UD's possible pharmacy school
Christopher Malloy
Issue date: 11/11/08 Section: Commentary
The administration of the University of Dallas (UD) has been planning towards the creation of a school of pharmacy. There are numerous arguments in favor of the move. Among these are the following. First, it could be highly profitable. Second, UD could serve the wider community professionally. Third, UD could foster a vision of life consonant with the Catholic Church's teaching on human dignity. Among the elements of such a vision of life are gratitude and esteem for every human life and for the procreative character of sexual love. New or helpless "mouths" to feed are not just "mouths"; they are persons, mysteries to be embraced. Consequent upon these elements is the condemnation of directly intended abortion, of contraceptive intercourse, of euthanasia, etc. Not a few medications are instrumental specifically to these ends. The Catholic vision therefore rejects these medications insofar as they are instrumental, whether intentionally or only in fact, to the aforesaid ends.
There is no doubt, a school of pharmacy imbued with such a vision, and bedewed by grace, represents a grand vision. Our Catholic shepherds cannot but support such a vision. Still, prudence must always guide concrete action. Prudence must determine various proper goals to be sought in light of higher ends and in view of particular circumstances. Prudence must then determine the licit and helpful means to these goals. The principle of subsidiarity mandates that the judgments of prudence that correspond to the ends of such-and-such persons (be these individual persons or "social persons") be left in the hands of these persons, who would be wise to accept counsel. Now, at university, the ends are determined by the faculty, which is proximately instrumental to the final cause of the university, formation of students secundum veritatem in caritate. As the faculty serves the students in view of this end, so the administration serves the faculty for this end, taking cognizance of the factors affecting sustenance of the enterprise. Consequently, it is those charged with direct oversight of the university's daily operations that must, taking the rules governing prudential judgments from the faculty's collaborative counsel insofar as these rules protect the end that faculty serve, evaluate this vision's viability.
There is no doubt, a school of pharmacy imbued with such a vision, and bedewed by grace, represents a grand vision. Our Catholic shepherds cannot but support such a vision. Still, prudence must always guide concrete action. Prudence must determine various proper goals to be sought in light of higher ends and in view of particular circumstances. Prudence must then determine the licit and helpful means to these goals. The principle of subsidiarity mandates that the judgments of prudence that correspond to the ends of such-and-such persons (be these individual persons or "social persons") be left in the hands of these persons, who would be wise to accept counsel. Now, at university, the ends are determined by the faculty, which is proximately instrumental to the final cause of the university, formation of students secundum veritatem in caritate. As the faculty serves the students in view of this end, so the administration serves the faculty for this end, taking cognizance of the factors affecting sustenance of the enterprise. Consequently, it is those charged with direct oversight of the university's daily operations that must, taking the rules governing prudential judgments from the faculty's collaborative counsel insofar as these rules protect the end that faculty serve, evaluate this vision's viability.
Be the first to comment on this story