Sound ethics mean much to a Christian Science practitioner's effectiveness as a healer. One of the essential requirements for members of The Mother Church to follow in their practice is found in Article VIII, Section 22, of the Manual of The Mother Church by Mrs. Eddy: "Members of this Church shall hold in sacred confidence all private communications made to them by their patients; also such information as may come to them by reason of their relation of practitioner to patient." Faithful adherence to this clear direction results in blessings not only for the practitioner and patient but also for the general advancement of spiritual healing.
The practitioner who does not discuss with anyone else a patient's name or any details relating to a case is lifting his or her own thought to a higher level for prayerful action. The practitioner mentally turns off the soap opera of mortal mind to better discern the root of the problem and the spiritual truth that destroys the basic error. Sacred confidentiality is seen as especially important when members of the same family, or people from the same neighborhood or church, ask for treatment. A Christian Science practitioner is not a mediator in family or local affairs. He or she resists any temptation to form an opinion about who is right and who is wrong and instead looks to and trusts Mind, God, alone.
Fidelity to God's requirements brings healing. It is the presence of divine Mind with us —its accessibility as the source of all wisdom and love—that enables us to demonstrate fidelity. This obedience makes us feel so close to God, divine Principle, that we naturally defend ourselves from any temptation to betray a confidence. And this divine Principle furnishes us rules to live by. Christ Jesus emphasized the Golden Rule: "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." Matt. 7:12. We can ask ourselves if we would want our confidences paraded before others. Knowing that we would not, we will be committed to keeping all information that comes to us in practice "in sacred confidence." We will keep the Golden Rule untarnished.
