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JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel's parliament has passed a contentious law meant to retroactively legalize thousands of West Bank settlement homes....
(Vatican Radio) A press conference was held on Monday in the Holy See Press Office to present the 25th World Day of the Sick (solemn edition), to be held in Lourdes, France this coming 11 February. The conference also provided the opportunity to present the New Charter for Healthcare Workers.The speakers were Msgr. Jean-Marie Mate Musivi Mupendawatu, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Alessandro de Franciscis, president of the Bureau des Constatations Médicales de Lourdes and the Association Médicale Internationale de Lourdes (AMIL); and Antonio Gioacchino Spagnolo, professor of bioethics and director of the Institute of Bioethics and Medical Humanities in the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome.Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, was scheduled to attend but was unable to do so. Msgr. Mupendawatu therefore read h...
(Vatican Radio) A press conference was held on Monday in the Holy See Press Office to present the 25th World Day of the Sick (solemn edition), to be held in Lourdes, France this coming 11 February. The conference also provided the opportunity to present the New Charter for Healthcare Workers.
The speakers were Msgr. Jean-Marie Mate Musivi Mupendawatu, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Alessandro de Franciscis, president of the Bureau des Constatations Médicales de Lourdes and the Association Médicale Internationale de Lourdes (AMIL); and Antonio Gioacchino Spagnolo, professor of bioethics and director of the Institute of Bioethics and Medical Humanities in the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome.
Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, was scheduled to attend but was unable to do so. Msgr. Mupendawatu therefore read his contribution, explaining that the World Day of the Sick was instituted by St. John Paul II in 1992 and, on this twenty-fifth anniversary, it will be celebrated in an extraordinary way, at Pope Francis’ behest. Among the many figures who will attend the event in Lourdes on 11 February, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin will be present as papal legate, and will celebrate the solemn Holy Mass on the anniversary of the first apparition of the Virgin to Bernadette Soubirous.
The Cardinal also recalled the recently deceased Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the then-Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, to whom we owe the New Charter for Healthcare Workers. The Charter is a revision and updating of the Charter for Healthcare Workers, the theological, moral and medical “vademecum” that resulted from the intuition of the first president of the Council, Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini, which was translated in nineteen languages and became for twenty years a basic text for healthcare workers.
Msgr. Musivi Mupendawatu went on to underline that the Holy Father’s Message for this 25th edition, the theme of which is “Amazement at what God has accomplished: ‘The Almighty has done great things for me…’” (Luke 1:49), invites us to “imitate the journey of St. Bernadette to contemplate in Mary, the Immaculate, and then her life of silence and meditation”. With reference to the New Charter for Healthcare Workers, he affirmed that “from the doctrinal point of view, it reaffirms the sacredness of life and its indispensability inasmuch as it is a gift from God”.
Professor Spagnolo then gave an extensive overview of the document. “The conquests of biomedical research and the new social and healthcare realities that have come to pass since 1994, as well as the pronouncements of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church that have been emanated in the ambit of life and health sciences (those of the Pontiffs John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, and the documents of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pontifical Academy for Life), have made it necessary to revise and update the Charter for Healthcare Workers”, he explained. “The Charter has however kept its original structure as a tool in a serious preparation and continuing formation of healthcare workers at an ethical level, to maintain the necessary professional competence and their vocation as ministers of life”.
“Firstly, attention has been paid to a broader spectrum of people involved in the biomedical field: alongside the classic professional figures in healthcare (medical, nursing and auxiliary personnel), other figures have been considered who in various ways work in the world of health, such as biologists, pharmacists, local healthcare workers, administrators, legislators in healthcare matters, and workers in the public and private sector. Some new articles are addressed to them specifically, and a special responsibility is required of them in the performance of their service. All these workers carry out their daily practice in an interpersonal relationship, marked by the trust of a person marked by suffering and illness, who resorts to science and the knowledge of a healthcare worker, who comes towards them to assist and heal them.
The Charter seeks to support the ethical loyalty of the healthcare worker, in the choices and behaviour in which this service to life takes its form, and this loyalty is outlined following the stages of human existence – generating, living, dying – as moments of ethical and pastoral reflection.
