Cardinal Lozano: Yes to scientific advances but not at the cost of human dignity

Warsaw, Poland, Oct 6, 2008 / 13:14 pm

The president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, addressed the XV Congress of the Federation of European Catholic Doctors meeting in Danzk, Poland. In his remarks, he encouraged scientific advances but not when they harm human dignity.

According to the L’Osservatore Romano, the cardinal said doctors should spearhead the battle against ideologies proposed by some international organizations, which seek to impose a kind of social engineering in which man loses his identity as a person.

Cardinal Lozano said, “The mission of doctors today unavoidably demands responding to urgent ethical and moral questions.  We ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten us not only to find adequate responses but also to be Christ in the field of medicine for all of society.”

In referring to laws that often are in opposition to ethical principles and violate human dignity, the cardinal pointed out that Catholic doctors should not allow themselves to be “sidetracked by secularism imposed through certain policies and should seek to contain it, presenting the true face of healthcare.”

Cardinal Lozano pointed to some signs of hope, “especially in central eastern Europe where Catholic doctors seem to be more interested in this debate.”  

“There are reasons to hope for an awakening of consciences and visible efforts, especially in Poland and Slovakia which, as countries of Catholic tradition, have courageous doctors who kept their sense of duty alive in environments contrary if not hostile to human life,” he said.