Cardinal Darmaatmadja: "Doctors, ground your service in faith"
To mark the 200th anniversary of the Church of Jakarta, Cardinal Darmaatmadja met medical workers of the capital. "Do your work with faith and help the poor, because this is also a means of proclaiming the Gospel".
Jakarta (AsiaNews/UCAN) - Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja of Jakarta has urged Catholic medical workers to provide faith-based service and maintain the good reputation of Catholic hospitals and clinics in his archdiocese.
"Medical workers must do their service with faith. You are not working just to earn money, or to enhance your career, or to be rich," Cardinal Darmaatmadja told 300 Catholic doctors, nurses and midwives from Catholic hospitals, and private and parish-run clinics.
The meeting was held as part of the 200th anniversary celebrations of the Catholic Church in Jakarta. Addressing the group, the cardinal said Catholic medical workers' service should "help the sick encounter Jesus and make them believe that the love of God is with them in the process of recovery." He also urged doctors to form an association to facilitate the development of their spirituality of service.
The event was jointly organised by the archdiocesan Commission for Health, the Association of Indonesian Catholic Nurses and the central committee overseeing the anniversary celebrations of the Catholic Church in Jakarta.
Fr Justinus Sudarminta, a Jesuit priest who is the head of Driyarkara School of Philosophy in the capital, and Fr Yustinus Ardianto, chairman of the archdiocesan Commission for Social Communications, accompanied the cardinal in a two-hour dialogue with the medical personnel.
The cardinal stressed the importance of care for the poor, saying Catholic doctors should charge them lower fees. "That is a way of proclaiming the Gospel," he said. "I thank doctors who serve free of charge in clinics run by parishes in the archdiocese." The prelate said the two Catholic hospitals in the archdiocese "might set slightly higher fees for their services, but the money they receive from patients who can afford these fees is used to help poor patients".
St Charles Borromeo Sisters run St Carolus Hospital, and Atma Jaya Catholic University runs another hospital in North Jakarta. "On behalf of the Archdiocese of Jakarta, I thank you all for the services you have rendered in the medical field," the archbishop said. He encouraged those present to maintain the reputation of Catholic hospitals so they can remain viable institutions in society. He urged the hospitals and clinics in the archdiocese to work with other Catholic hospitals and clinics and other organizations in the country. (www.ucan.com)
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19/10/2017 16:00
