CDAV Report 2005

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CDAV 2005 Annual Report for FIAMC

The CDAV was relaunched in mid 2004 with a new constitution which received the approval of the Archbishop of Melbourne as well as the other bishops of the four diocese in Victoria.

The previous group had been quiescent for several years and a request from the previous secretary was made to attempt to rekindle the association.

Our initial event was held in October 2004 with a Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral followed by a dinner and guest speakers at the Park Hyatt. It was well attended with over 90 people in attendance. The theme was ‘Faith in the Workplace and guest speakers were Mr Michael Willessee and Dr Tracy Rowland ( Dean of the JPII Institute in Melbourne).

2005 was our first full year of operation. Membership began from a small group of 12 who were involved in the writing of the constitution and re-establishing the association. Further membership was by invitation and nomination by existing members. We currently have 30 active full paying members. We also have about 90 people on our contact list who wish to be informed,

We have had a chaplain appointed by the Archbishop Denis Hart. Fr Len Size, is also the chaplain for St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. We also have 2 additional priests who are involved with our association as spiritual assistants.

Activities for 2005

Executive Committee Election:

An Executive Committee was nominated and elected in January 2005.

President: Dr Eamonn Mathieson

Secretary: Dr Dominica Ho

Vice President: Dr Nicholas Bare

Treasurer: Dr Michael Plunkett

Website:

A website was set up as a means of communicating the activities of the association as well as a general resource for matters concerning Catholic healthcare. The address is www.catholicdoctors.asn.au. Our website receives over 3000 visits per month and has been a valuable way for the media and the general public to contact our association via email and by phone, the details of which are posted on the website.

May Social Event:

An after work Friday evening social event was held in May 2005 at a bar to allow members an opportunity to meet with other Catholic doctors in a social setting.

Annual Dinner 2005:

Our 2005 Annual Mass and dinner was held at Newman College, University of Melbourne in June . It was held in association with the Melbourne Catholic Lawyers association and the John Paul II and also served as a testimonial dinner for Senator Brian Harradine who was retiring from politics at that time. It was very well attended with 220 people in attendance.

Student Seminar:

Nicholas Tonti Filipinni led a seminar on ‘ Issues of Conscience and Ethical Dilemmas in Medical Training’

Medical Ethics Grand Round:

In November 2005 a round table discussion was held to discuss a hypothetical case of Post Coma Unresonsiveness. Thirty people attended including invited experts in the fields of Law, Bioethics and Medicine to guide the discussion.

Government submissions:

Submission to the Community Affairs Committee Department of the Senate Concerning the Therapeutic Goods Amendment (Repeal of Ministerial Responsibility for Approval of RU 486) Bill 2005

Submission to the Lockhart Review Committee concerning the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002 and Prohibition of Human Cloning Act 2002

Submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission concerning Access and Eligibility to Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Adoption

Information mail-outs for members:

Three information mailouts were sent to members with articles concerning a relevant and topical issues. These included:

Issues of conscience and medical practice.
RU 486
Post Coma Unresponsiveness

Representatives of the CDAV have attended various related events including

The World Day of the Sick

Various functions held by the Melbourne Catholic Lawyers Association.

Plans for the future:

We have already had our Annual Dinner and Mass for 2006. It was held on Jan 31st at St Augustine’s Church in the city. The guest speaker was Bishop Anthony Fisher on the topic of ‘ Theology of the Body and Medical Practice’. Eigthy people were in attendance.

We intend to hold regular student seminars and establish a relationship with Catholic medical students. We believe this is very important especially in view of the forthcoming opening of a Catholic medical school in Melbourne through the University of Notre Dame.. Also we see the holding of the next World Youth dayin Sydney as an important opportunity for Catholic youth generally and medical students in particular. This coming year we will likely hold a seminar on the ‘Theology of the Body’ and its implications for medical practice as only very few students were able to make it to our annual dinner due to the timing of this event.

We also intend to continue to hold regular ‘ medical ethics grand rounds’, that will also serve as social functions.

We intend to continue to maintain and develop our website as resource for Catholic doctors.

For the first time we intend to hold a spiritual retreat for doctors which will be led by our chaplain and spiritual assistants. We hope to develop further this spiritual dimension of service to our members and other Catholic healthcare workers.

Continue to support and have regular contact with other Australian Catholic Doctors groups with a view to forming a National association at some time in the future.

Develop a practical and efficacious missionary dimension to our association that utilises the skills, talents and resources of our members in accord with the aims and objectives of our association.