Philosophy
- The Philosophy governing the Order's services is that people are the creation of God, with intrinsic value and inherent dignity. This philosophy is based on the beliefs and values of the Order's founder, St. John of God.
- The spiritual and human value inherent within this philosophy influences all service activities and obliges all of our Brothers and co-workers to keep the dignity of the individual central to the planning, delivery and evaluation of the Order's services.
- The focus of attention of all who live and work in our hospitals or other centers must be the person for whom we are caring.
- The requirement of our apostolate lead us to involve ourselves in concrete form of action to help those who suffer as an expression of the Father's merciful love.
Mission
- Our Apostolic Works are, and define themselves as, Catholic. - Art. 49A, General Statutes
- The characteristic commits us in a special way, both within the Church and society, to observe and defend Gospel principles, the social doctrine of the Church and the norms relative to human rights. - Art. 49B, General Statutes
- The values and fundamental principles that guide the care given in our Apostolic Works must be accepted and respected by those who participate in our mission. -Art 50, General Statutes
- Hospitality is the original and core value of the Order from which emanate the other implicit values that are indicated in these General Statutes and in the Order's Charter of Hospitality.
The fundamental principles that characterize our Apostolic Works, are
- We affirm that the centre of interest is the person being assisted;
- we promote and defend the sick and needy person's rights, taking account of their personal dignity;
- we commit ourselves to the defence and promotion of human life from conception until natural death;
- we recognize the right of people in our care to be suitably informed about their situation;
- we promote holistic care, based on team work and an appropriate balance of technology and humanisation in therapeutic relationships;
- we observe and promote the ethical principles of the Catholic Church;
- we consider that the religious and spiritual dimensions are essential in offering healing and salvation, respecting other creeds and life choices;
- we defend the right to die with dignity and that the just wishes of those who are dying must be respected and attended to;
- we give maximum attention to the selection, formation and accompaniment of the personnel of all our Apostolic Works, not only taking into account their preparation and professional competence but also their sensitivity to human values and the rights of the individual;
- we observe the requirements of professional confidentiality and we take care that they are respected by those who come close to the sick and needy;
- we value and promote the qualities and the professionalism of the Co-workers, encouraging them to take part actively in the mission of the Order and, in keeping with their capacities and areas of responsibility, making them participants in the decision making process in our Apostolic Works;
- we respect the freedom of conscience of the people we assist and our Co-workers but we require that the identity of our Apostolic Works is respected;
- we reject the pursuit of material gain; therefore we observe and require that just economic and remuneration norms be respected.
Values
The Values of St John of God Hospitaller Service influence how carers deliver services throughout the organization.
Our values are Hospitality, Quality, Respect, Responsibility and Spirituality. Each Value stems from a set of beliefs and principles and each has roots in the Christian Scriptures. Certain behaviors flow from our commitment to our Values. All five Values are inter-related and each service as a moderating influence on the others. Together these Values constitute a code, which is used to enhance the culture within St John of God Hospitaller Service.
