The Pontifical Council for Pastoral

Assistance to Health Care Workers

THE CHARTER FOR
HEALTH CARE WORKERS
Vatican City - 1995
The result of long, careful, and multidisciplinary preparation, The Charter for
Health Care Workers, has now been published, through the initiative of the
Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers.
t is certainly a source of satisfaction that the Congregation for the !octrine of
the "aith has approved and confirmed, both fully and swiftly, the te#t of the
Charter which was submitted to it $ one more reason to recogni%e its thorough
validity, as well as a concrete confirmation of the effectiveness of the
interdepartmental cooperation which was e#pressly desired by the &otu Proprio
instituting the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers.
There are many reasons why we must know, disseminate, and apply the
directives contained in this deontological code for health workers. This
publication fills a gap which has been clearly observed not only in the Church,
but by all those identifying with the Church's primary task to advance and defend
life.
The e#traordinary progress of science and technology in the immense field of
health policy and care have made bioethics, or the ethics of life, a discipline in its
own right. Hence the need $ rigorously responded to by the Charter for
Health Care Workers $ to provide an organic, e#haustive summary of the
Church's position on all that concerns affirming the primary, absolute value of
life in the health field $ of all life and of the life of every human being.
Conse(uently, after an introduction on the figure and essential tasks of health
workers $ or, rather, )ministers of life) $ the Charter groups together its directives
around the threefold sub*ect$matter of generation, living, and dying. And so that
sub*ective interpretation will not prevail over the ob*ective value of this content $
as often happens $ in drafting the document there has almost invariably been a
preference for drawing upon the words of the +upreme Pontiffs or of the
authoritative te#ts published by the departments of the ,oman Curia. These
references plainly demonstrate that the Church's position on fundamental
-
problems in bioethics $ while maintaining the unalterable limits of advancing and
defending life $ is highly constructive and open to the true progress of science
and technology, when firmly *oined to that of civili%ation.
At the beginning of the Charter it is stated that the health worker's activity is )a
form of Christian witness.)
With humility $ but also with pride $ we can thus regard this Charter for Health
Care Workers as an integral part of the )new evangeli%ation,) which, in serving
life, particularly in those suffering, following the e#ample of Christ's ministry,
encounters its decisive dimension.
t is hoped, then, that this tool will come to form part of the initial and ongoing
training of health workers, so that their witness will be a demonstration that the
Church, in defending life, opens her heart and her arms to all men, for Christ's
message is addressed to all.
CONTENTS
Preface .
ntroduction/ &inisters of 0ife 1
- P!OC!EATON
2enetic manipulation 34
"ertility control 3.
Artificial procreation 45
- "#E
6eginning of life and birth 7-
The value of life/ unity of body and
soul 74
ndisposability and inviolability of life 7.
,ight to life 78
Prevention .-
+ickness .3
!iagnosis .7
Prenatal diagnosis .9
Therapy and rehabilitation .8
3
Analgesia and anesthesia 93
The informed consent of the patient 97
,esearch and e#perimentation 99
!onation and transplant of organs 13
!ependency/ drugs, alcoholism,
smoking, psychopharmaceuticals 11
Psychology and psychotherapy 84
Pastoral care and the sacrament of
Anointing of the +ick 8.
- $EATH
Terminal illnesses :4
!eath with dignity :9
The use of pain$killers for the
terminally ill ::
Telling the truth to a dying person -53
The moment of death -57
,eligious assistance for the dying -59
The suppression of life -58
Abortion ---
;uthanasia --9
Analytical nde# -3-
Cover Price/ -3 ;uro plus shipping costs.
+pecial discounts are offered for large orders.
,e(uests for the Charter and payment should be sent to
The Pontifical Council
for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers
<atican City
Tel/ =4:$59.9:884-48, 9:887135, 9:8871:: $ "a#/ =4:$59.9:884-4:
;$&ail/ opersanit>htlhwork.va

