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Making Medical Decisions

Resources to help families think through difficult medical decisions in a way that respects the dignity of the person and Catholic moral teaching.

• End-of-Life Care

• Nutrition and Hydration

• The Quality of Life Error

• Catholic Guide to End-of-Life Decisions

• NCBC Free Personal Consultation

For complex or urgent ethical questions, families may also request a free personal consultation through the National Catholic Bioethics Center.

Need help finding the right resource?
Contact Divine Mercy Home

Planning Ahead

Resources to help you prepare for future medical decisions in a way that honors Catholic teaching and your loved one’s dignity.

• End-of-Life Care

• Nutrition and Hydration

• The Quality of Life Error

• Catholic Guide to End-of-Life Decisions

• NCBC Free Personal Consultation

For complex or urgent ethical questions, families may also request a free personal consultation through the National Catholic Bioethics Center.

Need help finding the right resource?
Contact Divine Mercy Home

Hospice, Palliative Care & Pain Management

Guidance on comfort care, pain relief, hospice, and palliative care from a Catholic perspective.

• A Catholic Guide to Palliative Care and Hospice

• Killing the Pain, Not the Patient: Palliative Care vs. Assisted Suicide

• Palliative Sedation While Approaching Death

• Too Much Morphine?

• Address of the Holy Father Pio XII on the Religious and Moral Implications of Analgesia

• Healthcare Professionals for Divine Mercy

• Patient advocacy from Healthcare Advocacy and Leadership Organization

• Natural Death in God’s Time

• Life Affirming Principles for Medical Decision Making

• Catholic Principles for Medical Decision Making

• Questions to Ask a Hospice BEFORE Admission

Need help finding the right resource?
Contact Divine Mercy Home

Caring for a Loved One Near the End of Life

Support for families accompanying a loved one through serious illness, decline, or the final stages of life.

• Caring for Loved Ones at Life’s End

• Hope for the Journey

• Facing Death in Solidarity and Hope

• A Contemporary Ars Moriendi for End-of-Life Care

• The Art of Dying: A New Annotated Translation

• Working Through a Hard Death

• Facing Terminal Illness Realistically

• On Aging Gracefully

• Powerlessness, or the Hidden Power in Our Suffering?

• Bringing Christ to the Clinic

• Books sent yesterday to be included under parish care ministry and caregiver resources

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Contact Divine Mercy Home

Prayer & Spiritual Support

Prayers and spiritual resources for patients, families, caregivers, and those accompanying the dying.

• Prayers for Death and Dying

• Order for the Blessing of the Sick | USCCB

• Dives in Misericordia

• 30 April 2000, Canonization of Sr. Mary Faustina Kowalska

• Salvifici Doloris

• Divine Mercy resources

• Spiritual reflections

• The Diary of St. Faustina

• Resignation to the Will of God in Death

• Prayers of Resignation in Death

• Accompaniment at the Foot of the Cross by Med Kilmer

• Sacramental support guidance

Need help finding the right resource?
Contact Divine Mercy Home

Specific Ethical Questions

Find guidance by topic when facing a specific ethical or medical decision.

Assisted Suicide, Euthanasia & Human Dignity

• To Live Each Day With Dignity
• Declaration on Euthanasia
• Talking Americans Down from the Assisted Suicide Ledge
• To Be or Not To Be: Parsing the Implications of Suicide
• Towards “Passive Euthanasia”
• Destroying My Freedom—in the Name of Freedom?

Artificial Nutrition & Hydration

• Nutrition and Hydration
• “No Tubes for Me”
• The Quality of Life Error

Dialysis Decisions

• Deciding About Dialysis

Dementia & Serious Illness

• Defending the Dignity of Those with Dementia
• Facing Terminal Illness Realistically

DNR, POLST & Advance Planning

• A Catholic Guide to POLST
• Going Too Far With DNR?
• Of Proxies and POLSTs: The Good and Bad of End-of-Life Planning

Pain Medication & Sedation

• Palliative Sedation While Approaching Death
• Too Much Morphine?
• Address of the Holy Father Pio XII on the Religious and Moral Implications of Analgesia

Cremation, Remains & Body Donation

• Cremains and Respect for the Human Body
• Can I Donate My Body to Science?

Perinatal Hospice

• The Welcome Outreach of Perinatal Hospice
• Tepyac OB-GYN — https://tepeyacobgyn.com/services/perinatal-hospice-care/
• A Mom’s Peace for mothers of miscarried and stillbirth — https://amomspeace.org/

Medical Ethics & Technology

• Promethean Medical Temptations

Need help finding the right resource?
Contact Divine Mercy Home

Need help?

Not sure where to begin? Contact Divine Mercy Home, and we’ll help guide you toward the resources and support that best fit your situation.