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THE ROMAN CATHOLIC PARISH OFt. Frances de Chantalwww.saintjanefrances.org 1 3 0 9 . W a n t a g h A v e n u e . W a n t a g h . N e wY o r k . 1 1 7 9 3January 19- January 20, 2019MassesSaturday: 4:00 PM & 5:30 PM(Sunday Vigil)Sunday: 7:00 AM, 8:30 AM,10:00 AM,12:00 PM &5:00 PMWeekdays: 7:00 AM & 9:00AM (Saturday at 8:30 AM)Eucharistic Adoration(Church)Mondays 1:00 - 4:00 PM(Pastoral Center Chapel)Thursdays 7:30 - 8:30 PMSacrament of ReconciliationMonday: 1:15 PM - 2:00 PMSaturday:12:00 PM - 1:00 PMMass for the Deaf(Chapel) 3rd Sunday of theMonth at 3:00 PM(Church) 2nd & 4th Saturdayof the Month at 4:00 PMAt the Pastoral Center ChapelHoly Hour & BenedictionThursday, 7:30 PMNovena: Miraculous Medal &Rosary Monday, 7:30 PMSecond Sunday inOrdinary TimeOur Church is open dailyfrom 6:30 AM - 9:00 PMParish OfficeTel: (516) 785-2333Fax: (516) 826-7645Parish Social Ministry/Outreach Office HoursMonday - Friday10:00 AM - 2:00 PMParish Office HoursSunday 9:00 AM - 2:00 PMSaturday 9:00 AM - 3:00 PMMonday - Friday9:00 AM - 8:00 PMThe Hawthorne House“Thrift Shop”Tel: (516) 679-8061Monday - Friday10:00 AM - 3:00 PMSaturday10:00 AM - 1:00 PMFor additional information:Offering Masses for deceased loved ones, Weddingarrangements, Arranging Funeral Masses, Registeringyour child for Religious Ed.please visit our website:www.saintjanefrances.orgTHIS WEEK’S GOSPELJN 2:1-11There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee,and the mother of Jesus was there.Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.When the wine ran short,the mother of Jesus said to him,“They have no wine.”Please also like us on Facebookfacebook.com/StFrancesWantaghPastoral StaffRev. Gregory CappuccinoPastorX201Donna Locastro (Asst to Father Greg), Baptism Program X235Rev. Aloysius PakianatherRev. Vincent SchifanoDeacon Robert O’DonovanDeacon Thomas AndersonAssociate PastorAssociate PastorPre-Cana, CYOCMA Chair & St FrancesTheatre Grp ModeratorMsgr. John RowanSr. Lauren HanleySr. Jocelyn Panzetta, CIJX232X216X207X222Sunday AssociateSpiritual Dev. DirectorFaith Formation (Adults)Mr. Christopher Gospodarzec Director of Faith FormationMrs. Donna MugnoFaith Formation (Children)Ms. Ele Ruth MelendezParish Social MinistryMs. Elisa VignaliLiturgical MusicMrs. Amy MarkinBusiness ManagerX 0X243X206X204X209X240X223X203Mrs. Gloria ZamotMrs. MaryJo LombardiMr. Tom MulveyX205X205X227Auxilliary StaffSunday SchoolSpecial Needs Faith FormationFacilities ManagerParish Regional SchoolSaint Elizabeth Ann Seton Regional SchoolLeeann Graziose, Principal- Tel: (516) 785-5709Please visit our school Website: www.steas.com

A Letter from the PastorTwenty-Five Years Later: Cardinal Bernardin’s Consistent Ethic of LifeNovember-December 2008BY RON HAMEL, Ph.D.Dr. Hamel is senior director, ethics, Catholic Health Association, St. Louis.On Dec. 6, 1983, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, in a lecture at FordhamUniversity, first articulated what he referred to as the "consistent ethic oflife."1 This approach to life issues would shape his thinking, lecturing,preaching and advocacy on many subjects for almost two decades untilhis death in 1996.One of the subjects that Bernardin particularly devoted energy andattention to was health care. As he himself said: "Because of its centralimportance to human dignity I have felt a special responsibility todevote a considerable amount of attention to health care at both the localand national levels."2During his tenure as Archbishop of Chicago, Bernardin delivered numerousaddresses on the consistent ethic of life itself, which has direct relevance tohealth care, and more than two dozen addresses specifically on health carerelated topics. In some of these latter presentations, Bernardin's appeal tothe consistent ethic of life is explicit; in others, it is implicit. In most, it isthe consistent ethic of life that shaped his approach to and development ofthe health care topic at hand.On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the consistent ethic, itseems appropriate to ask what the consistent ethic of life contributed toBernardin's approach to health care as well as what value it might havefor health care today, especially Catholic health care.3 In order to dothis, however, it is first necessary to understand something of what theconsistent ethic of life entails.Some Elements of the Consistent Ethic of LifeAlthough much could be written about the various aspects of the consistentethic of life, it is sufficient for our purposes to highlight just a few. First,the consistent ethic is grounded in the conviction that all human life issacred, a sacredness rooted in the belief that human beings are created inthe image of God. Although Bernardin most often spoke of the sacrednessof human life, he also, quite often, used the language of human dignity —the inviolable dignity of the human person and the need to respect persons.For example, he said in one of his lectures that theologically the consistentethic "is grounded in the respect we owe the human person. To defendhuman life is to protect the human person the core reality in Catholicmoral thought."4 Elsewhere, he spoke of "a singleminded commitment tothe dignity and worth of human persons."5Second, in light of the sacredness of human life and human dignity,Bernardin believed profoundly