“Medical Education in the Shadow of ‘Stealth Euthanasia’” among Catholics: Are we Fighting Secularism or Heresy? *
I would like to dedicate this talk to the memory of Dr. Gino Papola, past president of FIAMC, who introduced me to the Catholic Medical Association and was my mentor for forty years. When Gino died in December of 2011 at the age of ninety-one, I felt like an orphan. Dr. Papola loved to teach by discussing case histories, and as those of you who knew him will recall, he often told humorous stories to illustrate his point. One such story was about a physician who died and approached St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, wearing a white coat and a stethoscope around his neck, confident that he has led a good life and would easily enter Heaven. However, St. Peter stops him from entering and directs him to a long line of physicians who are undergoing extensive questioning by a committee of angels. Observing that other souls who are not doctors are entering the Pearly Gates without waiting in line, he asks St. Peter why doctors are being treated differently.