Thus, continues Spagnolo in the section, “Generating”, “the criteria are specified further for the treatment of infertility and with reference to natural methods not only for the regulation of fertility but also as methods for obtaining a pregnancy. There is also an article on the freezing of ovarian tissue (Article 38) as an ethically sustainable option in the case of oncological therapies that may affect a woman’s fertility. The new attempts at human reproduction in the laboratory are also taken into consideration (Article 39): between human and animal gametes, the gestation of human embryos in animal or artificial wombs, the asexual reproduction of human beings by means of twin fission, cloning, or parthenogenesis other similar techniques. All these processes are contrary to the human dignity of the embryo and procreation, and are therefore considered morally unacceptable. Among prenatal diagnoses, acceptable for certain conditions, attention is instead drawn to pre-implantation diagnosis (Article 36), considered unacceptable inasmuch as it is an expression of a eugenic mentality that legitimises selective abortion to prevent the birth of children suffering from various diseases”.
In the “Living” section, the existing position regarding abortion is confirmed, with the insertion of new articles regarding embryonic reduction, interception, contragestation, anencephalic foetuses, ectopic pregnancies, and the protection of the right to life (Articles 51-59). Attention is also turned to the issue of prevention and vaccines, the subject of recent public debate (Articles 69-70). Timely from a scientific point of view is the reference to gene therapy and regenerative medicine (80-82). At the social level, the document focuses on the issue of access to medicines and technologies by the people (Article 91), access that even today, above all in developing countries and especially those characterised by political instability or limited resources, is not guaranteed to broad sectors of the population, and especially in the case of so-called ‘rare’ and ‘neglected’ diseases, accompanied by the concept of ‘orphan drugs’ (Article 92). Healthcare providers and their professional associations are asked to take the lead in raising awareness of institutions, charities and the health industry, so that the right to health protection is extended to the entire population, leading to healthcare justice, safeguarding the sustainability of both research and healthcare systems. Also new are the references to the involvement in testing of minors or adults unable to decide, on vulnerable subjects, and on women of childbearing age in emergency situations”.
“Finally, this section highlights the role of clinical ethics consultation (Article 140), which may help to identify ethical conflicts and doubts, which individual healthcare workers, patients and relatives may experience in clinical practice, thus facilitating resolution with diagnostic and therapeutic choices shared at the patient’s bedside, in the framework of values proper to medicine and ethics”.
The section on “Dying” examines the attitude towards the patient in the terminal phase of illness, “which verifies the professionalism and ethical responsibilities of healthcare workers (Article 145). In this area, a very current aspect considered by the Charter – the subject of many discussions in the Italian Parliament in these days – is the reference to the expression in advance by a patient of his wishes (Article 150) regarding the treatments he would or would not like to undergo should he no longer be able to express his consent. The Charter affirms that the reasonable will and legitimate interests of the patient should always be respected, but the doctor is not a mere executor, and conserves the right and the duty to deny a request should his conscience not permit it”.
“An equally significant theme is that of nutrition and hydration, even artificially administered (Article 152), considered to be among the basic care due to the dying, other than when they prove too burdensome to the latter or are not of any benefit. Their unjustified suspension may have the sense of an act of euthanasia, but they remain obligatory inasmuch as and to the point that they can be shown to achieve their aim, which is the hydration and the nourishment of the patient. The ethical validity of palliative deep sedation in the phases close to the moment of death are confirmed, performed according to correct ethical protocols and submitted to constant monitoring”.
This section takes as its basis “the protection of the dignity of dying, in the sense of respecting the sick in the final phase of life, excluding both the anticipation of death (euthanasia) and its deferment with so-called ‘aggressive’ medical treatment”.
“Certainly, the Charter cannot be exhaustive with regard to all the problems and issues that arise in the context of health and sickness”, Professor Spagnolo concluded, “but it has been produced in order to offer the clearest guidelines possible for the ethical problems that must be faced in the world of health in general, in harmony with the teachings of Christ, and with the Church’s Magisterium”.