Charter For Health Care Workers:
Preface%ntro&uction
4
Car&inal #ioren'o An(elini
Presi&ent of the Pontifical Council for
Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers
After long, careful and multi?discipline preparation, the Charter for Health Care
Workers is now being published at the initiative of the Pontifical Council for
Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers.
@othing happens by chance in human affairs, and even chronological
coincidence can have symbolic meanings. n fact, the awaited document is being
published a few months after the institution A"ebruary --, -::7B, by the Holy
"ather, Cohn Paul , of the Pontifical Academy for 0ife, which ideally, operatively
and in its statutary finality is closely associated with the tasks of the Dffice for
Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers.
And this Dffice cannot but feel flattered that the Congregation for the !octrine
of the "aith approved and (uickly confirmed in its entirety the te#t of the Charter
submitted to it/ another reason for its full validity and secure authority, but also a
concrete proof of the inter?dicastery cooperation e#pressly desired in the motu
proprio which set up the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care
Workers.
There are many reasons for recommending a knowledge, the divulgation and the
application of the directives contained in this deontological code for those engaged
in health care. ts publication fills a lacuna which was strongly felt not only in the
Church but also by all those who empathi%e with the primary task it fulfills of
promoting and defending life.
The e#traordinary advances of science and technology in the very vast field of
health and medicine have produced an independent discipline called bioethics, or
ethics of life. This e#plains why, especially from Pius E onwards, the
magisterium of the Church has intervened with increasing interest, with consistent
firmness and ever more e#plicit directives concerning all the comple# problems
arising from the indissoluble bond between medicine and morality. @one of these
problems can be considered neutral at this time in relation to Hippocratic ethics
and Christian morality. Hence the re(uirement, strictly respected in the Charter for
Health Care Workers, for an organic and e#haustive synthesis of the Church's
position on all that pertains to the affirmation, in the field of health care, of the
primary and absolute value of life/ of all life and the life of every human being.
Therefore, after an introduction on the figure and essential tasks of health care
workers, or better, of the )ministers of life,) the Charter gathers its directives
around the triple theme of procreation, life and death. And so that F as often
7
happens F doubtful interpretations may not prevail over the ob*ective worth of the
contents, in the redaction of the document the interventions of the +upreme
Pontiffs and authoritative te#ts issued by the Dffices of the ,oman Curia have
almost always been (uoted directly. These interventions show conclusively that the
position of the Church on the fundamental problems of bioethics, while
safeguarding the sacred limits imposed by the promotion and defense of life, is
highly constructive and open to true progress in science and technology, when this
progress is welded to that of civili%ation.
At the beginning of the Charter the activity of the health care worker is said to
be )a form of Christian witness.)
Humbly, but also proudly, we can say that this Charter for Health Care Workers
is part of the )new evangeli%ation) which, in service to life, especially for those
who suffer, has, in imitation of Christ's ministry, its (ualifying moment.
The hope then is that this work$tool may become an integral part of the initial
and ongoing formation of health care workers, so that their witness may be proof
that the Church, in its defense of life, opens its heart and its arms to all people
since Christ's message is addressed to all people.
.
Charter For Health Care Workers:
)inisters Of "ife
1* The work of health care persons is a very valuable service to life. t e#presses a
profoundly human and Christian commitment, undertaken and carried out not only
as a technical activity but also as one of dedication to and love of neighbor. t is )a
form of Christian witness.)
-
)Their profession calls for them to be guardians and
servants of human life) A;vangelium <itae G8:B.
0ife is a primary and fundamental good of the human person. Caring for life, then,
e#presses, first and foremost, a truly human activity in defense of physical life.
t is to this that professional or voluntary health care workers devote their activity.
These are doctors, nurses, hospital chaplains, men and women religious,
administrators, voluntary care givers for those who suffer, those involved in the
diagnosis, treatment and recovery of human health. The principal and symbolic
e#pression of )taking care) is their vigilant and caring presence at the sickbed. t is
here that medical and nursing activity e#presses its lofty human and Christian
value.
+* Health care activity is based on an interpersonal relationship of a special kind. t
is )a meeting between trust and conscience.)
3
The )trust) of one who is ill and
suffering and hence in need, who entrusts himself to the )conscience) of another
who can help him in his need and who comes to his assistance to care for him and
cure him. This is the health care worker.
4

"or him )the sick person is never merely a clinical case) F an anonymous
individual on whom to apply the fruit of his knowledge F )but always a 'sick
person,' towards whom) he shows a sincere attitude of )sympathy,) in the
ethymological sense of the term.
7

This re(uires love/ availability, attention, understanding, sharing, benevolence,
patience, dialogue. )+cientific and professional e#pertise) is not enoughH what is
re(uired is )personal empathy with the concrete situations of each patient.)
.

,* To safeguard, recover and better the state of health means serving life in its
totality. n fact, )sickness and suffering are phenomena which, when e#amined in
depth, ask (uestions which go beyond medicine to the essence of the human
9
condition in this world. t is easy to see, therefore, how important in socio?medical
service is the presence...of workers who are guided by an holistic human vision of
illness and hence can adopt a wholly human approach to the suffering patient.)
9

n this way, the health care worker, if animated by a truly Christian spirit, will
more easily become aware of the demanding missionary dimension of his
profession/ )his entire humanity comes into play) here )and nothing less than
complete commitment is re(uired of him.)
1

To speak of mission is to speak of vocation/
8
the response to a transcendent call
which takes shape in the suffering and appealing countenance of the patient in his
care. )To care lovingly for a sick person is to fulfill a divine mission, which alone
can motivate and sustain the most disinterested, available and faithful commitment,
and gives it a priestly value.)
:
)When he presents the heart of his redemptive
mission, Cesus says/ ' came that they may have life, and have it abundantly' ACn
-5/-5B.... t is precisely in this 'life' that all the aspects and stages of human life
achieve their full significance) A;vangelium <itae G-B.
The health care worker is the good +amaritan of the parable, who stops beside the
wounded person, becoming his )neighbor in charity Acf. 0k -5/3:?41B.
-5

-* This means that health?care is a ministerial instrument of 2od's outpouring love
for the suffering personH and, at the same time, it is an act of love of 2od, shown in
the loving care for the person. "or the Christian, it is an actuali%ed continuation of
the healing love of Christ, who )went about doing good and healing everyone)
AActs -5/48B.
--
And at the same time it is love for Christ/ he is the sick person F )
was sick) F who assumes the face of a suffering brotherH since he considers as
done to himself F )you did it to me) F the loving care of one's brother Acf. &t 3./
4-75B.
-3

Profession, vocation and mission meet and, in the Christian vision of life and
health, they are mutually integrated. +een in this light, health care assumes a new
and more e#alted meaning as )service to life) and )healing ministry.)
-4
&inister of
life,
-7
the health care worker is )the minister of that 2od, who in +cripture is
presented as 'a lover of life') AWis --/39B.
-.
To serve life is to serve 2od in the
person/ it is to become )a collaborator with 2od in restoring health to the sick
body)
-9
and to give praise and glory to 2od in the loving welcome to life,
especially if it be weak and ill.
-1

5* The Church, which considers )service to the sick as an integral part of
its mission,)
-8
assumes it as an e#pression of its ministry.
-:
)The
1
Church...has always seen medicine as an important support for its own
redeeming mission to humanity.) n fact, )service to man's spirit cannot
be fully effective e#cept it be service to his psycho?physical unity. The
Church knows well that physical evil imprisons the spirit, *ust as
spiritual evil sub*ects the body.)
35

t follows that the of health care workers is a sharing in the pastoral
3-
and
evangeli%ing
33
work of the Church. +ervice to life becomes a ministry of salvation,
that is, a message that activates the redeeming love of Christ. )!octors, nurses,
other health care workers, voluntary assistants, are called to be the living image of
Christ and of his Church in loving the sick and the suffering/)
34
witnesses of )the
gospel of life.)
37

