The Price of Being Conciliatory: Remarks about Mellon's Model for Hospital Chaplaincy Work in Multi-Faith Settings

The intimate connection, within Christianity, of theology andethics is invoked, and the ethical differences between Christiandenominations are exposed, as they present themselves inMellon'scase studies, in order to call attention to the unsolvable dilemmain which hospital chaplains find themselves, if they understandtheir role in a merely conciliatory fashion as that of a "comforter,mediator, educator, ethicist, and counselor". As witnessed bythe Calvinist and Anabaptist traditions Mellon introduces, conceptssuch as "the patient's good" can mean radically different thingsin these theological contexts. Attempting to merely mediatebetween such positions in a spirit of merely generic prayerand on the basis of a merely psychological notion of well-beingposes a risk to chaplains' spiritual integrity and faithfulnessto their mission.     

Abortion and Health Care Chaplaincy in Australia

This paper summarizes the results gained from quantitative and qualitative research involving 327 Australian health care chaplains with regard to their involvement in abortion issues within the health care context. The findings indicate that approximately 20% of surveyed chaplains had provided some form of pastoral intervention to patients and/or their families dealing with issues of abortion and that approximately 10% of chaplains had assisted clinical staff with issues concerning abortion. There was found to be no-statistically significant difference with regard to the number of catholic chaplains compared with protestant chaplains or staff chaplains compared with volunteer chaplains involved in abortion issues. Analysis using the WHO Pastoral Intervention codings highlighted a variety of issues encountered by chaplains and the non-judgmental pastoral care used by chaplains when assisting those dealing with abortion. Some implications of this study with respect to patient and clinical staff support are suggested. Dr. Lindsay Carey, M.App.Sc., Ph.D.: National Research Fellow, Australian Health & Welfare Chaplains Association & Faculty Associate, Palliative Care, School of Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Christopher Newell, AM, Ph.D.: Associate Professor, School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.     

WHOSE RIGHTS,AND WHAT's THE DIFFERENCE? A CRITIQUE OF BETH SINGER'S “HUMAN RIGHTS: SOME CURRENT ISSUES”

Abstract: In this article I argue against the rights‐based framework defining the abortion debate, and do so by considering the views of Beth Singer, a philosopher whose work conveys a broadly pragmatist formulation of traditional rights‐based language. Although Singer's schema presents a fruitful vantage point from which to consider the abortion question through the discourse of rights, even Singer's use of the language of rights ultimately fails adequately to address the subject. I challenge Singer's view by taking up John Dewey's concept of reflective morality, elucidated in his 1932 Ethics.     

Understanding myth: A response to Bryan Rennie

Bringing together a decade of research on religion in prisons, hospitals, universities and, more recently, at the Millennium Dome in 2000, in this paper I look at some of the ways in which sacred spaces in public institutions have changed over time, particularly in terms of how they are produced, designated, and used. The substance of these transformations can be encapsulated in the phrase ‘from Chapel to Prayer Room. Behind the various changes that I outline, I am particularly concerned to explore how the changes in the way sacred space is used contributes to new political struggles, particularly when it comes to issues of ownership, appropriation, and design. I also explore the particular contests that lie behind the separate provision of religious spaces for Muslims.     

The deChristianization of Christian hospital chaplaincy: some bioethics reflections on professionalization, ecumenization, and secularization.

The traditional roles of Christian chaplains in aiding patients, physicians, nurses, and hospital administrators in repentance, right belief, right worship, and right conduct are challenged by the contemporary professionalization of chaplaincy guided by post-Christian norms located in a public space structured by three defining postulates: the non-divinity of Christ, robust ecumenism, and the irrelevance of God's existence. The norms of this emerging post-Christian profession of chaplaincy make interventions with patients, physicians, nurses, and hospital administrators in defense of specifically Christian bioethical norms and goals unprofessional, because the chaplain is now directed as a professional to support health care services held to standards articulated within a secular morality. These changes are exemplar of the profound recasting of the dominant moral culture with wide-ranging implications for bioethics.     

To Be With Them: A Hospital Chaplain's Reflection of the Bedside Ministry to Terminally III and Dying People

The author, an ordained Lutheran pastor, reflects upon his experiencesas chaplain at a small hospital in southwestern Germany (Tropenklinik– Paul Lecher Krankenhaus, Tübingen). Besides itsexpertise in the treatment of tropical diseases this 100 + bedhospital serves as the referral hospital for terminally illand dying patients from the local University hospitals and thesurrounding area. The experiences at the bedside of such patientswith various denominational and religious backgrounds challengedthe chaplain to go beyond the confines of any fixed theologicalsystem or counseling technique. They made him to discover threeessentials as the very basis of such ministry, which he sharesin this article. He identifies these as (1) the necessity torealize the situation sober mindedly, (2) the desire to becomea companion, and (3) the venture of confident faith, where holdingon to any genuine perspective of life is deemed ridiculous.     

The Discipline and Habit of Theological Reflection

This article describes the process of theological reflection and the necessity of its practice in the formation of pastoral identity and development of ministry. Drawing upon the philosophy of C.S. Peirce, pastoral theology of the past twenty-five years, and the authors' clinical and classroom experiences, the essay illuminates the distinctive work of pastoral care givers that makes them unique in health care settings.     

The Chaplain as Translator

The Chaplain finds herself continually in the position of the translator, having to move in the space between subject and object. This space Winnicott calls Transitional, and Ulanov sees as particularly the domain of the clergy. The nature of these gaps is analysed, especially with respect to Chaplaincy and the work of the individual Chaplain. Various kinds of transitional space are examined, and the challenges facing the Chaplain in these situations are highlighted.     

Pastoral Care for the Sick in a Post-Secular Age: An Ignatian Perspective

This pastoral-theology-based reflection on hospital chaplaincy,set within the horizon of the pastoral situation of Germanyin the post-secular (!) age, introduces the perspective of aconsolation-oriented ministry, as this was developed by Ignatiusof Loyola. Such a pastoral care for the sick, as integratedinto the basic offices of the church, presents a gradedmodelfor action: while human accompaniment is offered to all, spiritualministry is restricted, but realized in an ecumenically encompassingsense. Spiritual and ritual care for members of other religions,while these members are to be addressed according to the principleslaid down by Vatican II, is severely limited for reasons ofidentity and alterity. In all cases, however, Christianity ispresented as "therapeutic religion".     

儿童基于心理本质论的种族认知及其影响因素

心理本质论将类别成员视为由共同的本质所决定,且这些本质对应着一些表面的不可改变的属性。其中,种族本质论就是心理本质论的一种。研究种族本质论的发展对于了解儿童的种族认知具有重要意义。种族本质论者认为,种族具有遗传不变性、有较强的归纳强度和标签具有客观性等特征。但是,基于不同特征的种族本质论的发展存在差异。类属语言、社会文化背景和群体地位,均可能影响儿童种族本质论的发展。这些影响因素提示,可通过减少类属语言的描述和促进民族融合等方式改变儿童的种族本质论。比较儿童对种族本质论的建构与自然世界的建构之间的差异,方便我们探索类别学习跨领域的一致性问题。如何确保种族本质论的发展是适宜的,这需要未来开展一些干预性的研究。