that life issues, broadly understood, are ofone piece (a "seamless garment"). They are interrelated. In other words,if one is committed to "preserving life" (opposing abortion, euthanasia,and the like), one should also be committed to "enhancing life." Or,as Bernardin said: "Those who defend the right to life of the weakestamong us must be equally visible in support of the quality of life of thepowerless among us: the old and the young, the hungry and the homeless,the undocumented immigrant and the unemployed worker."6 Respect forhuman life and dignity require a concern for and commitment to both,while recognizing that the issues under each category are different andp2require separate analysis. Abortion or war are not the same as capitalpunishment or providing health insurance to the uninsured, or caring forthe elderly or the dying, even though each of these has to do with thesacredness of human life and human dignity.Third, Bernardin held that a pre-condition for sustaining a consistent ethicof life in society is "attitude," an attitude of respect for all human life."Attitude," he said, "is the place to root an ethic of life."7 Such an attitudeundergirds a concern for and activity on behalf of a host of life issues andmust be cultivated in society if there is going to be any hope that publicactions will respect human life and dignity in concrete cases.Finally, Bernardin maintained that a consistent ethic of life has directimplications for public policy. A commitment to the right to life and to qualityof life should translate into specific political and economic positions and shouldinfluence assessments of policies, party platforms and political candidates.How does this approach to life issues manifest itself in Bernardin'sdealing with health care?The Consistent Ethic of Life and Health CareBernardin's approach to issues in the health care arena through theprism of the consistent ethic was essentially twofold. On the one hand,he addressed what he termed "classical" medical ethics questions, thatis, issues that we would typically define as more "clinical" — abortion,euthanasia and the like. And here, Bernardin cautions: "Consistencymeans we cannot have it both ways. We cannot urge a compassionatesociety and vigorous public policy to protect the rights of the unborn andthen argue that compassion and significant public programs on behalfof the needy undermine the moral fiber of the society or are beyond theproper scope of governmental responsibility."8Although he applied traditional moral principles to these and other issues,his approach to them differed in that he discussed factors that contributedto these actions and the need to address contextual factors as well. Forexample, while opposing physician-assisted-suicide and euthanasia, thecardinal insisted that it is critical to enhance care of the dying and toaddress the various factors driving these two practices.On the other hand, Bernardin focused a great deal of attention on whathe called "contemporary" social justice issues, and he dealt with variousaspects of the health care system such as managed care, the not-forprofit status of health care, and health care reform. These issues were forBernardin the "life-enhancing" issues. Again, he stressed the importanceof human dignity and the sacredness of human life. It was through thisprism that he viewed and analyzed these various aspects of health care.Though Bernardin tackled a wide range of health-care-related issues, histreatment of these issues, while important, is not where the contributionof his consistent ethic lies. Nor does it lie in providing tools for the moralanalysis of these issues. These are not his legacy to the church and society.The contribution of the consistent ethic of life to health care lies elsewhere.A Moral Vision for Health CareCardinal Bernardin's consistent ethic of life functioned primarily asa "moral vision" guiding his approach to health care issues, and it isprecisely this moral vision that is the legacy of the consistent ethic forhealth care today. The consistent ethic of life did not, as one might expect,reside primarily in a set of principles or norms to be applied to specificissues or in an array of moral analyses of a host of ethical issues in healthcare, whether of a clinical or a more social justice-related nature. Rather,the consistent ethic of life for Bernardin was a way of seeing reality. Itwas characterized by a particular set of beliefs and values and affectedwhat he saw, how he saw it, and how he interpreted what was seen. Theconsistent ethic of life was essentially an interpretive lens.How, more specifically, did and does Cardinal Bernardin's consistentethic of life function as a moral vision? First, Bernardin's moral visionilluminates and brings into focus what is most important. It directsattention to the sacredness of human life and inherent human dignity asthe primary moral consideration in all moral analyses in the area of healthcare (and elsewhere) and as the fundamental value for guiding moraldeliberation and judgment. It places human life and human dignity at thecenter of all of these issues, so that they do not get lost in other kinds ofconsiderations. The dignity and worth of human persons, said Bernardin,is the “one stable element in terms of which all other judgments are made.(continued on page 4)www.saintjanefrances.org