The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas has partnered with the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) to provide reliable references, thorough explanations, and case-based guidance so you can form your conscience with Catholic teaching when making health care decisions.

NCBC Introduction from Archbishop Naumann

May 28, 2024
 
Dear Priests, Religious and Diocesan/Parish Staff, Greetings in the Risen Christ!
 
I am excited to inform you of a new partnership the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas has entered into to help our parishioners navigate ethical issues surrounding health care, end-of-life care, abortion, contraception, infertility, euthanasia and others. We are joining with the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) to bring resources and personal consultations on medical ethics issues to those in our diocese.
 
The NCBC's Diocesan Parish Partnership Program will provide end-of-life guides, monthly bulletin inserts and flyers on relevant medical ethical issues, resources for adult education and study groups, and discounts on NCBC courses and seminars. It also allows our parishioners free professional guidance and consultations based on Catholic teaching when faced with difficult medical care decisions. The NCBC 's ethicists are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for families facing difficult medical decisions.
 
The experts at the National Catholic Bioethics Center have been helping Catholics deal with challenging medical ethical dilemmas for more than 50 years. With the development of new medical technologies, these kinds of questions are being asked more often of our priests, parish leaders and diocesan staff.  This program will allow our parishioners to access this critical information and consult with Catholic experts when faced with serious medical situations.
 
Our investment in this partnership with the NCBC will require your help for it to be effective. I am asking you to share this information with your parishioners. Let them know these resources are available to them. Put the guides on your parish website. Share the tools available on your social media channels. Use the bulletin inserts and flyers. Talk about the benefits of the program from the pulpit.
 
Our parishioners are facing – or could eventually be facing – medical ethics issues that are difficult and even overwhelming. Let them know they are not alone. We now have a program in place to help guide them by relying on the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Catholic Church. Together with the NCBC, we can share in their mission of upholding the dignity of the human person by providing education, guidance, and resources to strengthen the integrity and witness of the Church's healing ministry.
 
Please review the NCBC welcome packet attached. It details member benefits and includes contact information for NCBC staff. You should soon start to receive monthly emails from the NCBC detailing access to their resources. 
 
Thank you for helping us spread the word about the National Catholic Bioethics Center Diocesan Parish Partnership Program. It is a practical and effective way we can share Jesus Christ and His teachings with those in need. 
 
Sincerely yours in Jesus, the Lord of Life,
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann
Letter from Archbishop Naumann
 

The NCBC’s Mission and Vision

Our society faces unprecedented scientific developments that touch upon the mysteries of life and pose serious ethical challenges. The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) was established in 1972 to reflect on these issues and to promote and safeguard the dignity of the human person in health care and the life sciences. All of the NCBC’s work is done in conformity with the official teachings of the Catholic Church, teachings drawn from a moral tradition that acknowledges the unity of faith and reason and builds on the solid foundation of the natural law. The NCBC works to achieve its mission of upholding the dignity of the human person by providing education, guidance, and resources to strengthen the integrity and witness of the Church’s healing ministry.

The NCBC’s education draws on the deepest resources of the Catholic faith to help people address challenging ethical issues in clinical practice and research. Notably, since 1980, we have hosted a workshop on pressing issues and developments in the area of medical morality, which is attended by over one hundred bishops from across North America. The Center has always enjoyed the strong support of a large number of bishops. Today, a majority of US dioceses, and numerous foreign dioceses, receive the benefits of their affiliation with the NCBC.

The NCBC’s guidance helps individuals and institutions apply Catholic moral principles to specific situations with integrity. Perhaps most significant, our ethicists also are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to provide bioethical guidance, free of charge, to patients and families facing difficult medical decisions. The NCBC also is a leading publisher of books and articles on Catholic health care ethics and produces a wide range of electronic resources for professionals and the public.

The NCBC envisions a world in which the integral understanding of the human person underlying Catholic teaching on respect for human life and dignity is better understood and more widely embraced in America and worldwide.

NCBC Resources available to all our parishes include:

End-of-life Guides

  • A Catholic Guide to End-of-Life Decisions explains core concepts in medical decision-making, including redemptive suffering, ordinary and extraordinary means, and advance care planning. The guide also includes templates for a health care proxy and a living will.
  • A Catholic Guide to POLST provide guidance for filling out documents that patients can use to document their treatment preferences across multiple health care setting, including benefits and concerns with common forms. The guide also includes a template physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST).
  • A Catholic Guide to Palliative Care and Hospice describes the differences between palliative care and hospice and identifies common moral issues that can arise when receiving hospice. The guide also includes a checklist for evaluating programs and facilities.

Free Service: Church Teaching for Health Care Decisions

Contact NCBC for a free, confidential Personal Ethics Consultation on topics including end-of-life care, assisted nourishment, and hospice; avoiding, achieving, or managing pregnancy; biomedical research; cooperating with the wrongdoing of others; and many more.

Monthly Bulletin inserts for Parishes

These are representative samples – if you do not receive them or if you would like to sign up please contact Pro-Life Office at prolife@archkck.org.

  • The Bioethics Public Policy Report summarizes legislative, regulatory, and judicial developments on life issues at both the state and federal levels to help Catholics stay informed on all these topics and hold their representatives accountable to their values.
  • Living a Catholic Life fills a gap in adult catechesis by introducing parishioners to different tools for thinking like a Catholic. These include reflections on the components of the moral act, principles like double effect and totality, and larger concepts like the integrated view of the human person.
  • Making Sense of Bioethics, Tad Pacholczyk’s long-running, syndicated column, answers common question on topics ranging from ventilator support to helping friends and family through a difficult pregnancy.

 

NCBC Website:

www.ncbcenter.org

The National Catholic Bioethics Center
600 Reed Rd., ste. 102
Broomall, PA 19008
215-877-2660
www.ncbcenter.org
info@ncbcenter.org