.* +ervice to life is such only if it is faithful to the moral law, which e#presses
e#igently its value and its tasks. 6esides technico?professional competence, the
health care worker has ethical responsibilities. )The ethical law, founded on
respect for the dignity of the person and on the rightsof the sick, should illuminate
and govern both the research phase and the application of the findings.)
3.
n
fidelity to the moral law, the health care worker actuates his fidelity to the human
person whose worth is guaranteed by the law, and to 2od, whose wisdom is
e#pressed by the law.
He draws his behavioral directives from that field of normative ethics which
nowadays is called bioethics. Here, with vigilant and careful attention, the
magisterium of the Church has intervened, with reference to (uestions and disputes
arising from the biomedical advances and from the changing cultural ethos. This
bioethical magisterium is for the health care worker, Catholic or otherwise, a
source of principles and norms of conduct which enlighten his conscience and
direct him F especially in the comple#ity of modern bio?technical possibilities F
in his choices, always respecting life and its dignity.
/* The continuous progress of medicine demands of the health care
worker a thorough preparation and ongoing formation so as to ensure,
also by personal studies, the re(uired competence and fitting
professional e#pertise.
+ide?by?side with this, they should be given a solid )ethico?religious formation,)
39
which )promotes in them an appreciation of human and Christian values and
refines their moral conscience.) There is need )to develop in them an authentic
8
faith and a true sense of morality, in a sincere search for a religious relationship
with 2od, in whom all ideals of goodness and truth are based.)
31

)All health care workers should be taught morality and bioethics.)
38
To achieve
this. those responsible for their formation should endeavor to have chairs and
courses in bioethics put in place.
0* Health care workers, especially doctors, cannot be left to their own
devices and burdened with unbearable responsibilities when faced with
ever more comple# and problematic clinical cases arising from
biotechnical possibilities F many of which are at an e#perimental stage
F open to modern medicine, and from the socio?medical import of
certain (uestions.
To facilitate choices and to keep a check on them, the setting up of ethical
committees in the principal medical centers should be encouraged. n these
commissions, medical competence and evaluation is confronted and integrated
with that of other presences at the patient's side, so as to safeguard the latter's
dignity and medical responsibility itself.
3:

9* The sphere of action of health care workers consists, in general, of
what is contained in the terms and concepts of health and medicine
especially.
The term and concept of health embraces all that pertains to prevention, diagnosis,
treatment and rehabilitation for greater e(uilibrium and the physical, psychic and
spiritual well?being of the person. The term and concept of medicine, on the other
hand, refers to all that concerns health policy, legislation, programming and
structures.
45

The full concept of health reflects directly on that of medicine. n fact, )institutions
are very important and indispensableH however, no institution can of itself
substitute for the human heart, human compassion, human love, human initiative,
when it is a (uestion of helping another in his suffering.)
4-

The meeting and the practical synthesis of the demands and duties arising from the
concepts of health and medicine are the basis and way for medicine. This must be
present both at the personal?professional level F the doctor?patient relationship
F and at the socio?policy level so as to safeguard in institutional and
technological structures the human?Christian interests in society and the
institutional and technological infrastructures. The first but not without the second,
:
since such humani%ation as well as being a love?charity task is )an obligation of
*ustice.)
43
)IThis humani%ation strengthensJ the bases of the 'civili%ation of life and
love,' without which the life of individuals and of society itself loses its most
genuinely human (uality) A;vangelium <itae G31B.
11* The present charter wants to guarantee the ethical fidelity of the
health care worker/ the choices and behavior enfleshing service to life.
This fidelity is outlined through the stages of human e#istence/ procreation, living,
dying, as reference points for ethical?pastoral reflections.
11* )n the biblical narrative, the difference between man and other
creatures is shown above all by the fact that only the creation of man is
presented as the result of a special decision on the part of 2od, a
deliberation to establish a particular and specific bond with the Creator/
'0et us make man in our image, after our likeness' A2en -/39B. The life
which 2od offers to man is a gift by which 2od shares something of
himself with his creature.)
44

)2od himself who said, 'it is not good for man to be alone' A2en 3/-8B and 'who
made man from the beginning male and female' A&t -:/7B, wished to share with
man a certain participation in his own creative work. Thus he blessed male and
female saying/ 'ncrease and multiply' A2en -/38B. The generation of a new human
being is therefore )an event which is deeply human and full of religious meaning,
insofar as it involves both the spouses, who form 'one flesh' A2en 3/37B, and 2od
who makes himself present.)
47

Health care workers lend their service whenever they help the parents to procreate
responsibly, supporting the conditions, removing obstacles and protecting them
from invasive techni(ues unworthy of human procreation.
Genetic manipulation
1+* The ever?widening knowledge of the human genetic patrimony
AgenomeB, the individuation and mapping of the activity of the genes,
with the possibility of transferring them, modifying them or substituting
them, opens up untold prospects to medicine and at the same time
creates new and delicate ethical problems.
n moral evaluation a distinction must be made between strictly therapeutic
manipulation, which aims to cure illnesses caused by genetic or chromosome
-5
anomalies Agenetic therapyB, from manipulation altering the human genetic
patrimony. A curative intervention, which is also called )genetic surgery,) )will be
considered desirable in principle. provided its purpose is the real promotion of the
personal well?being of the individual, without damaging his integrity or worsening
his condition of life.)
4.

