Key Documents
This is what the list will eventually look like.
- The New Charter for Health Care Workers, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Assistance of Health Care Workers— 2016
- The Charter for Health Care Workers, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Assistance of Health Care Workers, 1994
- Male and Female He Created Them: Towards a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education, Congregation for Catholic Education, February 2, 2019.
- Jesus Christ-The Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian Reflection on the New Age, Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, 2003.
- Church documents on Marriage & the Family
- Gratissimam Sane (Letter to Families) promulgated by Pope St. John Paul II, 2 February 1994, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
- Familiaris Consortio (On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World), Apostolic Exhortation, Pope St. John Paul II, 22 November 1981, Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King
- Humane Vitae (On Human Life), Encyclical, Pope Paul VI, 25 July 1968, the Feast of St. James the Apostle
- Papal Directives for the Woman of Today: Allocution to the Congress of the International Union of Catholic Women’s Leagues, Rome, Italy, September 11, 1947, Pope Pius XII.
- Casti Connubii (On Christian Marriage), Encyclical, Pope Pius XI, 31 December 1930
- Selected Papal Writings
- Pope Francis (https://catholiconline.news/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Pope-Francis-1.jpg)
- Address to the National Federation of the Orders of Doctors & Dental Surgeons, Pope Francis, September 20, 2019
- Address to Members of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM), Pope Francis, 2Sep2019
- World Day of the Sick Messages, Pope Francis, February 11, 2014-2025
- Pope Benedict XVI (https://cdn.newsbook.com.mt/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Pope-Benedict-XVI_6-e1554982914368.jpg)
- Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), Encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI, 29 June 2009, Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
- World Day of the Sick Messages, Pope Benedict XVI, February 11, 2006-2013
- Pope St. John Paul II (https://www.accs.sg/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/pope-johnpaul.jpg)
- Evangelium Vitae (Gospel of Life), Encyclical, Pope St. John Paul II, 25 March 1995, Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
- Veritatis Splendor (Splendor of Truth), Encyclical, Pope St. John Paul II, 6 August 1993, Feast of the Transfiguration
- World Day of the Sick Messages, Pope St. John Paul II, February 11, 1993-2005
- Letter for the Institution of the World Day of the Sick, Pope St. John Paul II, May 13, 1992
- Dolentium Hominum. Establishing Pontifical Commission for the Apostolate of Health Care Workers, Moto Proprio, February 11, 1985
- (Note: His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI appointed NACN-USA member and past International, Pan America and National Association of Catholic Nurses, U.S.A. President Marylee Meehan, MA, RN to serve on this commission, 2011-2017;
- Salvifici Doloris (On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering), Apostolic Letter, Pope St. John Paul II, February 11, 1984, Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes.
- Address to the Sick Gathered at the Shine of Jasna Gora, Apostolic Pilgrimage to Poland, Pope St. John Paul II, Czestochowa, June 4, 1979.
- Pope Paul VI (https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/Fotos/Paul_VI.jpg)
- Humane Vitae (On the Regulation of Birth), Encyclical, Pope Paul VI, 25 July 1968, Feast of St. James the Apostle
- Document of the Second Vatican Council, 1963-1965
- Pope Pius XII (https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/images/People/Pope_Pius_XII.jpg)
- Artificial Fertilization, Direct Sterilization, Procreation of Persons with Genetic Defects. Address to the VII Congress of the International Society of Hematology, Pius XII, Friday, September 12, 1958
- Ethics of the Use of Psychotropic Medication in Psychiatric Therapy. Address to the Participants in the 1st General Assembly of the Collegium International Neuro-Psycho-Pharmacologicum, Pope Pius XII, Tuesday, 9th September 1958
- Some Biological Aspects of Blood Genetics and the Problems that it Poses. Address to the VII Congress of the International Association of Blood Transfusion, Pope Pius XII, September 5, 1958
- Defects that Prevent Harmonious Collaboration. Radio Address to the First Catholic World Health Conference, Pope Pius XII, July 27, 1958
- On Respect for the Privacy of the Person. Address to the Participants at the XIII International Congress of Applied Psychology, Pope Pius XII, April 10, 1958
- Medical Morality related to Resuscitation. To Members of the “Gregorio Mendel” Italian Institute of Genetics on Reanimation and Artificial Respiration, Pope Pius XII, November 24, 1957
- On the Religious and Moral Implications of Analgesia. Responses to three religious and Moral Questions regarding Analgesia, Pope Pius XII, February 24, 1957
- Fertility & Sterility. Address to Participants of the Second World Congress on Fertility and Sterility, Pope Pius XII, May 19, 1956.