The new references of the Magisterium, after 1994, that appear in the Charter are:
John Paul II’s Encyclical letter Evangelium vitae (1995);
John Paul II, Discourse to participants in the International Congress on transplants (29 August 2000), no. 4: AAS 92 (2000), 823-824;
The Encyclical Letters of Benedict XVI, Spe salvi on Christian hope (2007) and Caritas in veritate (2009);
Benedict XVI, Discourse to participants in the International Congress promoted by the Pontifical Academy for Life on the theme of organ donation (2008);
Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, on the proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World (2013);
Pope Francis, Message to the participants in the General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of its institution (2014);
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Responsa ad quaestiones ab Episcopali Conferentia Foederatorum Americae Statuum propositas circa cibum et potum artificialiter praebenda (2007);
The Instruction of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Dignitas personae (2008);
Pontifical Academy for Life, Prospects for Xenotransplantation - Scientific Aspects and Ethical Considerations (Vatican City, 2001);
Pontifical Academy for Life, Moral reflections on vaccines prepared from cells derived from aborted human foetuses (2005).
(Vatican Radio) A joint effort between art and mercy has made it possible for one of the most troubled countries in the world to receive a substantial donation for its children in need of medical care.When the project entitled “Christo’s box, between Art and Mercy, A Gift for Bangui” was presented in May 2016 at the Vatican Museums, Pope Francis had made it quite clear that he wanted the proceeds to go to the Bangui Children’s Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo.200,000 euros is the sum that has been raised and enthusiastically received by the Pope who has expressed his wish that it be donated to the Hospital so it can care for all poor children “without distinction of religious belonging, because all children need care and attention.” At the heart of the project, a well-known contemporary artist, the Bulgarian-born US citizen Christo, who “packaged” a fragment of Raphael's ‘The School of Athens’. ...
(Vatican Radio) A joint effort between art and mercy has made it possible for one of the most troubled countries in the world to receive a substantial donation for its children in need of medical care.
When the project entitled “Christo’s box, between Art and Mercy, A Gift for Bangui” was presented in May 2016 at the Vatican Museums, Pope Francis had made it quite clear that he wanted the proceeds to go to the Bangui Children’s Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
200,000 euros is the sum that has been raised and enthusiastically received by the Pope who has expressed his wish that it be donated to the Hospital so it can care for all poor children “without distinction of religious belonging, because all children need care and attention.”
At the heart of the project, a well-known contemporary artist, the Bulgarian-born US citizen Christo, who “packaged” a fragment of Raphael's ‘The School of Athens’. The work was presented by the artist himself at the Raphael Hall at the Vatican Pinacoteca in collaboration with the Vatican Secretariat for Communications and the Vatican Museums.
Christo is well known for his works of art that involve “packaging” or wrapping – and include monumental intervention such as the “packaging” of Rome's Porta Pinciana in 1974 and of Berlin's Reichstag in 1995.
The idea at the root of the project stemmed from a work of art that Christo created through “packaging” a container for a DVD series produced by CTV entitled “Discovering the Vatican”. The cover of the DVD set represents a figure from Raphael's ‘The School of Athens’, one of his frescoes to be seen in the Vatican Museums.
The “boxes”, each one numbered and signed by the artist, were auctioned off by Christie's for 1,000 euros each in London, Turin, Milan and Rome.
At the launch of the project, the then Vatican Museums director, Antonio Paolucci, remarked that “Many years ago, Pope Julius II used Raphael to celebrate himself and his Church, (…) five centuries have gone by and another Pope is using a Raphael for a work of mercy to help one of the poorest and most marginalized countries of sub-Saharan Africa”.
Pope Francis visited the Bangui Pediatric Hospital during his Apostolic visit to the DRC in November 2015 and was reportedly struck by the fact that there was no equipment at the hospital to provide oxygen to or to resuscitate children. And so, once he was informed of the initiative, he said that he wanted the proceeds to go to those facilities.
A Japanese Catholic Samurai who died in the 17th century in exile, will be declared Blessed during a Mass in Osaka on Tuesday. Pope Francis has sent Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints, to preside over the Beatification Mass of Justo Takayama Ukon.Born into a family of landowners in 1552, Ukon converted to Christianity at the age of 12 after coming into contact with Jesuit missionaries. When Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi took power and prohibited the practice of Christianity, Ukon refused to follow the great feudal lords and abandon his faith. He lost his properties, position, social status, honor and respectability and was eventually forced into exile. With 300 other Japanese Christians he fled to Manila where, just 40 days after his arrival, he fell ill and died on Feb. 4, 1615. Pope Francis signed a decree on 21 January 2016 clearing Ukon&...