1,* Dn the other hand, interventions which are not directly curative, the
purpose of which is )the production of human beings selected according
to se# or other predetermined (ualities,) which change the genotype of
the individual and of the human species, )are contrary to the personal
dignity of the human being, to his integrity and to his identity. Therefore
they can be in no way *ustified on the prete#t that they will produce
some beneficial results for humanity in the future,)
49
)no social or
scientific usefulness and no ideological purpose could ever *ustify an
intervention on the human genome unless it be therapeutic, that is its
finality must be the natural development of the human being.)
41

1-* n any case, this type of intervention )should not pre*udice the
beginnings of human life, that is, procreation linked to not only the
biological but also the spiritual union of the parents, united in the bond
of matrimony.)
48

The negative ethical evaluations outlined here apply to all genetic manipulatory
interventions concerned with embryos. Dn the other hand there are no moral
ob*ections to the manipulation of human body cells for curative purposes and the
manipulation of animal or vegetable cells for pharmaceutical purposes.
Fertility control
15* )Without intending to underestimate the other ends of marriage, it
must be said that true married love and the whole structure of family life
which results from it is directed to disposing the spouses to cooperate
valiantly with the love of the Creator and +avior, who through them will
increase and enrich his family from day to day.)
4:
)When a new person
is born of the con*ugal union of the two, he brings with him into the
world a particular image and likeness of 2od himself/ the genealogy of
the person is inscribed in the very biology of generation. n affirming
that the spouses, as parents, cooperate with 2od the Creator in
conceiving and giving birth to a new human being, we are not speaking
--
merely with reference to the laws of biology.... 6egetting is the
continuation of Creation.)
75

)Those are considered to e#ercise responsible parenthood who prudently and
generously decide to have a large family, or who, for serious reasons and with due
respect for the moral law, choose to have no more children for the time being or
even for an indeterminate period.)
7-
n the latter case there is the problem of birth
control.
1.* n evaluating behavior with regard to this control, the moral
*udgment )does not depend solely on good intentions and on the
evaluation of motivesH it is determined by ob*ective criteria, criteria
drawn from the dignity of the human person and human action.)
73
t is a
(uestion of the dignityof the man and the woman and of their most
intimate relationship. ,espect for this dignity shows the truth of their
married love.
With regard to the marriage act, this e#presses )the indissoluble bond between the
two meanings of the act/ the unitive meaning and the procreative meaning.)
74
n
fact, the acts by which the partners fully e#press themselves and which intensify
their union are the same ones that generate life and vice$versa.
77

0ove which uses )body language) to e#press itself is at once unitive and
procreative/ )it clearly implies both spousal and parental significance.)
7.

This bond is intrinsic to the marriage act/ )man may not break it on his own
initiative,) without denying the dignity proper to the person and )the inner truth of
married love.)
79

1/* Therefore, while it is lawful, for grave reasons, to take advantage of
a knowledge of the woman's fertility and forego the use of marriage in
the fertile periods, recourse to contraceptive practice is illicit.
71

@atural methods imply a marriage act which, on the one hand does not result in a
new life and which, on the other hand, is still intrinsically life?directed.
78
)t is
precisely this respect which makes legitimate, at the service of responsible
procreation, the use of natural methods of regulating fertility. "rom the scientific
point of view, these methods are becoming more and more accurate and make it
possible in practice to make choices in harmony with moral values.)
7:

-3
Artificial means contradict )the nature of the man and the woman and of their most
intimate relationship.)
.5
Here se#ual union is separated from procreation/ the act is
deprived of its natural openness to life. )Thus the original import of human
se#uality is distorted and falsified, and the two meanings, unitive and procreative,
inherent in the very nature of the con*ugal act, are artificially separated/ in this way
the marriage union is betrayed and its fruitfulness is sub*ected to the caprice of the
couple.)
.-

This occurs in )every action which, either in anticipation of the con*ugal act, or in
its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural conse(uences, proposes,
whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible.)
.3

10* Here, then, is )the difference, both anthropological and moral,
between contraception and recourse to the rhythm of the cycle.)
.4

)t is not a distinction simply of techni(ues or methods, where the decisive element
would be the artificial or natural character of the procedure.)
.7
t is a difference
involving )two irreconcilable concepts of the human person and of human
se#uality.)
..

The )difference,) then, must be recogni%ed and illustrated/ )The ultimate reason for
every natural method is not *ust its effectiveness or biological reliability, but its
consistency with the Christian vision of se#uality as e#pressive of married love.)
.9

)t is fre(uently asserted that contraception, if made safe and available to all, is the
most effective remedy against abortion.... When looked at carefully, this ob*ection
is clearly unfounded.... ndeed, the pro$abortion culture is especially strong
precisely where the Church's teaching on contraception is re*ected.)
.1

19* ,ather than directions for use, natural methods are in keeping with
the meaning of con*ugal love, which gives direction to the life of the
couple/ )The choice of the natural rhythms involves accepting the cycle
of the person, that is the woman, and thereby accepting dialogue,
reciprocal respect, shared responsibility and self?control.... n this
conte#t...con*ugal communion is enriched with those values of
tenderness and affection which constitute the inner soul of human
se#uality, in its physical dimension also.)
.8

+1* Health care workers can contribute, when opportunities occur in
their field, towards an acceptance of this human and Christian concept
of se#uality by making available to married people, and even before that
-4
to young people, the re(uired information for responsible behavior,
respectful of the special dignity of human se#uality.
.:

This is why the Church appeals to their )responsibility) in )effectively helping
couples to live their love with respect for the structures and finalities of the
con*ugal act which e#presses that love.)
95

Artiicial procreation
+1* The application to humans of biotechnology learned from animal
fertili%ation has made possible various interventions in human
procreation, giving rise to serious (uestions of moral lawfulness. )The
various techni(ues of artificial reproduction, which would seem to be at
the service of life and which are fre(uently used with this intention,
actually open the door to new threats against life.)
9-

The evaluative ethical criterion must take account of the originality of human
procreation, which )derives from the originality itself of the human person.)
93

)@ature itself dictates that the transmission of human life be a personal and
conscious act and, as such, sub*ect to the most holy laws of 2od/ immutable and
inviolable laws which must be acknowledged and observed.)
94
This personal act is
the intimate union of the love of the spouses who, in giving themselves completely
to each other, give life. t is a single, indivisible act, at once unitive and
procreative, con*ugal and parental.
97

