Deacon Dick Petersen, M.D., has been elected president of the Catholic Physicians Guild of Phoenix. Deacon Petersen, who was ordained in 1997, graduated from Creighton University Medical School in 1965. The father of three and grandfather of three has been a member of the Catholic Physicians Guild for the last 20 years.
He received certification from the National Catholic Bioethics Center in 2006 after a one-year training program that involved writing a paper on terminal sedation. The certification, he said, helps him answer questions people ask him regarding death and dying.
“It’s given me a foundation for understanding and working with the ethical problems and questions people have to face day in and day out,” Deacon Petersen said. “In particular, it’s helped the ministry that I have with Americare Hospice Center.”
The Catholic Physicians Guild was founded as an association of physicians who seek to grow in their understanding of the moral and ethical principles of the Catholic faith. The CPG endeavors to help physicians understand, develop, and apply Christ’s principles of faith and morality to modern medical science and practice. The guild offers educational programs, an opportunity for fellowship as well as faith and conscience formation as it relates to the practice of medicine.
Deacon Petersen is expected to serve as president of the Catholic Physicians Guild of Phoenix for two years.
