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The network of telehealth physicians is pro-life, pro-family and pro-eternal life.
My Catholic Doctor logo with patron saints St. Gianna Molla, Venerable Catherine McCauley, and Venerable Jérôme Lejeune. (photo: MCD)
Patty Knap FeaturesJune 25, 2024
Bringing up the “My Catholic Doctor” website, users see the mission statement from Luke 10:9 on the main page, along with photos of patrons Venerable Jérôme Lejeune, St. Gianna Molla and Venerable Catherine McCauley.
My Catholic Doctor (MCD) was intentionally created to be a distinct experience for both patient and physician.
Telehealth sessions in numerous medical fields are offered across the country, providing person-focused telemedicine that incorporates Catholic teaching.
Dr. Kathleen Berchelmann, founder and president of My Catholic Doctor, was a faculty pediatrician for a decade at Washington University in St. Louis. Over time, she felt a need to be more intentional about the healing ministry, wanting to treat the whole person and combine her Catholic faith with her practice of medicine.
“People think of Catholic health care as against abortion, contraception, euthanasia, but it’s so much more than that,” she told the Register. “First, we have far better alternatives to all of those: abortion-pill reversal (APR); end-of-life care; natural family planning (NFP).”
She added: “Don’t you want to be treated as a whole person? Don’t you want your provider to ask about your health background in general, rather than rushing through an allocated six minutes that covers the bare minimum?”
“Secular medicine says that everyone is included, but we’re not — practicing Catholics are not,” Berchelmann told EWTN Pro-Life Weekly. “Catholic health-care providers are expected to leave their Catholic values at the door. That’s impossible to do if you follow Jesus Christ.”
As she explained to the Register, “In Luke 10:9, Jesus said, ‘Cure the sick who are there. Say to them, the kingdom of God has come to you!’ That’s two commands in one sentence. We are to cure the sick and proclaim the Kingdom. We are called to do more than just cure the sick; as physicians, we are also called to help people grow in holiness through the universal human experience of suffering through illness.”
Doctors work independently with My Catholic Doctor, spending as much time as they want with each patient. A minimum of documentation stems from believing that the only third party in a doctor-patient relationship should be the Holy Spirit. Most insurance and health-share plans are accepted. The database of doctors now includes a wide range of primary care, urgent care, rheumatology, dermatology, endocrinology, physical therapy, speech therapy, gerontology and other medical areas.
The commitment to care from conception to natural death is emphasized, as is prayer.
Every afternoon at 3 o’clock in the office chapel in Stamford, Connecticut, the Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed for all patients. Anyone unable to join in person is invited to join with their prayer intentions from afar. (To join the prayer team, contact prayerteam@mycatholicdoctor.com.)
My Catholic Doctor clinicians unequivocally follow all of the “Ethical and Religious Directives” of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the ethical policy statements of the Catholic Medical Association.
“Our clinicians seek to bring the loving presence of Jesus Christ to their patients, to heal the whole person: body, mind, and spirit,” emphasized Berchelmann to the Register. “It involves the whole person and the unique dignity of each person made in the image and likeness of God.”
“We don’t specifically advertise APR,” said Berchelmann of their pro-life care, “but [women] still call us because they see ‘Catholic’ in our name. These are women who’ve taken all the steps to get the abortion pills — they’re pro-choice … they still call us, and that’s the natural law written on their heart. I have no other explanation. That’s the good news. God is still in the hearts of all these people, made in the image and likeness of God.”
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
Patty Knap FeaturesJune 25, 2024
Bringing up the “My Catholic Doctor” website, users see the mission statement from Luke 10:9 on the main page, along with photos of patrons Venerable Jérôme Lejeune, St. Gianna Molla and Venerable Catherine McCauley.
My Catholic Doctor (MCD) was intentionally created to be a distinct experience for both patient and physician.
Telehealth sessions in numerous medical fields are offered across the country, providing person-focused telemedicine that incorporates Catholic teaching.
Dr. Kathleen Berchelmann, founder and president of My Catholic Doctor, was a faculty pediatrician for a decade at Washington University in St. Louis. Over time, she felt a need to be more intentional about the healing ministry, wanting to treat the whole person and combine her Catholic faith with her practice of medicine.
“People think of Catholic health care as against abortion, contraception, euthanasia, but it’s so much more than that,” she told the Register. “First, we have far better alternatives to all of those: abortion-pill reversal (APR); end-of-life care; natural family planning (NFP).”
She added: “Don’t you want to be treated as a whole person? Don’t you want your provider to ask about your health background in general, rather than rushing through an allocated six minutes that covers the bare minimum?”
“Secular medicine says that everyone is included, but we’re not — practicing Catholics are not,” Berchelmann told EWTN Pro-Life Weekly. “Catholic health-care providers are expected to leave their Catholic values at the door. That’s impossible to do if you follow Jesus Christ.”
As she explained to the Register, “In Luke 10:9, Jesus said, ‘Cure the sick who are there. Say to them, the kingdom of God has come to you!’ That’s two commands in one sentence. We are to cure the sick and proclaim the Kingdom. We are called to do more than just cure the sick; as physicians, we are also called to help people grow in holiness through the universal human experience of suffering through illness.”
Doctors work independently with My Catholic Doctor, spending as much time as they want with each patient. A minimum of documentation stems from believing that the only third party in a doctor-patient relationship should be the Holy Spirit. Most insurance and health-share plans are accepted. The database of doctors now includes a wide range of primary care, urgent care, rheumatology, dermatology, endocrinology, physical therapy, speech therapy, gerontology and other medical areas.
The commitment to care from conception to natural death is emphasized, as is prayer.
Every afternoon at 3 o’clock in the office chapel in Stamford, Connecticut, the Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed for all patients. Anyone unable to join in person is invited to join with their prayer intentions from afar. (To join the prayer team, contact prayerteam@mycatholicdoctor.com.)
My Catholic Doctor clinicians unequivocally follow all of the “Ethical and Religious Directives” of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the ethical policy statements of the Catholic Medical Association.
“Our clinicians seek to bring the loving presence of Jesus Christ to their patients, to heal the whole person: body, mind, and spirit,” emphasized Berchelmann to the Register. “It involves the whole person and the unique dignity of each person made in the image and likeness of God.”
“We don’t specifically advertise APR,” said Berchelmann of their pro-life care, “but [women] still call us because they see ‘Catholic’ in our name. These are women who’ve taken all the steps to get the abortion pills — they’re pro-choice … they still call us, and that’s the natural law written on their heart. I have no other explanation. That’s the good news. God is still in the hearts of all these people, made in the image and likeness of God.”
Continued below.
‘My Catholic Doctor’ Offers Christ-Centered Medical Care
The network of telehealth physicians is pro-life, pro-family and pro-eternal life.