This act F )an e#pression of the reciprocal gift which, in the words of +cripture,
brings about a union 'in one flesh')
9.
F is the source of life.
++* Humans are not at liberty to be ignorant of and to ignore the
meanings and values intrinsic to human life from its very beginning.
)And therefore means cannot be used nor laws followed which may be
licit in the transmission of animal or vegetable life.)
99
The dignity of the
human person demands that it come into being as a gift of 2od and as
the fruit of the con*ugal act, which is proper and specific to the unitive
and procreative love between the spouses, an act which of its very
nature is irreplaceable.
;very means and medical intervention, in the field of procreation, must always be
by way of assistance and never substitution of the marriage act. n fact, )the doctor
is at the service of people and human procreation/ he has no authority to do as he
wills with them or to make decisions about them. &edical intervention respects the
-7
dignity of the persons when it aims at helping the marriage act.... Dn the contrary,
sometimes medical intervention replaces the con*ugal act.... n this case, the
medical action is not, as it should be, at the service of the marriage union, but it
appropriates the procreative function and thus is contrary to the dignity and
inalienable rights of the spouses and of the e#pected child.)
91

+,* )The use of such artificial means is not necessarily forbidden if their
function is merely to facilitate the natural act, or to ensure that a
normally performed act reaches its proper end.)
98
This is homologous
artificial insemination, that is, within matrimony with the semen of the
partner, when this is obtained through a normal marriage act.
+-* 6ut homologous "<;T A"ertili%ation in vitro with embryo transferB
is illicit because conception is not the result of a con*ugal act F )the
fruit of the con*ugal act specific to the love between the spouses)
9:
F
but outside it/ in vitro through techni(ues which determine the
conditions and decide the effect.
15
This is not in accord with the logic of
)donation,) proper to human procreation, but )production) and
)dominion,) proper to things and effects. n this case the child is not
born as a )gift) of love, but as a laboratory )product.)
1-

Df itself, "<;T )separates the acts which are destined for human procreation in
the con*ugal act,) an act which is )indissolubly corporeal and spiritual.)
"ertili%ation takes place outside the bodies of the spouses. t is not )actually
effected nor positively willed as an e#pression of and fruit of the specific act of
con*ugal union,) but as a )result) of a technical intervention.
13
)I&anJ no longer
considers life as a splendid gift of 2od, something 'sacred' entrusted to his
responsibility and thus also to his loving care and 'veneration.' 0ife itself becomes
a mere 'thing,' which man claims as his e#clusive property, completely sub*ect to
his control and manipulation.)
14

+5* The desire for a child, sincere and intense though it be, by the
spouses, does not legitimi%e recourse to techni(ues which are contrary
to the truth of human procreation and to the dignity of the new human
being.
17

The desire for a child gives no right to have a child. The latter is a person, with the
dignity of a )sub*ect.) As such, it cannot be desired as an )ob*ect.) The fact is that
the child is a sub*ect of rights/ the child has the right to be conceived only with full
respect for its personhood.
1.

-.
+.* 6esides these intrinsic reasons of the dignity of the person and its
conception, homologous "<;T is also morally inadmissible because of
the circumstances and conse(uences of its present?day practice.
n fact, it is effected at the cost of numerous embryonal losses, which are procured
abortions. t could also involve congealment, which means suspension of life, of
the so?called )spare) embryos, and often even their destruction.
19

Knacceptable is )post mortem) insemination, that is, with semen, given during his
lifetime, by the deceased spouse.
These are aggravating factors in a technical procedure already morally illicit in
itself, and which remains such even without these factors.
11

+/* Heterologous techni(ues are )burdened) with the )ethical
negativity) of conception outside of marriage. ,ecourse to gametes of
people other than the spouses is contrary to the unity of marriage and
the fidelity of the spouses, and it harms the right of the child to be
conceived and born in and from a marriage. )Procreation
then...e#presses a desire, or indeed the intention, to have a child 'at all
costs,' and not because it signifies the complete acceptance of the other
and therefore an openness to the richness of life which the child
represents.)
18

These techni(ues, in fact, ignore the common and unitary vocation of the partners
to paternity and maternity F to )become father and mother only through one
another) F and they cause )a rupture between genetic parenthood, gestational
parenthood and educational responsibility,) which, from the family, has
repercussions in society.
1:

A further reason for unlawfulness is the commerciali%ation and eugenic selection
of the gametes.
+0* "or the same reasons, aggravated by the absence of the marriage
bond, artificial insemination of the unmarried and cohabitants is morally
unacceptable.
85

+9* ;(ually contrary to the dignity of the woman, to the unity of
marriage and to the dignity of the procreation of a human person is
)surrogate) motherhood.
-9
To implant in a woman's womb an embryo which is genetically foreign to her or
*ust to fertili%e her with the condition that she hand over the newly born child to a
client means separating gestation from maternity, reducing it to an incubation
which does not respect the dignity and right of the child to be )conceived, borne in
the womb, brought to birth and educated by its own parents.)
8-

,1* The verdict of moral unlawfulness obviously concerns the ways by
which human fertili%ation takes place, not the fruit of these techni(ues,
which is always a human being, to be welcomed as a gift of 2od's
goodness and nurtured with love.
83

,1* Artificial insemination techni(ues nowadays could open the way to
attempts or pro*ects of fertili%ation between human and animal gametes,
to gestation of human embryos in animal or artificial wombs, of se#less
reproduction of human beings through twinning fission, cloning,
parthenogenesis.
+uch procedures are contrary to the human dignity of the embryo and of
procreation, and thus they are to be considered morally reprehensible.
84

,+* &edicine directed to the integral good of the person cannot prescind
from the ethical principles governing human procreation.
Hence the )urgent appeal) to doctors and researchers to give )an e#emplary
witness of the respect due to the human embryo and to the dignity of
procreation.)
87

,,* &edical service to life accompanies the life of the person throughout
their whole life?span. t is protection, promotion and care of health, that
is, of the integrity and psycho?physical well?being of the person, in
whom life )is enfleshed.)
8.

