Historical reminiscences: 40 years of the magazine O Mundo da Saúde

Abstract

In 2017, in the area of Camillian publications, we have an important fact to be remembered and
celebrated: the 40 years of uninterrupted publication of the magazine “O MUNDO DA SAÚDE”. It
is a scientific publication linked to the dimension of university education of the Brazilian Camillian
Province. It was with great pleasure and joy that I received the honorable invitation of the current
editor-in-chief of this publication and President of the São Camilo University Center (SP), Father
João Batista Gomes de Lima, to write something concerning the 40-year commemorative edition
of this journal. More than a scientific article, which others will certainly do, in their time, I take the
liberty of elaborating a historical reminiscence of some of the most striking facts of this trajectory
covering four decades.
The authenticity and faithfulness of the most striking facts I describe of the trajectory of these
40 years, is due to the fact that I have intensely lived the history of this publication for many years.
I was in the direction of the same with the responsibility of being its editor-in-chief (the third in this
history of 4 decades) for 20 years, from 1995 to 2014. Moreover, in the late 1970s, more precisely
in March 1977, the first issue of this publication appeared, initially quarterly, at which time I was
the secretary for three years (1978-1980), while still a student of theology, I graduated at the end
of 1980, when I was assigned by the Provincial of that time, to another mission in the Brazilian

In this task of recording some “historical reminiscences” of “O Mundo da Saúde”, we will write
in three stages. We began with a brief rescue of the emergence of a new publication in the field
of health in Brazil, which already envisioned disseminating in its reflections, humanistic, Christian,
Camillian values, and presenting to the health community, in general the professionals, a new area
of inter, multi and transdisciplinary knowledge, which is bioethics (I). The following is a re-reading
of the most striking facts of the scientific and health world that have occurred over the last four
decades (1977-2017). We conclude with a look at the future, pointing to the need to face the
ethical challenge of always allying science and human and Camillian wisdom, so that we can build
a new culture of health care.

Camillian Province.