I have been following the case of a gay man who underwent a rectal surgery in Cebu and who is the subject of much controversy with regard to a video that was taken during his surgery and uploaded on YouTube. In that controversial video, the medical personnel who operated on the patient seemed to be having a field day in the operating room after they removed a perfume canister from the gay man's rectum. How it ended up there is precisely the reason they were laughing and poking fun on each other. To add insult to the injury, somebody uploaded that video on YouTube for all the world to see. This undoubtedly brought so much shame to the patient and he wants justice. Who is to blame?
Medical Malpractice
I truly believe that the medical personnel violated this person's right as a patient. What they did to the patient was truly very unethical and shameful. I think they should be reminded of their Hippocratic oath. They committed a serious breach of patient-doctor confidentiality which is part of the code of ethics of all medical practitioners.
The Church's Side
On the other hand, Msgr. Achilles Dakay, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Cebu believed that the doctors and nurses who had made fun of the patient and uploaded the video of the surgery on YouTube should not be blamed solely for the scandal.
On a radio interview, Msgr. Dakay said, "We are asking everyone not to forget or to bypass the main issue: The wrong act of a guy with another man. People are not talking about what happened before the operation—the homosexual act that was done very badly." The priest further said that homosexual acts were prevalent in the city.
“They are blaming the doctors for what they [did], but I think they should blame the guy for what [he and his partner] did.”
Dakay also said there should be a delineation between homosexuality as an orientation and homosexuality as an act.
“We should sympathize with them because they were born that way and made that way, but if they did what is prohibited, then that is another thing,” he stressed.
The Other Side
In his column, Danton Remoto, a Ladlad gay rights activist pointed out that the main issue was not the homosexual act but the unprofessionalism of the doctors and nurses involved.
"The Catholic Church has the right to affirm its stand on homosexuality, but we will not necessarily listen to it or follow it,” he said over a phone interview. He further labeled those doctors as the ones who are sick, pointing out that the patient suffered sexual and social discrimination.
Comment
I have to side with the monsignor's point of view here. The poor guy would not have found himself in this serious predicament had he not picked up a male prostitute. The homosexual person must really learn to differentiate his orientation, which is a condition and not sinful in itself, from his homosexual act, which is a manifestation of grave depravity. I symphatize with the poor guy's fate in as much as he is also a victim here. I believe that the guy has to take personal responsibility for what happened to him, especially if he has willingly put himself into this. The deeper issue goes beyond sexual or social discrimination, Mr. Danton Remoto. The "deeper" issue really is should we tolerate the rampant acts of sexual immorality plaguing our society? Does being "gay" really give a person the "license" to engage in sexual acts contrary to moral law? Just some thoughts to ponder.
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3 comments:
The Catholic Church is not relevant in this case. There are only two sides, that of the patient and that of the doctor. Were the acts of the doctors necessary? The acts of the doctors and nurses are simply unethical and must not go unpunished. Their license should be suspended to teach them a lesson.
I agree with you that the doctors and nurses must be penalized for their unprofessional conduct. What Fr. Dakay wants to point out I think is that there is a "deeper" issue behind the controversy which we tend to ignore because it has become so commonplace and widespread we think it is a normal thing. We must respect Fr. Dakay's stand as a clergy because there is a moral issue that we need to face beyond the unethical behavior of the medical personnel involved.
know what? As a cathoilc struggling with homosexuality, i really think Fr. Dakanay's statment was inappropriate for the time being. The man needed help as his rights were violated, so if Jesus were here I really belive he would first concnetrate on helping the guy rather than pointing out the guy's sin for everyone to think and talk about.
It was as if Fr. Dakanay used the guy to teach everyone a moral lesson instead of simply helping him.
Very unfair and very oppressive
Mahirap na magkaroon ng struggles with homosexuality . lalu pang humihiarap when the people in the church (who are supposed to be your brothers in Christ) rub own you face the sins you committed.
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