t is a service based on the dignity of the human person and on the right to life, and
it is e#pressed not only in prevention, treatment and rehabilitation but also in an
holistic promotion of the person's health.
,-* This responsibility commits the health care worker to a service to
life e#tending )from its very beginning to its natural end,) that is, )from
the moment of conception to death.)
89

-1
Charter For Health Care Workers:
"ife
!e"innin" o lie an# $irth
,5* )"rom the time that the ovum is fertili%ed, a life is begun which is
neither that of the father nor of the motherH it is rather the life of a new
human being with its own growth. t would never be made human if it
were not human already.... ,ight from the fertili%ation the adventure of
a new life begins, and each of its capacities re(uires time F a rather
lengthy time F to find its place and to be in a position to act.)
81

,ecent advances in human biology have come to prove that )in the %ygote arising
from fertili%ation, the biological identity of a new human individual is already
present.)
88
t is the individuality proper to an autonomous being, intrinsically
determined, developing in gradual continuity.
6iological individuality, and therefore the personal nature of the %ygote is such
from conception. )How can anyone think that even a single moment of this
marvelous process of the unfolding of life could be separated from the wise and
loving work of the Creator, and left prey to human capriceL)
8:
As a result, it is
erroneous and mistaken to speak of a pre?embryo, if by this is meant a stage or
condition of pre?human life of the conceived human being.
:5

,.* Prenatal life is fully human in every phase of its development.
Hence health care workers owe it the same respect, the same protection
and the same care as that given to a human person.
2ynecologists and obstetricians especially )must keep a careful watch over the
wonderful and mysterious process of generation taking place in the maternal
womb, to ensure its normal development and successful outcome with the birth of
the new child.)
:-

,/* The birth of a child is an important and significant stage in the
development begun at conception. t is not a )leap) in (uality or a new
beginning, but a stage, with no break in continuity, of the same process.
Childbirth is the passage from maternal gestation to physiological
autonomy of life.
Dnce born, the child can live in physiological independence of the mother and can
enter a new relationship with the e#ternal world.
-8
t may happen, in the case of premature birth, that this independence is not fully
reached. n this case health care workers are obliged to assist the newborn child,
making available to it all the conditions necessary for attaining this independence.
f, despite every effort, the life of the child is at serious risk, health care workers
should see to the child's baptism according to the conditions provided by the
Church. f an ordinary minister of the sacrament is unavailable F a priest or a
deacon F the health care worker has the faculty to confer it.
:3

The %alue o lie: unity o $o#y an# soul
,0* The respect, protection and care proper to human life derives from
its singular dignity. )n the whole of visible creation it Ahuman lifeB has
a uni(ue value.) )The human being, in fact, is the 'only creature that
2od has wanted for its own sake. ;verything is created for humans. The
human being'
:4
alone, created in the image and likeness of 2od Acf. 2en
-/39?31B is not and cannot be for any other or others but for 2od alone,
and this is why he e#ists. The human being alone is a person/ he has the
dignity of a sub*ect and is of value in himself.)
:7

,9* Human life is irreducibly both corporeal and spiritual. )6y virtue of
its substantial union with a spiritual soul, the human body cannot be
considered merely an amalgam of tissues, organs and functions, nor can
it be measured by the same standards as the body of animals, but it is a
constitutive part of the person who by means of it manifests himself and
acts.)
:.
);very human person, in his unrepeatable uni(ueness, is made
up not only of spirit but also of a body, so that in the body and through
it the person is reached in his concrete reality.)
:9

-1* ;very intervention on the human body )touches not only the tissues,
the organs and their functions, but involves also at various levels the
person himself.)
:1

Health?care must never lose sight of )the profound unity of the human being, in
the obvious interaction of all his corporal functions, but also in the unity of his
corporal, affective, intellectual and spiritual dimensions.) Dne cannot isolate )the
technical problem posed by the treatment of a particular illness from the care that
should be given to the person of the patient in all his dimensions. t is well to bear
this in mind, particularly at a time when medical science is tending towards
speciali%ation in every discipline.)
:8

-:
-1* ,evealing the person,
::
the body, in its biological make?up and
dynamic, is the foundation and source of moral accountability. What is
and what happens biologically is not neutral. Dn the contrary it has
ethical relevance/ it is the indicative?imperative for action.
-55
The body
is a properly personal reality, the sign and place of relations with others,
with 2od and with the world.
-5-

Dne cannot prescind from the body and make the psyche the criterion and source
of morality/ sub*ective feelings and desires cannot replace or ignore ob*ective
corporal conditions. The tendency to give the former pride of place over the latter
is the basis for contemporary psychologi%ation of ethics and law, which makes
individual wishes Aand technical possibilitiesB the arbiter of the lawfulness of
behavior and of interventions on life.
The health care worker cannot neglect the corporeal truth of the person and be
willing to satisfy desires, whether sub*ectively e#pressed or legally codified, at
variance with the ob*ective truth of life.
&n#isposa$ility an# in%iola$ility o lie
-+* )The inviolability of the person, a reflection of the absolute
inviolability of 2od himself, has its first and fundamental e#pression in
the inviolability of human life.)
-53
)The (uestion/ 'What have you doneL'
A2en 7/-5B, which 2od addresses to Cain after he has killed his brother
Abel, interprets the e#perience of every person/ in the depths of his
conscience, man is always reminded of the inviolability of life F his
own life and that of others F as something which does not belong to
him, because it is the property and gift of 2od the Creator and
"ather.)
-54

The body, indivisibly with the spirit, shares in the dignity and human worth of the
person/ body?sub*ect not body?ob*ect, and as such is indisposable and
inviolable.
-57
The body cannot be treated as a belonging. t cannot be dealt with as
a thing or an ob*ect of which one is the owner and arbiter.
;very abusive intervention on the body is an insult to the dignity of the person and
thus to 2od who is its only and absolute 0ord/ )The human being is not master of
his own life/ he receives it in order to use it, he is not the proprietor but the
administrator, because 2od alone is 0ord of life.)
-5.

