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Document Details : Title: «Docteur, sauve-moi» Subtitle: Santé et salut en dialogue Author(s): YUMBA, François Journal: Lumen Vitae Volume: 67 Issue: 3 Date: 2012 Pages: 323-330 DOI: 10.2143/LV.67.3.2983498 Abstract : Il est plus courant d’entendre le patient en quête de la santé dire au médecin: «Docteur, sauve-moi». Cependant, un fait curieusement similaire s’observe chez celui qui prie : il n’est pas rare de constater qu’un croyant, dans une prière confiante, sollicitant l’aide du Seigneur dise presque autant: «Seigneur, sauve-moi». Ce double usage du verbe sauver suscite plus d’un questionnement. L’article laisse entrevoir que santé et salut sont deux réalités distinctes, mais proches l’une de l’autre: l’agir du médecin à l’instar de celui de l’agent pastoral contribue indéniablement à la santé et au salut du patient. It is more usual to hear a patient who wants to regain health say to the physician: 'Doctor, save me'. And yet, a very similar phenomenon can be observed, interestingly, with the person at prayer: it is not unusual to hear a believer, in a prayer of trust, seeking the Lord’s assistance, say nearly the same thing: 'Lord, save me'. This twofold use of the verb 'to save' seems to engender some linguistic ambiguity and raises several questions. Is it due to the poverty of our language that the patient asks the doctor to save her even though she is aware that her salvation can come only from God? Is it not the health of the patient that is the doctor’s first concern? Could the physician truly bring about health, thereby putting himself or herself in the place of God? This line of questioning reveals that health and salvation are two distinct realities that are nevertheless closely related and call out to each other in echo. The actions of the doctor, like that of a pastoral worker, undeniably contribute to the health and salvation of the patient. We thus understand that the response of the doctor to the patient’s request in a sense becomes a form of diakonia. |
