Newman's Compelling Reasons for a Medical School with Catholic Professors

Only one year after starting the Catholic University of Ireland (1854), John Henry Newman arranged for the purchase of a medical school, the Cecilia-Street Medical School, which gained immediate success and has continued to this day as a part of University College Dublin. This article is a historical piece that examines the importance Newman gave to Catholic doctrine for the formation of medical students. He understood that according to a hierarchy of sciences, theology and religion are above medicine and its practice and that there are some important religious truths that future Catholic physicians need to learn. In this article, we present a brief history of the origins of the medical school, and discuss his choice of only Catholic professors, and his concern for the doctrinal and moral formation of future doctors.

When John Henry Newman established a medical school in Dublin he chose from only Catholic professors to ensure that the students, almost all Catholic, would receive teaching consistent with their faith, and also that they would have as role models Catholic physicians. He understood the harmony between science and faith, and thus sought professors with very good medical knowledge, who at the same time professed the Catholic faith.