Statutes & Bye-laws of the AFCMA

Statutes and By-Laws of

Asian Federation of Catholic

Medical Associations

ARTICLE 1. Office and Title

The Asian Regional Federation of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (F.I.A.M.C.) is and organization of all Catholic Medical Associations in Asia known as the Asian Federation of Catholic Medical associations (A.F.C.M.A.).

The official language shall be English.

The registered office of the Federation shall be at such place as shall be determined by the General Council.

ARTICLE 2. Aims

1. To coordinate the efforts of Catholic Medical Associations in the study and spread of Christian principles throughout the medical profession in general.
2. To encourage the development of Catholic Medical Associations in all countries of Asia in order to assist the Catholic physician in his moral and spiritual development as well as in his technical advancement.
3. To take part in the general development of the medical profession and to promote health and social work in accordance with Christian principles.
4. To represent the views of the Asian Federation of Catholic Medical Associations to F.I.A.M.C., other appropriate bodies and at international meetings and congresses.
5. To study and report on the problems which confront the Catholic Medical professionals in Asia.

ARTICLE 3. Objects

1. The organization of periodic medical congresses.
2. The publication of reviews and bulletins of information.
3. The exchange of research workers, doctors and medical students between various countries.
4. Any other activity deemed useful for the above aims.

ARTICLE 4. The Seal

The seal of the Asian Federation of Catholic Medical Associations as designed and depicted on the cover of this document shall be the Seal of the Federation. It shall be in the custody of the Secretary General and shall be affixed by him to all documents that are required to be sealed.

ARTICLE 5. Members of Federation

All Catholic medical associations in the various countries of Asia affiliated to F.I.A.M.C. shall be entitled to be members of A.F.C.M.A.

ARTICLE 6. Pledge of Members

All members of the Federation as a condition of membership shall agree to accept, uphold and be governed by the Articles and By-laws of the Federation in force at the time of becoming members and any amendments or additions that may thereafter be made to them and shall further agree to abide by or accept the ruling and decision of the General Council of the Federation.

ARTICLE 7. General Council

The Governing Body of the Federation shall be the General Council, which shall consist of: -

1. Delegates from each member association with a right to vote.
2. The officers of the federation and members of the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE 8. Meetings of General Council

1. Ordinary meetings of the General Council shall be held at least once in four years at such time and place as determined by the General Council.
2. Special meetings may be called by the Executive Committee if such is considered essential by providing at least three months notice in writing to all members.

ARTICLE 9. Duties and Powers of General Council

The General Council shall have the following powers: -

1. To elect the officers of the Federation i.e. the President, two Vice-Presidents, Secretary General/Treasurer and to appoint an Executive Committee.
2. To establish the necessary Standing and Ad Hoc Committees from time to time as time as may be considered necessary.

It shall make such by-laws and regulations, and revise them from time to time. It may perform such other acts not elsewhere excluded as shall make for the welfare, order and good government of this Federations. Any be-laws or regulation so made or nay revision there of shall become effective when adopted by a majority of the members present and voting at any properly constituted meeting of the General Council. It shall approve a record of receipts and expenditure of all funds prepared by the Secretary General/Treasurer and shall report to the member associations.

ARTICLE 10. Voting Privileges

Voting shall be restricted to official voting delegates from each member association with the casting vote of the President in case of a tie. Voting may be in person or by proxy. The number of votes allotted to member associations shall be in proportion to the number of members on their rolls as laid down in Article C of the By-laws.

ARTICLE 11. Non-voting Delegates and Observers.

1. Delegates from member associations without a right to vote may attend meetings of the General Council.
2. Any individual may be admitted to meetings of the General Council, as observers, if such attendance is approved by the General Council. Such observers shall not have a right to vote.

ARTICLE 12. Presiding Officer

The Presiding Officer of the General Council shall be the President in office since the last meeting of Council or, in his inability to preside, the 1^st. or 2^nd. Vice-President respectively. Should both Vice-Presidents also be absent, the immediate Past-President shall preside.

A quarum for the General Council shall be fifty per cent of voting members present, either in person or by proxy.

ARTICLE 13. Officers

The elected Officers of the Federation shall be the President, two Vice-Presidents, the Secretary General/Treasurer, all of whom shall hold office for a period of four years. Not more than two officers shall be from the same country with the exception of the Secretary General who may be from the same country as the President.

ARTICLE 14. Duties and Regulations Pertaining to Officers

1. The President shall be the chief officer of the Federation and shall preside at all meeting of the General Council. He shall act as Chairman of all meetings of the Executive Committee or may name the 1^st. Vice-President to act on his behalf or, if absent, the 2^nd. Vice-President.
2. Secretary General/Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping a record of all meetings of the Executive and the General Council and of all financial matters of the Federation. He shall be responsible to the Executive Committee and the General Council in all financial matters of the Federation. He shall be responsible to the Executive Committee and the General Council for the day-to-day administration of the Federation’s affairs in consultation with the President.

