermen to follow him he asked a Samaritan woman for a drink of water and he touched and healed people others considered unclean - people who were blind or lame, 10 lepers and the woman who suffered for years with hemorrhages. In our Catholic health care ministry, we walk in the footprints of Jesus who welcomed diversity in the person of those often discounted by the law. However, without intending to and maybe without even noticing, we begin to classify the world around us with reservations, limitations and judgments about customs and patterns that differ from our own. We enjoy variation in foods and flowers, books and sports. Learning about other faith traditions or cultures opens our eyes to new and interesting ways of worshipping and being. In theory, most of us generally welcome diversity. Does commitment to "defend human dignity" falter when we encounter those who rely on care in the emergency department as their primary health care venue? Only in the dictionary does disparity come before diversity. In varying degrees, some animals, or threads, or people, became inferior, lesser and not quite as good by personal perception. "In the divine image he created him male and female he created them … God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good." (Genesis 1:27, 31)ĭiversity is acknowledged in the Constitution of the United States: "All men are created equal." Similarly, Maya Angelou poetically writes, "Diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color."Įarly on, however, individuals and peoples began to make judgments about others who were different from themselves. In the beginning, God created diversity: light and darkness, water and land, day and night, animals on land and animals in the water. The bold and challenging "Shared Statement of Identity for the Catholic Health Ministry" reads: We commit to "Promote and Defend Human Dignity Attend to the Whole Person Care for Poor and Vulnerable Persons." This reflection invites consideration of our commitment statements when we personally and in our health care facilities encounter those who are different from us.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |