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Skriven 2007-03-27 22:39:00 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service (Press Release)
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                               VIS-Press releases

ILLUMINATE CONSCIENCES TO RECOGNIZE TRUTH

VATICAN CITY, FEB 24, 2007 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Pope
received delegates participating in the 13th general assembly of the Pontifical
Academy for Life, and in the international congress entitled "Christian
conscience in support of the right to life," being celebrated in the Vatican on
February 23 and 24.

The right to life, the Holy Father said, "must be supported by everyone because
it is fundamental with respect to other human rights." As John Paul II says in
his Encyclical "Evangelium vitae," all human beings can, "by the light of
reason, ... come to recognize in the natural law written in the heart, the
sacred value of human life from its very beginning until its end. Upon the
recognition of this right, every human community and the political community
itself are founded."

Christians, Benedict XVI went on, must react to the continual attacks against
the right to life, safe in the knowledge that their "motivations have deep
roots in natural law and can, therefore, be shared by all people of sound
conscience." Yet, despite efforts to make "the contents of these motivations
more widely known in the Christian community and in civil society, ... attacks
against the right to life in the world have increased." In this context he
referred to "pressures for the legalization of abortion in Latin American
countries and in developing nations, also through the use of the liberalization
of new forms of chemical abortion under the pretext of reproductive health,"
and to an "increase in population control policies."

Benedict XVI highlighted developed nations' growing interest in
biotechnological research and "the obsessive search for the 'perfect child'."
There is, he said, "a new wave of eugenic discrimination," which "gains
consensus in the name of the supposed good of the individual while, especially
in the economically developed world, laws are being promoted for the
legalization of euthanasia. All this is happening as ... pressure increases for
the legalization of forms of cohabitation alternative to marriage and closed to
natural procreation."

For this reason, the Pope went on, it is necessary for Christian consciences to
be "illuminated in order to recognize the true value of actions," and so as to
be able "to distinguish good from evil, even where the social environment,
cultural pluralism and the overlay of interests do not help to this end."

There is a need to reeducate people "in the desire to know the real truth, and
in the defense of their own freedom of choice, against the inclination of the
masses and the flattery of propaganda."

The Pope emphasized the need "to open minds and hearts" during the various
stages of life, to ensure that people "accept the fundamental duties upon which
the existence of individuals and of the community depends. Only in this way
will it be possible to ensure that the young understand the values of life, ...
of marriage and of the family," and "appreciate the sanctity of love, the joy
and responsibility of parenthood, and of collaborating with God in the giving
of life." When "continuous and qualified formation" is lacking, it "becomes
more difficult to pronounce upon the problems associated with biomedicine in
the fields of sexuality, nascent life, procreation, and upon the way to treat
and cure patients and the weaker groups of society."

Benedict XVI called on scientists, doctors, legislators and politicians to
contribute, "by teaching and by example," to "reawakening the clear and
eloquent voice of conscience in many people's hearts."

"When the value of human life is at stake, this harmony between magisterial
function and lay commitment becomes uniquely important. Life is the primary
good we have received from God, the foundation of all the others. Guaranteeing
the right to life - for everyone and in the same way for everyone - is a duty
upon which the future of humanity depends."
AC/RIGHT TO LIFE:CONSCIENCE/...VIS 070226 (650)

SUMMARY

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