35
-,* The fact that life belongs to 2od and not to the human being
-59
gives
it that sacred character
-51
which produces an attitude of profound
respect/ )a direct conse(uence of the divine origin of life is its
indisposability, its untouchability, that is, its sacredness.)
-58

ndisposable and untouchable because sacred/ it is )a natural sacredness,
which every right reason can recogni%e, even apart from religious
faith.)
-5:

&edical health activity is above all a vigilant and protective service to this
sacredness/ a profession which defends the non?instrumental value of this good )in
itself) F that is, not relative to another or others but to 2od alone F which human
life is.
--5
)&an's life comes from 2odH it is his gift, his image and imprint, a
sharing in his breath of life. 2od therefore is the sole 0ord of this life/ man cannot
do with it as he wills.)
---

--* This must be affirmed with particular rigor and received with
vigilant awareness at a time of invasive development in biomedical
technology, where the risk of abusive manipulation of human life is
increasing. The techni(ues in themselves are not the problem, but rather
their presumed ethical neutrality. @ot everything which is technically
possible can be considered morally admissible.
Technical possibilities must be measured against ethical lawfulness, which
establishes their human compatibility, that is, their effective employment in the
protection of and respect for the dignity of the human person.
--3

-5* +cience and technology )cannot by themselves give the meaning of
human e#istence and progress. +ince they are ordained for the human
being from whom they receive their origin and increase, it is from the
person and his moral values that they draw direction for their finality
and awareness of their limits.)
--4

This is why science and wisdom should go hand in hand. +cience and technology
are e#tremist, that is, they are constantly e#panding their frontiers. Wisdom and
conscience trace out for them the impassable limits of the human.
--7

Ri"ht to lie
-.* The divine lordship of life is the foundation and guarantee of the
right to life, which is not, however, a power over life.
--.
,ather, it is the
right to live with human dignity,
--9
as well as being guaranteed and
3-
protected in this fundamental, primal and unsuppressible good which is
the root and condition of every other good?right of the person.
--1

)The sub*ect of this right is the human being in every phase of his development,
from conception to natural deathH and in every condition, either health or sickness,
perfection or handicap, wealth or paupery )
--8

-/* The right to life poses a two$fold (uestion for the health care
worker. "irst of all, he must not think that he has a right?power over the
life he is caring for, something which neither he nor the patient himself
has. and therefore cannot be given by the latter.
--:

The right of the patient is not one of ownership nor absolute, but it is bound up
with and limited by the finality established by nature.
-35
)@o one...can arbitrarily
choose whether to live or dieH the absolute master of such a decision is the Creator
alone, in whom 'we live and move and have our being') AActs -1/38B.
-3-

Here F on the limits themselves of the right of the sub*ect to dispose of his own
life F )arises the moral limit of the action of the doctor who acts with the consent
of the patient.)
-33

-0* +econdly, the health care worker effectively guarantees this right/
)the intrinsic finality) of his profession )is the affirmation of the right of
the human being to his life and his dignity.)
-34
He fulfills it by assuming
the corresponding duty of preventive and therapeutic care of the
health,
-37
and of the improvement, within the ambit and with the means
at his disposal, of the (uality of life of the persons and their life
environment.
-3.
)Dn our *ourney we are guided and sustained by the law
of love/ a love which has as its source and model the +on of 2od made
man, who 'by dying gave life to the world.)
-39

-9* The fundamental and primary right of every human being to life,
which is particulari%ed as the right to protection of health, subordinates
the trade union rights of health care workers.
This means that any *ust claims of health workers must be processed while
safeguarding the right of the patient to due care, because of its indispensability.
Hence, if there is a strike, essential and urgent medical?hospital services for the
safeguarding of health should be provided for F even by means of appropriate
legal measures.
33
're%ention
51* +afeguarding health commits the health care worker particularly in
the area of prevention.
Prevention is better than cure, both because it spares the person the discomfort and
suffering from the illness, and because it spares society the costs, and not only
economic costs, of treatment.
51* &edical prevention, properly so called, which consists in
administering particular medicines, vaccination, screening tests to
ascertain predispositions, in prescribing behavior and habits to prevent
the occurrence, the spread and the worsening of the illness, essentially
belongs to health care workers. This might be for all the members of a
society, for groups of people or for individuals.
5+* There is also medical prevention in the wider sense of the term, in
which the work of the health care worker is but a part of the preventive
commitment set in motion by society. This is the type of prevention
used in cases of so?called social illnesses, such as drug?dependency,
alcoholism, tobacco addiction, A!+H of the problems of social sectors
of individuals such as adolescents, the handicapped, the agedH of risks to
health tied up with the conditions and ways of living nowadays, such as
in food, the environment, the work$place, sports, urban traffic, the use
of transportation means, of machines and domestic electrical appliances.
n these cases preventive intervention is the primary and most effective remedy, if
not, indeed, the only possible one. 6ut it needs a concerted effort from all sectors
of a society. Prevention in this case is more than a medical?health action. t
involves a sensiti%ing of the culture, through a recovery of forgotten values and
education in them, to a more sober and integral concept of life, information about
risky habits, the formation of a political consensus for supporting laws.
The effective and efficacious possibility of prevention is linked not only, nor
primarily, to the techni(ues adopted, but to the reasons behind it and to their being
made concrete and made known in that culture.
Sickness
5,* Although it shares in the transcendent value of the person, corporeal
life, of its nature, reflects the precariousness of the human condition.
34
This is shown especially in sickness and suffering, which affect the
whole person adversely. )+ickness and suffering are not e#periences
which affect only the physical substance of the human being, but they
affect him in his entirety and in his somatic?spiritual unity.)
-31

