Catholic witness in pediatrics

The field of pediatrics affords perhaps the widest scope of clinical opportunity for a practitioner seeking to align his or her practice with authentically Catholic medical care. The issues are varied over childhood development, and the advice and influence that the pediatrician has on his or her patients’ parents, as well as on the patient, is great. Coupled with these relationships among parents, child, and pediatrician, often the cumulative time spent by the children and parents with the pediatrician over years is also significant. The respected pediatrician, perhaps more than physicians practicing in other medical disciplines, may in a major way help the formation of the child. In this chapter, Dr. O’Hara outlines an approach to advising parents, children, and teenagers about what is good, true, and beautiful in a culture that too often obscures the view of these transcendental realities. O’Hara makes no apology for presenting a form of practice that accords with authentic Catholic witness. He also provides specifics about how to practice in this way.-Editors.