Faithful Catholics want to make health care decisions that are consistent with their beliefs. But these choices become complicated very quickly, and although most Catholics know there are Church teachings on things like obligatory and non-obligatory treatment and artificial nutrition and hydration, very few know their details much less how to apply them.
Nevertheless, all Catholics eventually have to make these kinds of choices, if not for themselves than for their parents or spouses. Unfortunately, these requests almost always come when doctors are trying to withhold basic care from an incompetent patient, not earlier when the patient can express their preferences.
To ensure that more Catholic patients can document their preferences and receive medical care consistent with their human dignity, St. Agnes Parish, in collaboration with The National Catholic Bioethics Center, is providing parishioners with the following advance planning documents that provide explanations and examples of key concepts in end-of-life care. In addition, A Catholic Guide to End-of-Life Decisions includes templates for a health care proxy and a living will, A Catholic Guide to POLST includes a template physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST), and A Catholic Guide to Palliative Care and Hospice includes a checklist for evaluating programs and facilities.