- On Natural Birth without Pain. Address on Moral and Religious Dictates Concerning Natural Painless Childbirth, Pope Pius XII, January 8, 1956
- Ethical Evaluation of Modern Warfare and its Methods / Limits of Medical Experiments on Living Men. Address to Participants in the VIII Congress of the World Medical Association, Pope Pius XII, Thursday, 30 September 1954
- Is it Morally Permissible to Remove a Healthy Organ in Order to Prevent the Progress of a Malady which Jeopardizes Human Life, Address to the XXVI Congress of Italian Association of Urology, Pope Pius XII, October 8, 1953
- Principles that Apply to the Scientific Data of Genetics. Address to the First International Congress of Medical Genetics, Pope Pius XII, September 7, 1953
- Fundamental Attitude of Christian Psychologists and Psychotherapists, Address to the Participants in the V International Congress of Psychotherapy and Clinical Psychology, Pope Pius XII, April 13, 1953
- The moral limits of medical methods, Address of His Holiness to the Participants in the 1st International Congress of Histopathology of the Nervous System, Pope Pius XII, September 14, 1952
- Address to Midwives. Address to the Congress of the Italian Catholic Union of Midwives in Collaboration with the National Federation of Catholic Colleges of Midwives, Pope Pius XII, October 29, 1951
- Pope Pius XI (https://d3d00swyhr67nd.cloudfront.net/w944h944/collection/OU/BODL/OU_BODL_LP501-001.jpg)
- • Nursing: The Apostolate of Charity. Address to the Second International Congress of Catholic Nurses, Pope Pius XI, August 27, 1935.
- Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF)
- Reply to His Eminence, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna Regarding Two Questions About the Preservation of the Ashes of the Deceased Following Cremation, Pope Francis, DDF, December 9, 2023
- Answers to Several Questions from His Excellency, the Most Reverend Jose Negri, Bishop of Santo Amaro, Brazil, Regarding Participation in the Sacraments of Baptism and Matrimony by Transgender Persons and Homosexual Persons, DDF, October 31, 2023
- Note on the morality of using some anti-Covid-19 vaccines. CDF, December 21, 2020.
- Samaritanus Bonus (On the care of persons in the critical and terminal phases of life), Letter, September 22, 2020.
- Instruction Ad resurgendum cum Christo regarding the burial of the deceased and the conservation of the ashes in the Case of Cremation, CDF, 15 August 2016
- Responses to Certain Questions of the USCCB Concerning Artificial Nutrition and Hydration, CDF, August 1, 2007
- Dignitas Personae (Instruction on Certain Bioethical Questions), CDF, 8 September 2008,
- Clarification on Procured Abortions, CDF L’Osservatore Romano, July 11, 2009
- Responses to Questions Proposed Concerning “Uterine Isolation” and Related Matters, CDF, July 31, 1993
- Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation, CDF, October 15, 1989
- The Moral Norm of “Humane Vitae” and Pastoral Duty, CDF, February 27, 1989
- Donum Vitae (Instructions on Respect for Human Life in its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation), CDF, February 22, 1987
- Iura et Bona (Declaration on Euthanasia), (CDF), May 5, 1980
- Persona Humana. (Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics), CDF, December 29, 1975
- Responses to Questions Concerning Sterilization in Catholic Hospitals, CDF, 1975
- Declaration on Procured Abortions. CDF, November 18, 1974
- Letter to the Bishop of Cleveland regarding the Questions Proposed on the Cremation of Fetuses and Members of the Human Body, CDF, 1967
“In the twilight of our life, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions and human success, but rather, on how much we have loved”.
– St. John of God