Brief Communications

Abstract

Death Matters: Toward a Sanctity of Death," which appeared in the Fall 1999 issue of The Journal of Pastoral Care (Vol. 53, No.3) , the Pastoral Services Professional Council and the Ethics Consultation Service of the SCO Health Service wish to offer the following critique. The article has also been reviewed by the Pastoral Services Advisory Committee of the SCO Health Service... We found it to be a complex article, well written for th e most part, and worthy of reflection by pastoral caregivers. Of particular merit was the section of the article that dealt with death as part of the natural, as well as the moral, order. Here the author traces the development ofsanctity oflife theology from Genesis through Augustine , to Aquinas, and argues that death can be envisioned not only as an expression of God's wrath and judgement (moral order), but also as an expression of God's grace and love (natural order) . On the other hand, we are deeply concerned that the author appears to move beyond a sanctity of death theology to an ethical practice that could incorporate counseling families to intentionally cause the death of an innocent human being as an expression of God's grace and love. Here, Baroody's logic escapes us; hence we would find it impossible to embrace the model of pastoral care that he attempts to construct on an arguably shaky foundation. Such a "leap of faith" we are not prepared to make.