A Japanese Catholic Samurai who died in the 17th century in exile, will be declared Blessed during a Mass in Osaka on Tuesday. Pope Francis has sent Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints, to preside over the Beatification Mass of Justo Takayama Ukon.
Born into a family of landowners in 1552, Ukon converted to Christianity at the age of 12 after coming into contact with Jesuit missionaries. When Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi took power and prohibited the practice of Christianity, Ukon refused to follow the great feudal lords and abandon his faith. He lost his properties, position, social status, honor and respectability and was eventually forced into exile. With 300 other Japanese Christians he fled to Manila where, just 40 days after his arrival, he fell ill and died on Feb. 4, 1615. Pope Francis signed a decree on 21 January 2016 clearing Ukon’s way for Beatification as a martyr.
Speaking about the missionary zeal of Ukon, Card. Amato told Vatican Radio that he started seminaries in Azuchi, Takatsuki and Osaka.with the purpose of training Japanese missionaries and catechists. Among these seminarians, he said, were many martyrs, among them Jesuit St. Paul Miki. Because of Ukon’s work, the number of Christians grew dramatically in the region he was active, and in 1583 there were as many as 25,000 of them out of a population of 30,000. Ukon also found the Church in Osaka. Between 1585 and 1587, some thousand faithful were baptized in Akashi.
Argentine Jesuit, Father Renzo De Luca, the director of the 26 Martyrs Museum in Nagasaki said, "As a Christian, as a leader, as a cultural person, as a pioneer of adaptation, Ukon is a role model and there are many things we can learn from him.” “In this era of political distrust, I think he will be helpful for people other than Christians," Fr. De Luca said.
IMAGE: CNS/Paul HaringBy Junno Arocho EstevesVATICANCITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis named Archbishop Angelo Becciu, Vatican substitute secretary of state,as his special delegate and sole spokesman to the Sovereign Military Order ofMalta."Untilthe end of your mandate, that is until the conclusion of the extraordinary chapter,which will elect the grand master, you will be my exclusive spokesperson in allmatters relating to relations between the Apostolic See and the order," thepope wrote in a letter to Archbishop Becciu Feb. 2. The specialdelegate, the pope said, also will work closely with Fra Ludwig Hoffmann vonRumerstein, the chivalric order's temporary head, to carry out "theappropriate renewal of the order's constitution."Released bythe Vatican Feb. 4, the pope's letter to Archbishop Becciu came after several tenseweeks which led to the Jan. 24 resignation of Fra Matthew Festing as grandmaster of the order. The pope'sletter made no mention of how Archbishop Becciu's responsibilities ...
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring
By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis named Archbishop Angelo Becciu, Vatican substitute secretary of state, as his special delegate and sole spokesman to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
"Until the end of your mandate, that is until the conclusion of the extraordinary chapter, which will elect the grand master, you will be my exclusive spokesperson in all matters relating to relations between the Apostolic See and the order," the pope wrote in a letter to Archbishop Becciu Feb. 2.
The special delegate, the pope said, also will work closely with Fra Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein, the chivalric order's temporary head, to carry out "the appropriate renewal of the order's constitution."
Released by the Vatican Feb. 4, the pope's letter to Archbishop Becciu came after several tense weeks which led to the Jan. 24 resignation of Fra Matthew Festing as grand master of the order.
The pope's letter made no mention of how Archbishop Becciu's responsibilities would overlap with those of Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, the current cardinal patron of the order.
The mandate of the pope's special delegate to the order has similar responsibilities to that of the cardinal patron, who officially has "the task of promoting the spiritual interests of the order and its members and relations between the Holy See and the order," according to the order's constitution.
"I delegate to you, therefore, all the necessary powers to decide any issues that may arise concerning the implementation of the mandate entrusted to you," the pope told Archbishop Becciu.
Echoing his letter to members of the order Jan. 28, the pope said that as his special delegate, Archbishop Becciu "will take care of all matters relating to the spiritual and moral renewal of the order," particularly its professed members.
