Physician-apostles for Christ

This paper examines the medical identity propagated by the Belgian Saint Luc Society. By scrutinizing the society’s journal Saint-Luc Médical, it shows how the society forged and spread a model for being a Catholic physician, a ‘physician-apostle for Christ’. Our analysis reveals that lay apostolate, a central element of the interwar Catholic Action movement, was at the heart of this new professional identity. It imbued an older vocational discourse with decidedly Catholic views of doctors’ social responsibilities. The paper first places the society’s foundation within the broader history of B... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Vander Hulst, Reinout
Vandendriessche, Joris
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2021
Verlag/Hrsg.: Presses universitaires du Midi
Schlagwörter: catholicisme / déontologie / Belgique / Société Saint Luc / Ogino-Knaus / Catholicism / deontology / Belgium / Saint Luc Society / catolicismo / deontología / Bélgica / Sociedad de Saint -Luc
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26549620
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : http://journals.openedition.org/hms/4070

This paper examines the medical identity propagated by the Belgian Saint Luc Society. By scrutinizing the society’s journal Saint-Luc Médical, it shows how the society forged and spread a model for being a Catholic physician, a ‘physician-apostle for Christ’. Our analysis reveals that lay apostolate, a central element of the interwar Catholic Action movement, was at the heart of this new professional identity. It imbued an older vocational discourse with decidedly Catholic views of doctors’ social responsibilities. The paper first places the society’s foundation within the broader history of Belgian medical sociability. Secondly, it looks at how the society functioned as a laboratory for unifying Catholicism and Medicine. Here physicians and theological advisors discussed and created Catholic infused medical ideas. Lastly, the article considers how society’s journal transmitted an image of the ideal physician to its readership. Catholic doctors reading Saint-Luc Médical were expected to follow strict deontological advice and theological guidelines. This way, the journal cultivated a sense of moral superiority towards non-religious colleagues. ; En examinant Saint-Luc Médical, revue de la Société médicale belge de Saint-Luc, cet article montre comment la Société a forgé et diffusé un modèle de médecin catholique, un “médecin-apôtre du Christ”. L’apostolat des laïcs, élément central du mouvement d’Action catholique de l’entre-deux-guerres, était au cœur de cette nouvelle identité professionnelle. Il a imprégné un discours vocationnel plus ancien défendant des positions résolument catholiques sur les responsabilités sociales des médecins. L’article situe d’abord le fondement de la Société dans l’histoire plus large de la sociabilité médicale belge. Il montre ensuite comment la Société a fonctionné comme un laboratoire d’unification du catholicisme et de la médecine. Médecins et conseillers théologiques y ont trouvé un lieu de discussion et y ont créé des idées médicales d’inspiration catholique. Enfin, l’article ...