Engaging with the Suffering Other: Moral Reorientations of Health Care Chaplains at the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Chaplaincy care is often described as a relational and moral practice, which is based on an attitude of presence. Safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, challenged chaplains in reshaping their work. This article questions what characterized chaplains’ relational practice during the crisis, and what moral orientations helped them in maintaining or rebuilding this. In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 health care chaplains during the lock-down of Dutch nursing homes, spring 2020. Thematic analyses revealed six subthemes as part of the overarching theme of ‘engagement with the suffering other’. Participants had to overcome moral challenges which required a reorientation or revaluation of their standards of care. Although the research focused on these particular COVID-19 circumstances, the relational work and accompanying moral perspectives is intrinsically tied to chaplaincy practice. Moreover, the study points to the need for attention to moral dilemmas and meaning-seeking processes of the chaplains themselves in crisis situations.