ARTICLE 15. Executive Committee

1. Composition

The Executive Committee shall be composed of the following member: -

1. The executive Officers of the Federation i.e. the President, two Vice-Presidents and the Secretary-General/Treasurer. These Officers shall be elected by the General Council.
2. One representative from each member Asian country. These representatives shall be active members of a member association and shall be elected by the General Council.
3. The Ecclesiastical Advisor shall be appointed by the Federation of Asia Bishop’s Conferences. His duty shall be to oversee the moral, religious and doctrinal views of the Federation and its members. He shall be an ex-officio member without a vote.
4. All past Presidents shall be designated Honorary Presidents and may attend Executive Committee meetings as unofficial members without a right to vote.

2. Duties of the Executive Committee:

The Executive Committee is the Administrative Body of the Federation and is commissioned to promote the Aims and Objects of the Federation.

It is empowered to implement such policy matters as have been decided by the General Council.

It may make recommendations in favor of any nominations for elective office.

It should preferably meet once a year. It may be called into special session as stated in ARTICLE G of the By-laws.

These and other functions which are defined in these Statutes and By-laws are the duties of the Executive Committee.

3. Nominations for Executive Officers of A.F.C.M.A.:
1. The President

Nominations for President may be made by any regular Member Association of the Federation for by the incumbent Executive Committee of the Federation. It is preferable that a candidate for the Presidency shall have served on the Executive Committee of A.F.C.M.A.

2. Two Vice-Presidents, Secretary-General/ Treasurer

Nomination for these officers shall be made from the floor during a general Council meeting at which elections shall occur.

Nominations shall be accepted only from delegates representing Regular Member Associations in good standing.

4. Election of the Executive Officers of A.F.C.M.A.
1. The President, two Vice-Presidents, Secretary-General/ Treasurer shall be elected by the General Council, each for a term of four years. These officers may not serve more than tow consecutive terms in each office.

5. Succession of Office in Case of Death or Resignation

In the event of death or resignation of the President, the 1^st. Vice-President shall become Acting President until the next regular election. In the event of death of any other principal officers, the Executive Committee shall choose an interim officer until the next election.

ARTICLE 16. The Regular and Associate members shall contribute and annual fee as proposed by the Executive Committee and approved by the General Council.

ARTICLE 17. All amendments to these Statutes and to the By-laws must be approved by the General Council by a majority of two-thirds of the members present or represented, provided that the proposed amendments shall have been submitted by the Secretary-General to all members in good standing six months before their consideration by the General Council.

ARTICLE 18. In event of the dissolution of the Federation, the funds that may be in existence shall be disposed according to the general purposes of the Federation, or submitted to the Holy See.

ARTICLE 19.A The original test of the Statutes and By-Laws is in English. Official translations into any other language may be made according to needs.

BY-LAWS

ARTICLE A. These By-Laws, like the statutes of the Asian Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (A.F.C.M.A.) of which they are an integral part, shall be approved by the General Council by a majority of two-thirds.

ARTICLE B. All requests for admission to regular membership in the Federation shall be submitted for examination by the Executive Committee. The request is to be accompanied by documentation which should include: -

1. The Statutes of the association.
2. Number of members in the association.
3. Recognition of ecclesiastical authority or a declaration of acceptance of the doctrine and moral precepts of the Catholic Church.

Recommendations for acceptance to regular membership shall be made by the Executive Committee to the General council after all requirements have been met.

ARTICLE C. Each Regular Member Association may be represented at the General Council by a delegation composed of the President of each association or his designee and up to three other delegates.

Regular Member Associations with less than 500 individual members on the rolls shall be antitled to one vote in the General Council, whereas those with 500 or more individual members, shall have two votes, In the case of countries having more than one Regular Member Association, the distribution of votes shall be determined by the General Council in relation to the number of members on the combined rolls of the member Associations and no more than two votes shall be assigned to any one country.

ARTICLE D. Each Associate Member organization may be represented at the General Council by the same apportionment of delegates as stated in ARTICLE C above, but without the right to vote.

ARTICLE E. A delegate of Regular Member Association may be represented by another delegate. One present member may vote a maximum of two proxy votes in addition to his own vote.

ARTICLE F. The meetings of the Executive Committee are presided over by the President of the Federation. The decisions of the Executive Committee shall be made by majority vote. Any member may represent an absent member and vote a proxy vote in addition to his own vote.

