Caritas in Communion: Theological Foundations of Catholic Health Care (2014)

In 2013-2014, Therese served as a Visiting Scholar with the Catholic Health Association, who commissioned her to draft a white paper outlining the theological foundations of Catholic health care.  Therese engaged theologians, economists, public policy experts, health care executives and sponsors in a year-long study regarding the changing health care environment and its impact on the Catholic health ministry. The resulting book, Caritas in Communion, explores topics of Catholic identity, the principle of moral cooperation, and ministry implications of for-profit business models.

Caritas in Communion offers an original theological vision grounding Catholic health care in the communion ecclesiology of Vatican II which itself is grounded in God’s nature as caritas. It pushes readers to think in a more deeply theological and integrated way about the Catholic tradition on moral cooperation.  And it raises pressing questions about the practice of Catholic health care in a for-profit environment.

Used by over 3,000 associates across Catholic health systems, Caritas in Communion has become a key resource for leadership formation in Catholic health care.