The National Association of Catholic Chaplains

Menu
  • Membership
      • Apply for Membership
      • Frequently-Asked Questions about Membership
      • Request Retired Membership
      • State Liaisons
      • Newest Members
      • Membership Directory
      • Member map
      • Celebrating Our Members’ 25-year Membership and Certification
      • In Memoriam: deceased NACC members
    • Close
  • Certification
    • Initial Board Certification
      • Board Certified Chaplain (BCC)
      • Certified Associate Chaplain (CAC)
      • Palliative Care and Hospice Advanced Certification (PCHAC)
      • VA Initial Board Certification
      • Recognition of Strategic Partners Board Certification
      • Newly Certified Chaplains
      • Close
    • Renewal of Certification
    • Certification Competencies & Procedures
      • Certification Competencies & Procedures
      • Important Background on NACC Certification Competencies
      • Professional Code of Ethics for Spiritual Care Professionals
      • Certification Commission
      • Certification Appeals Panel
      • Ethics Appeals Panel
      • Close
    • Mentors
    • Recognition of Strategic Partners Board Certification
    • Verifying Certification
    • Maintaining Certification in Retirement
    • Graduate Theological Programs
    • Close
  • Education Resources
      • 2023 Retreat
      • 2023 Webinar Series
      • Recorded webinars (2009-2022)
      • Calendar of Events
      • Graduate Theological Programs
      • CPE Programs
      • NACC Professional Networking Calls
      • Continuing Education Hour Requests – Guidelines and Forms
      • Ongoing Educational Opportunities
      • Local/Regional Gatherings & Events
      • Past Conferences (2004 – 2022)
      • Vision
    • Close
  • Resources
    • Antiracism Resources
    • Administrator Resources
    • Awareness Resources
    • Chaplaincy Care Resources
    • Coronavirus Resources & Updates
    • Job Listings
    • The Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling
    • Partners in Pastoral Care
    • Research
    • Specialty Care Resources
    • Spirituality and Prayer Resources
    • Spiritual Care Department Resources
    • Vision
    • Close
  • About NACC
    • About the NACC
      • Mission/Vision/Values
      • Constitution and ByLaws
      • Strategic Plan
      • History
      • Close
    • Annual Awards
    • Association Leadership
      • NACC Board of Directors
      • Committees, Commissions, and Panels
      • National Office Staff
      • Episcopal Advisory Council
      • Close
    • Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition (CPMC)
    • Choose Chaplaincy
    • Health Care Collaborators
    • NACC Merchandise
    • NACC Publications and Documents
      • Vision
      • NACC Now
      • Annual Reports & Financial Reviews
      • Documents and publications
      • NACC Blog
      • Close
    • Partners in Pastoral Care
    • Partners for Professional Excellence in Spiritual Care
    • Vision
    • Close
  • Choose Chaplaincy
  • Contact Us
      • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    • Close
  • Donate Now
  • Member Login
Home » Vision » Vision’s Most Requested Articles » An Argument Against the Use of the Term Spiritual Care

An Argument Against the Use of the Term Spiritual Care

James Morgante

I read with great interest Father Joe Driscoll’s article about the use of the terms “spiritual care” and “pastoral care” (Vision, April 2002). When I was doing a chaplain residency last year at St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Massachusetts, the pastoral care department was in the process of adopting the term, spiritual care, and the arguments seemed reasonable. In time, however, I’ve developed reservations.

My main objection is that the term spiritual care suggests a primary focus on the spirit or the spiritual dimension of the human being. The problem with this point of view is that it tends to fragment a holistic understanding and approach to health care. The holistic paradigm, which speaks of body, soul (mind), and spirit (or physical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions) is much in vogue today. Most health care institutions profess a commitment to holistic care. But this usually means assigning different parts to different practitioners. The holistic vision, however, understands the close interconnections between all dimensions, and expects practitioners to think and treat holistically.

Assigning the various dimensions to individual practitioners makes sense in a health care system dominated by contemporary medicine. Contemporary medicine focuses primarily on the body and physical processes. Its philosophy is reductionistic or materialistic, only giving credence to physical causes and physical treatments. There are certainly historical reasons for this development, and the successes of contemporary medicine have benefited humanity tremendously. But its approach is not holistic, either in its understanding or in its treatment of disease.

Contemporary medicine is also intervention-oriented (in contrast to the preventive approach that is the hallmark of holistic medicine). Intervention and an exclusive focus on the body become problematic, however, in diagnosing and treating chronic illness (arthritis, many forms of cancer, type II diabetes, heart disease, etc.), because it is closely associated with diet and lifestyle. It makes a difference whether the treatment of chronic disease focuses primarily on the body or takes seriously habitual patterns that need to be changed (the realm of the soul and spirit). In addition to the potential harm caused by radical interventions, the holistic critique of a medical system geared towards technological solutions like open-heart surgery (a “very expensive Band-Aid”) is that they allow patients to continue unhealthy lifestyles without addressing the need for change.

As I outline in my chaplain residency project (“Towards a Theology of Wellness,” to be published in the fall in Health Progress, the journal of the Catholic Health Association), the Judeo-Christian tradition is decidedly holistic in its understanding of health and illness and blends both intervention and prevention. Jesus does not treat the body—or the soul or spirit—in isolation but all together. Disease is understood and treated holistically, by a divine physician who intervenes (without causing further harm), but who also clearly admonishes about what needs to change.

What this means for chaplains (and for all practitioners, particularly in religious institutions) is to be cautious about defining their role too narrowly. It is interesting that Joe Driscoll notes that “nurses and physicians are now claiming to do spiritual care” without considering the special competence of chaplains. While this may seem to be a cause for concern, such “holistic” thinking needs to be encouraged. Conversely, chaplains also need to think holistically, and to reclaim concern about treatment of the body too (in fact, the very first doctors were priests or holy persons). This means understanding the materialistic bias of contemporary medicine and its potentially adverse effects for the life of soul and spirit, and being informed about the alternatives.

Religious institutions, and chaplains in particular, are in a unique position to help bring about the integration of contemporary and holistic medicine, and especially holistic thinking, into the health care system. But by a “spiritual care” focus, chaplains may limit their vision. While there may be a better term than “pastoral care,” at least it allows them to claim a more inclusive vision, in imitation of Jesus.


Source: Vision, Vol. 12, No. 7 (July 2002), p. 3.

The National Association of Catholic Chaplains
Become a Member Would you like to get Certified?

Free Publications

Don’t miss the latest news, subscribe to our newsletter today! You don’t have to be a member to subscribe.

National Association of Catholic Chaplains
4915 S. Howell Avenue, Suite 501
Milwaukee, WI 53207
Get Directions

Phone: (414) 483-4898
Fax: (414) 483-6712
Email: info@nacc.org

Our office hours
Mon-Thur 8:00am – 5:00pm Central Time
Friday 8:00am – 12 Noon
Sat-Sun closed

Job Listings

Current job opportunities for chaplains, priests, CPE residents, supervisors, directors of pastoral care, managers, mission directors, and more.

Job Listings

Free Publications

Don’t miss the latest news, subscribe to our newsletter today! You don’t have to be a member to subscribe.

Donate Now

Learn more about making a tax-deductible donation to NACC.

Donate Now

Connect with us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
© 1997 - 2023 National Association of Catholic Chaplains - Sitemap

Built by Westwords