Pope urges respect for moral
norms regarding human life
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| Pope Francis blessing a sick child and his assistants in Bangladesh in December, 2017. |
Pope Francis on Monday addressed representatives of the
World Federation of the Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC) ahead of their
25th world congress in the Croatian capital Zagreb.
By Robin Gomes
Pope Francis on Monday encouraged Catholic doctors to
continue being faithful and consistent in their commitment to spread and
implement the pro-life teaching of the Church, so that nothing goes against
human life in its concrete existence, no matter how weak, defenceless,
undeveloped or little advanced it may be.
He made the exhortation to some 22 representatives of
the World Federation of the Catholic
Medical Associations (FIAMC) ahead of their 25th world
congress in the Croatian capital Zagreb. “Sanctity
Of Life and the Medical Profession from ‘Humanae Vitae’ to ‘Laudato Si’”, is
the theme of the May 30-June 2 congress.
Right to life vs efficiency, profit
Speaking in Italian, the Holy Father noted that even the field of medicine and health care has not been spared by the advance of what he called the “technocratic cultural paradigm”, by the adoration of human powerwithout limits and by a practical relativism, where everything becomes irrelevant if it does not serve one’s own interests.
In this situation, he said, Catholic doctors are “called to
affirm the centrality of the sick person as a person and his dignity with
inalienable rights, first and foremost his right to life.”
“The tendency to debase the sick man as a machine to
be repaired, without respect for moral principles, and to exploit the
weakest, discarding what does not correspond to the ideology of efficiency and
profit, must be opposed,” the Pope stressed.
Humanizing medicine
The Holy Father called for the defence of the personal dimension of the sick person, saying it is essential for the humanization of medicine, and also in a sense of “human ecology”.
He called on the doctors whether in their respective
countries or at the international level, to involve themselves not just in
specialist circles but also in discussions on legislation on
sensitive ethical issues, such as the termination of pregnancy, the
end of life and genetic medicine.
The Pope also called on them to show concern for the
“defence of freedom of conscience of doctors and of all health
care workers.” He said, “It is unacceptable that your role be
reduced to simply carry out the will of the sick person or the needs of the
health system in which you work.”
The Pope said that today it necessary and urgent that the
action of the Catholic doctor have a “character of unmistakable clarity”
on the level of both personal and associative witness.
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