Role of the office

The Very Rev. Patrick I. Nwokoye, PhD, is the diocesan priest representative and resource in the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau for Catholic healthcare, a vital healing ministry of the Church.

Thanks to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the United States has an authoritative document to guide Catholic health care institutions and professionals. The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs) is now in its sixth edition, and a new revision is underway to update this guide to what constitutes truly Catholic health care and what practices are ethically unacceptable.

The aim of the ERDs is to help all Catholics involved in health care to be fully committed to the healing ministry of the Church. The Catholic Health Association and the National Catholic Bioethics Center, and others, have the privilege of supporting in many ways. These institutions partner with bishops, hospitals, medical professionals, and others to bring about the kind of Catholic approach to health care that prioritizes respect for the dignity of human persons and their needs, both physical and spiritual, and to provide authoritative guidance on some specific moral issues facing Catholic healthcare.  The ERDs set some basic parameters as to how Catholic healthcare should be delivered and to which all are accountable.