The position of the polish bishops’ conference on LGBT+ – philosophical, theological, clinical and political aspects

Introduction Practicing medicine cannot disregard cultural conditions. Philosophy and religion are elements of culture. For several years in Poland, various circles have discussed the extensive LGBT issues. A document of Polish Bishops on this subject appeared on 28.08.2020. In 2018, 91.8% of peop...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: W. Kosmowski
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2021-04-01
Series:European Psychiatry
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933821009986/type/journal_article
_version_ 1797616301276921856
author W. Kosmowski
author_facet W. Kosmowski
author_sort W. Kosmowski
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Practicing medicine cannot disregard cultural conditions. Philosophy and religion are elements of culture. For several years in Poland, various circles have discussed the extensive LGBT issues. A document of Polish Bishops on this subject appeared on 28.08.2020. In 2018, 91.8% of people over 16 years old in Poland declared affiliation to the Roman Catholic Church (Statistics Poland 2020). Objectives The aim of the study is to present different perspectives of effects of that publication, including ethical evaluation and references to clinical practice. Methods Statements of protagonists and antagonists of this document in Polish were analyzed. Collected arguments were divided into types: philosophical – by philosophy branches (e.g. ethics, philosophical anthropology), theological and clinical. Results As of 29.09.2020 – 85,200 results in the Google Search after typing (in Polish) “Polish Episcopal Conference LGBT”. The use of philosophical arguments by both parties results from the adaptation of different systems, e.g. regarding philosophical anthropology, some assume the immutability of human nature, others – its variability and susceptibility to shaping, e.g. human sexuality. Some emphasize the importance of non-discrimination, while others indicate the need to consider human essence in determining directions of actions. Conclusions Professionals should help everyone, regardless of conditions, in accordance with conscience and contemporary medical knowledge [Polish Code of Medical Ethics]. They should try to understand patients and the context of symptoms. Familiarizing oneself with arguments of both sides helps in this. But polemical language makes dialogue difficult. What for one is a “venerable tradition”, for another is a “stereotype” or “discrimination”.
first_indexed 2024-03-11T07:39:13Z
format Article
id doaj.art-93ead977ff6841fdbe05803e9441668d
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 0924-9338
1778-3585
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T07:39:13Z
publishDate 2021-04-01
publisher Cambridge University Press
record_format Article
series European Psychiatry
spelling doaj.art-93ead977ff6841fdbe05803e9441668d2023-11-17T05:08:55ZengCambridge University PressEuropean Psychiatry0924-93381778-35852021-04-0164S372S37210.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.998The position of the polish bishops’ conference on LGBT+ – philosophical, theological, clinical and political aspectsW. Kosmowski0Department Of Psychiatry, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Bydgoszcz, Poland Introduction Practicing medicine cannot disregard cultural conditions. Philosophy and religion are elements of culture. For several years in Poland, various circles have discussed the extensive LGBT issues. A document of Polish Bishops on this subject appeared on 28.08.2020. In 2018, 91.8% of people over 16 years old in Poland declared affiliation to the Roman Catholic Church (Statistics Poland 2020). Objectives The aim of the study is to present different perspectives of effects of that publication, including ethical evaluation and references to clinical practice. Methods Statements of protagonists and antagonists of this document in Polish were analyzed. Collected arguments were divided into types: philosophical – by philosophy branches (e.g. ethics, philosophical anthropology), theological and clinical. Results As of 29.09.2020 – 85,200 results in the Google Search after typing (in Polish) “Polish Episcopal Conference LGBT”. The use of philosophical arguments by both parties results from the adaptation of different systems, e.g. regarding philosophical anthropology, some assume the immutability of human nature, others – its variability and susceptibility to shaping, e.g. human sexuality. Some emphasize the importance of non-discrimination, while others indicate the need to consider human essence in determining directions of actions. Conclusions Professionals should help everyone, regardless of conditions, in accordance with conscience and contemporary medical knowledge [Polish Code of Medical Ethics]. They should try to understand patients and the context of symptoms. Familiarizing oneself with arguments of both sides helps in this. But polemical language makes dialogue difficult. What for one is a “venerable tradition”, for another is a “stereotype” or “discrimination”. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933821009986/type/journal_articletheologysexual medicineethics
spellingShingle W. Kosmowski
The position of the polish bishops’ conference on LGBT+ – philosophical, theological, clinical and political aspects
European Psychiatry
theology
sexual medicine
ethics
title The position of the polish bishops’ conference on LGBT+ – philosophical, theological, clinical and political aspects
title_full The position of the polish bishops’ conference on LGBT+ – philosophical, theological, clinical and political aspects
title_fullStr The position of the polish bishops’ conference on LGBT+ – philosophical, theological, clinical and political aspects
title_full_unstemmed The position of the polish bishops’ conference on LGBT+ – philosophical, theological, clinical and political aspects
title_short The position of the polish bishops’ conference on LGBT+ – philosophical, theological, clinical and political aspects
title_sort position of the polish bishops conference on lgbt philosophical theological clinical and political aspects
topic theology
sexual medicine
ethics
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933821009986/type/journal_article
work_keys_str_mv AT wkosmowski thepositionofthepolishbishopsconferenceonlgbtphilosophicaltheologicalclinicalandpoliticalaspects
AT wkosmowski positionofthepolishbishopsconferenceonlgbtphilosophicaltheologicalclinicalandpoliticalaspects