Text 2217, 91 rader
Skriven 2007-02-20 19:36:42 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service (Press Release)
===================================================
Hello All!
                This Area is READ ONLY.  Do not post to this area.
                The following press release is Copyrighted by the
                          Vatican Information Service.
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                               VIS-Press releases

CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE IN SUPPORT OF THE RIGHT TO LIFE

VATICAN CITY, FEB 20, 2007 (VIS) - At 11.30 a.m. today in the Holy See Press
Office, a press conference was held to present an international congress
entitled "Christian conscience in support of the right to life," due to be held
in the Vatican on February 23 and 24 under the auspices of the Pontifical
Academy for Life.

Participating in today's press conference were Bishop Elio Sgreccia, president
of the Pontifical Academy for Life; Bishop Anthony Fisher O.P., auxiliary of
Sydney, Australia and professor of bioethics and moral theology at the John
Paul II Institute in Sydney; Msgr. Jean Laffitte, vice president of the
Pontifical Academy for Life and professor of anthropology and of conjugal
spirituality at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the
Family; Monica Lopez Barahona, biologist, professor of bioethics and director
of the bioethical institute at the University of Francisco de Vitoria, Madrid,
Spain.

In his comments, Bishop Sgreccia made it clear that the theme chosen for this
year's congress reflects the urgent need to form Christian consciences "in the
modern context, indicating the foundation, the specific nature and the duties
of a conscience illuminated by faith, though not overlooking the need for
dialogue with the lay world and the pluralism of cultures."

Going on to refer to the question of conscientious objection, which is due to
be discussed on the second day of the congress, the president of the Pontifical
Academy for Life indicated that if such objection "is accompanied by love for
truth and for all people it is not an avoidance of responsibility but, on the
contrary, a testimony of support and assistance." Today, in the field of
healthcare, "a whole series of new cases and situations arise in which doctors
and other figures associated with their work are called to put this objection
into effect."

Bishop Anthony Fisher, speaking English, began his comments by considering "the
question of what conscience is and is not and what authority conscience has."

"The classical Christian conception of conscience," he said, "is of the natural
perception of basic moral principles, their application in particular
circumstances, and the final judgement about what is to be (or has been) done.
... But conscience must be both well-informed and well-formed."

The bishop mentioned "the authority of the Church as a moral teacher and
former/informer of conscience, ... the ideas of the Magisterium, the
unconditional assent of faith, religious assent and dissent. ... Can there be a
conflict between the Church as teacher and the individual conscience and how is
this to be resolved?"

Bishop Fisher also considered "the problematic of those who oppose conscience
to Magisterium," identifying "two helpful strands of contemporary thought: the
communitarian call to think with one's moral community and the 'practical
reason' approaches to maturation of conscience. On these views the Magisterium
is not some external source of moral thinking with which private conscience
must grapple: it informs conscience much like a soul informs a body, giving it
its shape and direction from within."

Msgr. Laffitte spoke of the concept of tolerance which, he said, has ceased "to
be an expression of the classical virtue of prudence and, hence, a practical
virtue," while "ideological tolerance has been raised to the rank of
theoretical virtue."

"Ideological tolerance" he continued, "is always linked to an individualistic
concept of moral conscience. ... And the norms received from moral authority,
from social tradition and from the teaching of the religious authorities will,
at best, be considered as interesting guidelines or stimulating opinions upon
which to reflect, but in no case will such norms involve the individual as a
moral subject."

Professor Lopez Barahona recalled that "man is a free being who establishes his
behaviour and forges his will in a series of ethical and/or religious
principles. Loyalty to these principles brings the right and the need of
conscientious objection."

"We have," she said, "witnessed incessant concessions to scientific research by
the legislator, justified with reasoning that may seek to present the
consecration of bioethics by the law as the protection of the person, whereas
these concessions actually involve creating new exemptions in favour of
biomedical research even when this fails to take the dignity of human life into
account."
OP/CONGRESS ACADEMY LIFE/SGRECCIAVIS 070220 (720)

SUMMARY

--- MPost/386 v1.21
 * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)