Just before Christmas, Archbishop Fisher was diagnosed with Guillan- Barré Syndrome which affects the immune system, resulting in paralysis.

From intensive care at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, he went to Mt Wilga Hospital where, for the past three months, he has been receiving intensive physiotherapy.

The rehab program has helped him regain use of his legs, although his hands are recovering a little more slowly.

Now back in his own residence, the archbishop is planning on working in the mornings and continuing with his rehabilitation program in the afternoons.

On leaving Mt Wilga, the archbishop thanked all the doctors, physios, occupational therapists and the staff for their professionalism and personal care.

During his time in hospital the archbishop has been inundated with prayers, cards and social media messages.

He believes the many prayers have helped him recover a lot quicker than the doctors expected.

It is not unusual for people with Guillain-Barré Syndrome to take two years to recover.

But the archbishop's progress has been steady and encouraging and despite the syndrome rendering him initially paralysed and then muscle weak, his spirits have remained high.

He said his experience has given him a deeper insight into suffering, and when he preaches on the subject from now on, it will be more personal.

"I think I have learnt some new things about suffering and its place in the spiritual life and in recovery."

Last week, Archbishop Fisher participated in the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference plenary.

He also hopes to celebrate Mass for the Feast of Corpus Christi on 29 May at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, when he wants to personally thank parishioners and friends for their prayers and support.

Source

• Sydney Catholic
• Image: Catholic Weekly

Fr William Carmona, 51, from Columbia, was ordained by Bishop David Choby of Nashville at Christus Santa Rosa Hospital Northwest in San Antonio, Texas, on September 8.

Fr Carmona, who died on September 10, was a fourth year seminarian studying at San Antonio's Assumption Seminary.

Planning to ultimately serve as a priest in the Diocese of Nashville, he was preparing to be ordained as a transitional deacon.

Plans changed, however, due to his battle with colon cancer.

Fr Carmona lay in his hospital bed during the ordination, surrounded by priests, fellow seminarians, and many friends, the San Antonio archdiocese said.

The bishop laid hands on him, he was given a stole, and his hands were anointed with sacred oils.

His sister, Miriam Carmona, said the family is experiencing both grief and hope.

She recalled seeing her brother last December when he came to visit.

"He was thin, eating very, very little, but never complained," she said.

"He was always abandoned to God's will."

Continue reading

Obstetrician Bogdan Chazan did not advise the mother of where she could get an abortion or that the legal gestational limit for the procedure was approaching.

So mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz fired him after a review of the case.

The baby was born with major brain and skull deformity and went into intensive care.

Pregnancies in Poland can be terminated before the 24th week if the foetus is in seriously poor health.

A doctor can refuse for reasons of conscience, but has a legal obligation to direct the patient to another doctor.

Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz said the sacking of Charan amounted to "dangerous precedent that hurt the rights not only of the Catholics, but of all people".

Continue reading

The truth I have to face is that the Christian religion I represent has become so irrelevant to the greater percentage of the New Zealand population that it's now a stumbling block in my job as a hospital chaplain.

It's not that Kiwis aren't into spirituality. Recent studies have shown that the vast majority of us consider it to be important but these days we tend to talk in terms of essence, values, meaning and purpose of life, rather than religious beliefs.

Whilst chaplains of any persuasion may see that these are exactly the questions that religious traditions have always explored, the perception for many is that the label chaplain and in particular Christian chaplain represents rigid, moralistic, outdated dogmatic religion that we don't want a bar of. Ouch!

Language matters; especially when trying to express the vulnerability our mortality brings, which is the point at which words burst the confines of their shape. All religions develop a set of signs and symbols to try and help communication along but once these have lost their potency we become unintelligible to each other.

For spirituality to become an integral part of the healthcare system, where vulnerability and mortality intersect, then the communication and perception gap has to be bridged. It's as though we need a new, shared language that crosses the traditional religious, cultural, philosophical and scientific boundaries so that we can see our human experience in an integrated way. Continue reading.

The case was brought by Jeremy Stodghill, whose 31-year-old wife Lori and her unborn twins all died in 2006 at a hospital operated by Catholic Health Initiatives.

Stodghill sued CHI, the hospital, his wife's obstetrician and the emergency room doctor.

In the case of the twins, he argued that because they were viable at 28 weeks' gestation — which none of the defendants disputed - he should be able to sue for their wrongful deaths.

Lawyers for CHI argued that no act could have saved Mrs Stodghill, who suffered a heart attack due to a blood clot which travelled to her lungs.

But they also argued that CHI could not be held liable for the deaths of the twins because in Colorado law "a fetus is not a person until it is born alive".

After CHI advanced this argument, lawyers for the two doctors raised the same contention.

Following two court rulings in favour of CHI, Stodghill has appealed to the state's supreme court.

A statement from Colorado's three bishops said: "Catholics and Catholic institutions have the duty to protect and foster human life, and to witness to the dignity of the human person — particularly to the dignity of the unborn. No Catholic institution may legitimately work to undermine fundamental human dignity."

They added: "Catholic Health Initiatives has been accused by some of undermining the Catholic position on human life in the course of litigation. Today, representatives of Catholic Health Initiatives assured us of their intention to observe the moral and ethical obligations of the Catholic Church.

"The Catholic bishops of Colorado are not able to comment on ongoing legal disputes. However, we will undertake a full review of this litigation, and of the policies and practices of Catholic Health Initiatives to ensure fidelity and faithful witness to the teachings of the Catholic Church."

Sources:

Catholic News Agency

Archdiocese of Denver

Image: Jezebel