"Is A Priest Justified in Consulting a Doctor?" Reflections on the Case of Paneloux and Rieux in "The Plague"

Abstract

This chapter explores the vexed question as to whether a priest is justified in consulting a doctor, an issue that finds practical expression in Albert Camus's 1947 novel "The Plague". If God's power is absolute, why (one might ask) should religious persons seek help from physicians in dealing with medical emergencies? This morally ambivalent issue is examined in relation to two key characters in Camus's novel: Paneloux, a Jesuit priest, and Rieux, a practising doctor. As the chapter argues, the priest Paneloux does consult the doctor Rieux and, while their motives for action may differ, they both share a common desire to alleviate suffering and distress in the world - played out against the background of a virulent pestilence. For Paneloux, the conundrum between medical intervention and divine authority is, however, never resolved. For this particular priest, the pestilence remains, fundamentally, an intellectual concern where ideology takes precedence over medical engagement, whereas, for the doctor, the plague is a practical obstacle requiring pragmatic action rather than theoretical debate.