HOUSTON, Texas – The United Methodist Church and the Vatican have issued a joint declaration on the End of Life and Palliative Care. The declaration was signed during a conference at Houston Methodist Hospital which was hosted by the Methodist Center and the Pontifical Academy for Life. The declaration is signed by Bishop Scott J. Jones of the United Methodist Church (Texas Conference) and Archbishop Paglia of the Pontifical Academy for Life. Bishop Jones is available for interview.
The Joint Declaration on the End of Life and Palliative Care serves as a compassionate response to the global public health crisis related to care for dying patients. Methodists and Roman Catholics are united in advocacy for highly personalized palliative care as a “new normal” for patients near the end of life. Palliative care, they explain, is scaffolding upon which science, faith and medicine can construct better supports for patients and families. The full text of the declaration is available online at academyforlife.va.
“Christians, as well as the whole medical profession, are called to support the health and well-being of all persons. We hope to cure those who are ill, but when the end of life comes then our calling is to support the sick and ease their pain,” says Bishop Scott J. Jones of the United Methodist Church, Texas Conference. “Supportive care can contribute to an environment that allows persons to die well with the involvement of friends and family and the ministry of the Church.”
Archbishop Paglia of the Pontifical Academy for Life adds: “Even when we cannot cure, we can still alleviate pain and suffering. The ‘incurable’ patient is never beyond care. Without this conviction, the medical profession can easily fall into therapeutic abandonment (‘since no cure is available, there is nothing worth doing’) or slide toward euthanasia (‘better to end it all’). Palliative care opposes these two risks and helps the medical profession rediscover its humanistic vocation, which is to defend the dignity of every person regardless of their condition.”
The United Methodist Church, Texas Conference (region), includes 644 churches across East Texas with over 282,000 members. We are known for engaging in and sharing the love of Christ and common United Methodist values wherever we go. We are a worldwide church with a membership of 12.7 million, the second largest Protestant denomination.
# # #
Contact
Shannon Martin
[email protected]
(832) 444-3475
