The publication of a “White Paper” by hospital chaplains is an idea formulated during a meeting held in Paris in recent days. It brought together some fifty educators and theologians of the national hospital chaplaincy (Aumônerie nationale des hôpitaux). “To whom is formation addressed? What are its objectives and programmes? What place should be given to experience, to the group dimension, to pastoral re-interpretation?”: these were some of the questions posed by the participants at the meeting. After the heat wave this summer and the thousands of elderly people who died of heat-related causes in France, after the attempted suicides, euthanasia and various emergencies, the participants asked how a better chaplaincy service could be provided in hospitals, where some 12,000 permanent medical staff and volunteers are working. “Learning to accept people and listen to them is not easy says one of the educators since our presence cannot be reduced to social service. We find ourselves faced by people who are suffering, sometimes close to death. Reflection on the meaning of suffering is often the point of departure for our meeting with patients. We are here at the heart of the meaning of life. So we need articulate people with solid formation”. On average, one person out of 5, among those who offer themselves, are suitable for this type of service.