ARTICLE G. The Executive Committee of the Federation represents the continuation of the activities and policies formulated by the General Council. It shall meet at least once a year, and may be called into special session by the President or by petition of no less than three executive officers for the consideration of matters of urgency.

ARTICLE H. The President represents the Federation. He presides over the General Council and the Executive Committee. He directs the Federation according to the directives of the General Council. In case of absence, he is replaced by the 1st. Vice-President.

ARTICLE I. The 1st. Vice-President is the second ranking officer of A.F.C.M.A. he becomes the presiding officer of the Assembly and the Executive Committee in the absence of the President. Should the 1st. Vice-President be absent, the 2nd. Vice-President shall preside.

The 1st. Vice-President assumes the duties of the Presidency in the event of the death or resignation of the President as stated in ARTICLE 15(E) of the Statutes.

The Vice-Presidents may be assigned additional duties by the President or the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE J. The Secretary-General/ Treasurer directs the Secretariat of the Federation: he ensures communications with all Member Associations and all other organizations: he fulfills the legal formalities for the proper functioning of the Federation. He presents an annual report to the Executive Committee of which he is the Secretary.

ARTICLE K. The Secretary-General/ Treasurer administers the funds of the Federation. He makes an annual report to the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE L. The annual dues are assessed according to the number of members in each association as follows:

50 U.S. dollars for associations with less than 100 members.

100 U.S. dollars for associations with 100 or more members.

HISTORY OF THE AFCMA

The Asian Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (AFCMA)

• The Asian Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (AFCMA) is one of 4 Regional Organizations (Asia, America, Europe, and Africa) of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC)

• Idea of forming the AFCMA was brought up at the 8th Congress of the FIAMC held in Brussel in 1958 among three Asian participants, Dr. Alimuring of Philippines, Dr. Anno of Japan, and Dr. Dung of Vietnam.

• Aims of the AFCMA are :

1. to coordinate the efforts of Catholic Medical Associations in the study and spread of Christian principles throughout the medical profession in general.
2. to encourage the development of Catholic Medical Associations in all countries of Asia.
3. to take part in the general development of the medical profession and to promote health and social work in accordance with Christian principles
4. to represent the views of Asian Federation of Catholic Medical Association to FIAMC
5. to study and report on the problems which confront the Catholic medical professional in Asia

AFCMA Congress

• History of the AFCMA Congresses: 1^st Congress in Manila (1960)

2^nd Congress in Saigon (1962)

3^rd Congress in Bombay (1964)

4^th Congress in Tokyo (1968)

5^th Congress in Bangkok (1972)

6^th Congress in Hong Kong (1976) (1976)

7^th Congress in Seoul (1980)

8^th Congress in Manila (1984)

9^th Congress in Nagasaki (1988)

10^th Congress in Bangkok (1992)

11^th Congress in Singapore (1996)

12^th Congress in Kuala Lumpur (2000)

13^th Congress in Taipei (2004)

*14^th Congress will be held in 2008 in Hong Kong

• Duration of Congress: Usually 3-4 days
• Program of Congress: Daily Masses, Keynote address, Memorial lectures,

Country presentations, Symposia/workshops,

Cultural night, Sight seeing, etc.

• Scholarship funds have been collected and used to bring as many country members as possible from so-called 3^rd world Asian countries.

• 
  

Officer Bearers of the AFCMA

(2004 - 2008)

President: Dr. Kwang-ho Meng, MD Korea

Vice-Presidents: Sr(Dr). Mary Ann Lou, MD Taiwan, R.O.C.

Dr. Buichi Ishijima, MD Japan

Dr. Peter Au Yeung, MD Hong Kong, China

Dr. Khin Yam Chong, MD Malaysia

Secretary General:Dr. Bum Soo Kim, MD Korea

Treasurers: Dr. Keonhyun Jo, MD Korea

Ecclesiastical Advisor:Rev. Hygino Henrigues, SJ Singapore

Committee Chairs:

Medical Mission Committee :; Dr. John Lee, MD (Singapore)

Bioethics Committee :Dr. Ian Snodgrass, MD (Singapore)

Regional Representatives for the FIAMC :Dr. John Lee, MD Singapore

Dr. Freddie Loh, MD Malaysia

Secretariat: AFCMA

c/o Department of Radiology,
The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine
505 Banpo-Dong, Socho-Ku, Seoul 137-701, Korea
Tel: 822-590-1584, E-mail: bumrad@catholic.ac.kr

