Catholic Answers. Mike Aquilina: Did you know that the institution we know as the hospital is entirely an invention of the Catholic Church?
Well, it was. The ancient world had all the material ingredients needed for such an institution. It had medical professionals, and it had sick people. It had a centuries-old tradition of medical science and technology. And yet it could not bring all that together to make a hospital. There was no way to make such a venture profitable, so there was no compelling motive to keep such a venture running during an epidemic. Full article is here.
