Catholic Faith and Medicine: In Harmony or in Conflict? – Dr. Timothy P. Flanigan, MD

Mar 5, 2026

Dr. Timothy P. Flanigan, an infectious disease professor, longtime HIV/AIDS clinician, and ordained deacon. He explores Jesus’ personal healing, the Catholic origins of hospitals, and how faith can visibly shape bedside care. He discusses secular pressures in medicine and practical ways clinicians can witness faith while navigating conflicts over abortion, assisted dying, and gender interventions.

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INSIGHT

Healing Is Personal Not Programmatic

Jesus heals person to person, emphasizing intimate, one-on-one care as the model for medical compassion.
Timothy P. Flanigan contrasts Jesus' eye-to-eye touch (e.g., Talitha kum to the 12-year-old) with impersonal systems to show relational healing matters.

ADVICE

Do Not Check Faith At The Door

Don't hide your faith entirely at work; God's grace exists whether acknowledged or not, but visible witness matters.
Flanigan advises against 'checking faith at the door' while respecting diverse coworkers and patients.

ANECDOTE

Dignity Found In Small Acts Of Care

Donna's 93-year-old mother in hospice found grace and dignity when her daughters cared for intimate tasks like toileting.
The mother's first-ever praise moved everyone to tears, showing small acts reveal deep spiritual moments.

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Dr. Timothy P. Flanigan, M.D., presents Catholic faith and medicine as profoundly harmonious, showing how Christ’s person‑to‑person healing, the Church’s hospital tradition, and a “culture of life” can and must be lived inside today’s secular, therapeutically focused healthcare system—precisely where pressures over abortion, assisted suicide (MAID), and gender interventions create the sharpest conflicts of conscience.

This lecture was given on April 6th, 2025, at Thomistic Institute in New York.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speakers:

Timothy P. Flanigan, MD, is Professor of Medicine in the Infectious Diseases Division of The Miriam and Rhode Island Hospitals and the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He received a BA from Dartmouth College and an MD from Cornell University Medical School. In 1991, he came to The Miriam Hospital to join Dr. Charles Carpenter to lead the HIV and AIDS program and was subsequently appointed Chief of Infectious Diseases in 1999 until stepping down in 2012. He spearheaded the HIV Care Program at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections to develop improved treatments for HIV infection and has received NIH and CDC funding for over 30 years. He received the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leadership Award in 2000. He also co-directed the Lifespan Lyme Disease Clinic. He is co-founder of RISE (Rhode Islanders Sponsoring Education). As a byproduct of his work in corrections, he is the founder and president of the Newport/Fall River Star Kids Scholarship Program to help break the cycle and support the children of parents with a history of incarceration and/or substance abuse to succeed in school, go on to post-secondary education and to meet their full potential as self-sufficient, active participants in their communities. He has been recognized by the HIV Medicine Association for his community-based work with HIV-infected men and Women.

In 2013, he was ordained a permanent Deacon in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, RI and serves at Saint Theresa’s and St. Christopher’s churches in Tiverton, RI. In 2014, he spent two months in Monrovia, Liberia helping the Catholic Medical Clinics and hospitals respond to the Ebola epidemic.

Earlier this year he received the Milton Hamolsky Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Physicians, Rhode Island Chapter and is married to Luba Dumenco, MD and the proud father of five children and a grandson.

Keywords: Catholic Faith And Medicine, Clinical Conscience, Critique of Gender Affirming Care, Culture Of Life, Hospice And Suffering, Jesus As Healer, Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID), Secularism In Medicine