List of AFCMA Member Organizations

The Guild of St. Luke, SS. Cosmas & Damian c/oH.K.Central Councilof Catholic Laity 1 Tai Shek Street Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong	Indian Federation of Catholic Medical Guilds Hillway Clinik, Hill & Dale 4th fl. Hill-road, Bandra Mumbai-50, India
Indonesian Catholic Medical Community (ICMC) Jalan Kramat VI/7 Jakarta 10430 Indonesia	Catholic Doctors Association of Malaysia c/o Assunta Hospital, Jalan Templer, 46990 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
The Japan Catholic Medical Association 1-1-5-603, Hatagaya, Shibaya-ku Tokyo 151-0072, Japan	The Catholic Medical Guild of Singapore 428A East Coast Rd Singapore 1542 Rep. of Singapore
Catholic Physicians’ Guild of the Philippines Rm 227 Medicine Building University of Santo Tomas Manila, Philippines 1008,
Pakistan Catholic Medical Association c/o Dr. Dolphy D’souza, M.D. Medical Officer St. Patricks High School Sangster Rd. Karachi 0328, Pakistan	- Associate Member – Federation of Australian Catholic Medical Association 2A Unwin Crescent Salter Point, Perth 6152 Australia
Catholic Physicians Association, ROC c/o Cardinal Tien Hospital 362 Chung Cheng Rd. Hsintein, Taipei Hsien Taiwan, R.O.C.
The Catholic Physicians’ Guild of Thailand 122/6-7 Soi Narksuwa Nonsi Rd, yannawa Bangkok 10120 Thailand

Message form AFCMA Bioethics Committee

Dear leaders in AFCMA,

There is a widening gap between civil law anct-the medical concept of ethics on the one hand and Catholic medical ethics on the other. In spite of a proliferation of clinical and research ethics committees, we have widespread and increasing contraception, abortion, manipulation and cannibalisation of embryos, a disordered sexuality and 9pandemic of AIDS. Without trivialising the Asian tsunami tragedy and the grief of those afflicted by it, this man-made medico-moral tsunami is surpassing it in horror and magnitude and engulfing the whole world. Underlying this flood of evil is an increasing willingness to do evil acts for medical, scientific and social goals. Evil acts are becoming good things to do when there are good reasons, and since no one does anything without a good reason this trend is opening the door to all evil actions, to the corruption of conscience and to the increasing inability to make moral choices. Without divine intervention, such a fundamental error can have no outcome but catastrophe. The holocaust began in the mind but mass killing in clinics and- laboratories is now part of mainstream life. In Evangelium Vitae 1995, Pope John Paul 11 characterised the bioethical deviation and the resulting disrespect for human life as the Culture of Death, warning that it is "expanding and has reached broad sectors of public opinion, a real network of complicity that reaches out to include international institutions, foundations and associations."

Catholic doctors need to restore and enhance the sense of belonging in the fecund family harmony of God, which is the source of Man's dignity and the meaning of health, and to beware the ruptured link between the Creator and the creature that secular humanism represents. Forearmed with this sense of being, they will then be able to resist more effectively the anti-life forces that are trying to establish an egoistic sterility and the destruction of the family, and thus to be leaders against the Culture of Death that is consuming the profession and the world. We must act. Faith without works is dead. If weCatholics do not practice our Catholic pro-life beliefs in public for fear of offending others, we are being not tolerant but cowardly. Silence favours the oppressor. Being Catholic only in private and remaining neutral or silent in public in the face of evil, or worse supporting it, is not an option for us. We must leave the upper room. If we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem. Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput put it this way, "if we believe in the sanctity of life we need to prove that by our actions, including our political choices. Anything less leads to the corruption of our integrity. Claiming that 'we don't want to impose our beliefs on society' is not merely politically convenient; it is morally incoherent and irresponsible."

Following the decision made at the 13th AFCMA EXCO meeting on 27th Nov 2004 and noting the final resolutions of the 13th AFC MA Congress in Taiwan, the recently formed Bioethics committee of AFCMA seeks to disseminate Church teaching on life issues, Catholic medical ethics and moral theology and to preserve our own integrity in a deteriorating world. The committee comprises moral theologians and a few doctors from different member countries. Perhaps the committee could draft a paper at quarterly intervals and issue a consensus view consistent with Church teaching after discussion with all of you over the e-mail, which you could then translate and disseminate to your own national doctors' groups. Increased communication among the like minded will help to overcome the sense of being overwhelmed, fearful and alone and thence to spread the truth, to experience Grace and to acknowledge our God in public. Your comments and suggestions are most welcome on how we could go about our task of inspiring and enabling Catholic doctors in our own individual societies to become more effective bearers of truth and more actively resist the Culture of Death. Or in the words of Pope John Paul 11, "to bear witness to the Gift of Life in our profession, committing ourselves to defending it from conception to its natural end, and respecting the dignity of every human being, especially the dignity of the weakest and the most in need."

( Prayer of the doctor.)

AFCMA Bioethics Committee

Feb 2005

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