Recommendations Emerge from Interfaith Symposium
By Katherine I. Pettus, PhD
IAHPC Senior Director of Advocacy and Partnerships
I met many wonderful new friends and collaborators at the International Interfaith Palliative Care Symposium hosted by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and the Pontifical Academy for Life in Toronto last month. When I delivered my talk, "Palliative Care as Witness: Towards a narrative of hope," I was privileged to share the podium with Rosella Kinoshameg, a retired palliative care nurse from the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island who represented Canada’s First Nations and presented on indigenous perspectives on life and end-of-life care.
"[P]alliative care is a new evolutionary pattern of cooperation and awareness of suffering that gives rise to new patterns of possibilities. This vision confers value on suffering and practices that relieve it. Suffering and the work that relieves it, such as palliative care, are evolutionary triggers that societies should nurture rather than foreclose with medical killing."
—from "Palliative Care as Witness: Towards a narrative of hope"
The symposium opened with the Rev. Ivan Jurkovič, Papal Nuncio to Canada, reading Pope Francis’ message defining palliative care as “a genuine form of compassion [that] responds to suffering, whether physical, emotional, psychological or spiritual, by affirming the fundamental and inviolable dignity of every person, especially the dying.” The keynote address by Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, reminded participants that, “even when healing is no longer possible, it is always possible to care for others. Palliative care is a deeply human vision of medicine.”
A working group will collate participants’ key recommendations, focusing on five areas:
- advocacy for palliative care
- community engagement and support
- education
- integrating the cultural dimension into palliative care
- palliative care policy and legislation
CCCB president Bishop William T. McGrattan affirmed this follow-up work, saying that, “each of us, as a member of society, has a duty to assist and love the sick and dying and to support their loved ones with compassion so that no one is isolated, alone, or forgotten in their time of need. This symposium signifies a strong commitment to life and holistic care, which will bear much fruit.”
The symposium also featured:
- “A Jewish Perspective on Palliative Care” by Rabbi Nissim Barak Hetsroni, chaplain and spiritual advisor at the Jewish General Hospital, Quebec;
- “A Perspective from the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada on Palliative Care” by Julia Beazley, director of public policy at the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada; and
- “A Muslim Perspective on Palliative Care” by Ahmed Al-Awamer, assistant professor with the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, as well as staff palliative care physician and educator, Supportive Care Department, Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Ontario.
A tool for francophone advocates
Francophone palliative care advocates have a new tool in the form of the Pontifical Academy for Life’s French translation of the 2018 White Book for Palliative Care Advocacy. Livre Blanc pour la Promotion des Soins Palliatifs dans le Monde can be downloaded for free. I have already shared the link with our LEAD grantee in Burkina Faso, Dr. Eric Some, who is working to improve availability of palliative care, particularly in the province of Gaoua, where the local bishop is an eager advocate.
Thanks to IAHPC Board Member Dr. Maria Cigolini for facilitating my attendance at the symposium.
Read more
IAHPC Statements at the World Health Assembly
Reports on our advocacy impact at this global congress, by Katherine Pettus, Megan Doherty, & Richard Bauer.
Self-Perceived Burden
What does it mean, for patients with advanced illness? Romayne Gallagher synthesizes a set of articles on the topic.
Plus Make eye contact. Ask me where it is OK or not OK to touch Literature Search isn't just research articles: the most recent issue includes a webpage on supporting dignity at end of life that includes these practical tips and more.
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