The Dignity of the Human Person

The Dignity of the Human Person

Nearly three years ago, benefactors of the University of Mary took health sciences faculty to Europe on what was named the Dignity of the Human Person pilgrimage. Faculty visited Dachau concentration camp; Nuremburg, Germany and the grotto of Lourdes in France.

Dr. Jodi Roller, Dean of the School of Health Sciences, describes their experience that has only deepened the University of Mary’s dedication to forming ethical health care professionals with respect for the human person. A strong signal of this dedication is the university’s plan to rename its school the Saint Gianna School of Health Sciences.

“In August 2017, the faculty from what will soon become the Saint Gianna School of Health Sciences were blessed by our benefactors with an extraordinary opportunity.

We embarked on the Dignity of the Human Person pilgrimage to Lourdes, which was unique in travel, opportunity, and especially the profound impact it had on us all.

To prepare for this journey, faculty attended lectures in Dr. Joseph Stuart’s course, ‘The History of Medicine,’ studying the background of Nazi Germany’s descent into madness. We learned that the Nazi rise to power was precipitated by the suffering of their citizenry due to extreme sanctions as a partial result of the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I.

Nazism came to categorize anyone who couldn’t contribute to the state, such as the 275,000 children and adults who had disabilities, as ‘useless eaters’ who were summarily executed.

Although the Jewish population was generally hard-working and successful, they were deemed less than human and eventually, too, led to slaughter. Dr. Stuart and Dr. Ray Gruby, who assisted in the course, accompanied the pilgrims on this 11-day journey and presented lessons on long bus rides through the European countryside.

The pilgrimage started in Paris, where we had Mass at Sacre Coeur, visited Notre Dame Cathedral, and gazed at the artwork in the Louvre, while being tutored by University of Mary Rome campus art faculty, Pascaline de Mesmay.

From Paris, we traveled to Eichstatt, Germany, home of St. Walburga’s Benedictine Abbey, the historical origin of our Annunciation Monastery. Prioress Sister Nicole Kunze joined our group, and it was thrilling to participate in the Sisters’ vespers with one of our own. Using St. Walburga’s as our home base, we traveled to Munich, Germany, and toured the origin of the Third Reich, followed by a trip to the Dachau concentration camp.

We spent an afternoon on guided tours of the horrific realities of the maniacal Nazi doctors, followed by Mass in the Carmelite Convent chapel which now stands right in the camp. The next day, we traveled to the Nuremberg courthouse which housed the postwar Nuremberg trials and learned more about the atrocities the Nazis perpetrated on Europe.

The last five days of our pilgrimage were in Lourdes, France, at the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, where St. Bernadette Soubirous received apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1858.

Millions of pilgrims visit this shrine each year, many of whom have mental and physical disabilities, and receive comfort, prayer, and healing. We witnessed thousands of people with disabilities, many in wheelchairs and on stretchers, being honored and held up in high regard by the thousands who were praying with them. We participated in processions each night, where we held our candle lanterns high and recited the rosary as we slowly made our way through the grounds.

The contrast between Dachau and Lourdes and the difference in how human persons are treated created a visceral understanding that the School of Health Sciences has a responsibility to reverse the course of popular thinking in some health care circles that disrespects human life. As health care professionals, we have always respected the dignity of human life, but through this pilgrimage, we came to know our responsibility is to change the culture.

Therefore, we have revised the mission and vision of our soon-to-be Saint Gianna School of Health Sciences: ‘To prepare health care professionals, anchored in moral courage, who respect and defend the dignity of the human person. In the spirit of Saint Gianna, we envision a thriving center of excellence that prepares leaders in the renewal of health care to embody respect and compassion for the dignity of life.’”