Moralne przesłanie Jana Pawła II do pielęgniarek

Abstract

This paper is addressed to nurses and healthcare chaplains. It is an attempt to establish a moral message to nurses from John Paul II’s teaching that was carried out during his Pontificate. Among the sources that contributed significantly to the shape of this work are: an encyclical Evangelium Vitae, an Apostolic Letter Salvifici Doloris as well as many addresses and messages to healthcare professionals. The present synthesis introduces John Paul II as the one highlighting the dignity of nurses (he goes as far as to say that the nursing profession is a vocation) and as the person who constantly stimulated healthcare workers, nurses included, to the general approach to patients involving the spiritual dimension of a human being. John Paul II spoke out forcefully and frequently for the sanctity of the human life. He called on nurses to care for every single patient, especially for the one who is feeble, disabled, elderly or the one who is in persistent vegetative state (PVS). He also recalled repeatedly our fundamental right and duty to raise an objection against all the actions that threaten human life.