Vatican Information Services, reports that Pope Francis met
with members of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations
and Catholic Gynaecologists on Friday last September 20th, and spoke
of the current paradoxical situation of the medical profession. “On one hand we
see progress in the field of medicine, thanks to the work of scientists who
passionately and unreservedly dedicate themselves to the search for new cures.
On the other hand, however, we also encounter the risk that doctors lose sight
of their identity in the service of life”. He referred to the Encyclical
Caritas in Veritate to explain that this paradoxical situation is seen also in
the fact that, “while new rights are attributed to or indeed almost presumed by
the individual, life is not always protected as the primary value and the
primordial right of every human being.
The ultimate aim of medicine remains the defence and
promotion of life”. Faced with this contradictory situation, the Pope renewed
the Church's appeal to the conscience of all healthcare professionals and
volunteers, especially gynaecologists. “Yours is a singular vocation and
mission, which necessitates study, conscience and humanity”, he said.
Again, Francis spoke of the “throwaway culture” that leads
to the elimination of human beings, especially those who are physically and
socially weakest. “Our response to this mentality is a 'yes' to life, decisive
and without hesitation. 'The first right of the human person is his life. He
has other goods and some are precious, but this one is fundamental – the
condition for all the others'”.
Reiterating that in recent times, human life in its entirety
has become a priority for the Magisterium of the Church, the Pope emphasised
that “goods have a price and can be sold, but people have dignity, they are
worth more than goods and have no price”.
Francis asked those present to “bear witness to and
disseminate this 'culture of life' … remind all, through actions and words,
that in all its phases and at any age, life is always sacred and always of
quality. And not as a matter of faith, but of reason and science! There is no
human life more sacred than another, just as there exists no human life
qualitatively more meaningful than another”.