Pope Francis added that the Italian archbishop will work closely with von Rumerstein "for the greater good of the order and reconciliation between all its members, religious and lay."
The Order of Malta is made up of more than 13,500 knights and dames; about 50 of them are professed religious who have taken vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
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IMAGE: CNS photo/Giorgio Onorati, EPABy Junno Arocho EstevesVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A culture thatprotects life fromconception to natural deathis the only answer to theidea that some lives are expendable due to inconvenience or populationcontrol, Pope Francis said. Followingin the path of St. Teresaof Kolkata, Christians are called to stand up and defend the lives ofthe unborn and the vulnerable, the pope said Feb. 5 in his remarks after the recitation of theAngelus prayer."Weare close to and pray together for the children who are in danger with the terminationof pregnancy, as well as for peoplewho are at the end of their lives; every life is sacred," he said. The popecommemorated the Day for Life celebration promoted by the Italian bishops' conference. The theme ofthe 2017 commemoration was "Women and men for life in the footsteps of St.Teresa of Kolkata."CitingMother Teresa's call to fight for life, the pope joined the Italian bishops' appealfor "courageous educational action in fa...
IMAGE: CNS photo/Giorgio Onorati, EPA
By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A culture that protects life from conception to natural death is the only answer to the idea that some lives are expendable due to inconvenience or population control, Pope Francis said.
Following in the path of St. Teresa of Kolkata, Christians are called to stand up and defend the lives of the unborn and the vulnerable, the pope said Feb. 5 in his remarks after the recitation of the Angelus prayer.
"We are close to and pray together for the children who are in danger with the termination of pregnancy, as well as for people who are at the end of their lives; every life is sacred," he said.
The pope commemorated the Day for Life celebration promoted by the Italian bishops' conference. The theme of the 2017 commemoration was "Women and men for life in the footsteps of St. Teresa of Kolkata."
Citing Mother Teresa's call to fight for life, the pope joined the Italian bishops' appeal for "courageous educational action in favor of human life."
"Let us remember the words of Mother Teresa: 'Life is beauty, admire it; life is life, fight for it!' both for the baby about to be born and the person who is close to death," he said, repeating again, "Every life is sacred!"
Before reciting the Angelus prayer with pilgrims, the pope reflected on the Sunday Gospel reading in which Jesus tells his disciples they are "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world."
While Christians are called to be reflection of Christ's life "not in words, but by our deeds," they must also take on the characteristics of salt, which gives "flavor to life with the faith and love that Christ has given us."
Another fundamental quality of salt that Christians should adopt, he continued, is its ability to preserve from corruption, keeping away "the polluting germs of selfishness, envy and malicious gossip."
Pope Francis' call for an authentic witness free from gossip and maliciousness came one day after copies of a poster were plastered around the Rome city center criticizing Pope Francis.
Written in Roman dialect and featuring a stern-faced picture of the pope, the poster said: "Ah Francis, you've taken over congregations, removed priests, decapitated the Order of Malta and the Franciscans of the Immaculate, ignored cardinals ... but where is your mercy?"
The posters, which were placed anonymously, were taken down or covered with a sign that read "illegal posting" by the city of Rome. The Vatican issued no response to them.
The germs of selfishness and gossip, the pope said in his address, "ruin the fabric of communities, which instead should shine as places of hospitality, solidarity and reconciliation."
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Copyright © 2017 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- A meteor over Lake Michigan lit up the sky Monday morning across several states in the Midwest....
BERLIN (AP) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel's Bavarian conservative allies threw their weight Monday behind her quest for a fourth term, putting aside a long-running argument over her migrant policies as Germany prepares for a national election in September....
BEIRUT (AP) -- Syria's ragtag rebel groups and insurgents trying to oust President Bashar Assad have turned their guns on each other in some of the worst infighting yet, with al-Qaida-linked fighters battling other factions in a split between supporters and opponents of the Russian-led push for a new peace process for the war-torn country....
SYDNEY (AP) -- Seven percent of priests in Australia's Catholic Church were accused of sexually abusing children over the past several decades, a lawyer said Monday as officials investigating institutional abuse across Australia revealed for the first time the extent of the crisis....