+ickness is more than a clinical fact, medically controlled. t is always the
condition of a human being, the sick person. t is with this holistic human view of
sickness that health care workers should relate to the patient. t means that they
have, together with the re(uisite technical?professional competence, an awareness
of values and meanings that make sense of sickness and of their own work, and
makes every individual clinical case a human encounter.
5-* The Christian knows by faith that sickness and suffering share in the
salvific efficacy of the ,edeemer's cross. )Christ's redemption and its
salvific grace touches the whole person in his human condition and
hence also in sickness, suffering and death.)
-38
)Dn the Cross, the
miracle of the serpent lifted up by &oses in the desert ACn 4/-7?-.H cf.
@um. 3-/8?:B is renewed and brought to full and definitive perfection.
Today, too, by looking upon the one who was pierced, every person
whose life is threatened encounters the sure hope of finding freedom
and redemption.)
-3:

6orne )in close union with the sufferings of Cesus,) sickness and suffering assume
)an e#traordinary spiritual fruitfulness.) +o that the sick person can say with the
Apostle/ ) fill up in my body what is wanting to the sufferings of Christ, for the
sake of his body which is the Church) ACol -/37B.
-45

"rom this new Christian meaning, the sick person can be helped to develop a triple
salutary attitude to the illness/ an )awareness) of its reality )without minimi%ing it
or e#aggerating it)H )acceptance,) )not with a more or less blind resignation) but in
the serene knowledge that )the 0ord can and wishes to draw good from evil)H )the
oblation,) )made out of love for the 0ord and one's brothers and sisters.)
-4-

55* n the person of the patient, in any case, the family is always
affected. Helping the relatives, and their cooperation with health care
workers are a valuable component of health care.
The health care worker is called to give the family of the patient F either
individually or through membership in appropriate organi%ations F together with
the treatment also enlightenment, counsel, direction and support.
-43

37
(ia"nosis
5.* 2uided by this integrally human and properly Christian view of
sickness, the health care worker should seek, first and foremost, to find
the illness and analy%e it in the patient/ this is the diagnosis and related
prognosis.
A condition for any treatment is the previous and e#act individuation of the
symptoms and causes of the illness.
5/* n this, the health care worker will make his own the (uestions and an#ieties of
the patient and he must guard himself from the twofold, opposing pitfalls of
)hopeless) and )tenacious) diagnosis.
n the first case the patient is forced to go from one specialist or health care service
to another, without finding the doctor or diagnostic center capable and willing to
treat his illness. Dver?speciali%ation and fragmentation of clinical competencies
and divisions, while ensuring professional e#pertise, is damaging to the patient
when health services in the place prevent a caring and global approach to his
illness.
n the second case, instead, one persists until some illness is found at any cost. t
may be through ignorance, la%iness, for gain, or for rivalry that an illness is
diagnosed or problems are treated as medical when, in fact, they are not medical$
health in nature. n this case the person is not helped to perceive the e#act nature of
their problem, thus misleading them about themselves and their responsibilities.
50* The diagnosis does not pose, in general, problems of an ethical order
when these e#cesses are e#cluded and it is conducted in full respect for
the dignity and integrity of the person, particularly with regard to the
use of instrumentally invasive techni(ues. Df itself, its purpose is
therapeutic/ it is an action to promote health.
However, particular problems are posed by predictive diagnosis, because of the
possible repercussions at a psychological level and the discriminations it could lead
to and to prenatal diagnosis. n the latter case we are dealing with a substantially
new possibility which is rapidly developing, and as such merits separate treatment.
3.
'renatal #ia"nosis
59* The ever?e#panding knowledge of intrauterine life and the
development of instruments giving access to it make it possible
nowadays to diagnose prenatal life, thus opening the way for ever more
timely and effective therapeutic interventions.
Prenatal diagnosis reflects the moral goodness of every diagnostic intervention. At
the same time, however, it presents its own ethical problems, connected with the
diagnostic risk and the purpose for its re(uest and practice.
.1* The risk factor concerns the life and physical integrity of the embryo, and only
in part that of the mother, relative to the various diagnostic techni(ues and the
perceptual risk which each presents.
Hence, there is need )to evaluate carefully the possible negative conse(uences
which the necessary use of a particular investigative techni(ue can have) and
)avoid recourse to diagnostic procedures about which the honest purpose and
substantial harmlessness cannot be sufficiently guaranteed.) And if a certain
amount of risk must be taken, recourse to diagnosis should have reasonable
indications, to be ascertained in a diagnostic center.
-44

Conse(uently, )such diagnosis is licit if the methods used, with the consent of the
parents who have been ade(uately instructed, safeguard the life and integrity of the
embryo and its mother and does not sub*ect them to disproportionate risks.)
-47

.1* The ob*ectives of prenatal diagnoses warranting their re(uest and practice
should always be of benefit to the child and the motherH their purpose is to make
possible therapeutic interventions, to bring assurance and peace to pregnant women
who are an#ious lest the fetus be deformed and are tempted to have an abortion, to
prepare, if the prognosis is an unhappy one, for the welcome of a handicapped
child.
Prenatal diagnosis )is gravely contrary to the moral law when it contemplates the
possibility, depending on the result, of provoking an abortion. A diagnosis
revealing the e#istence of a deformity or an hereditary disease should not be
e(uivalent to a death sentence.)
-4.

;(ually unlawful is any directive or program of civil and health authorities or of
scientific organi%ations which support a direct connection between prenatal
diagnosis and abortion. The specialist who, in carrying out the diagnosis and
39
communicating the result, would voluntarily contribute to the establishing and
support of a connection between prenatal diagnosis and abortion would be guilty of
illicit collaboration.
-49

Therapy an# reha$ilitation
.+* After diagnosis comes therapy and rehabilitation/ the putting into
effect of those curative and medical interventions which lead to the cure
and personal and social reintegration of the patient.
Therapy is a medical action properly so?called, aimed at combating the causes,
manifestations and complications of the illness. ,ehabilitation, on the other hand,
is an amalgam of medical, physiotherapeutic, psychological measures and
functional e#ercises, aimed at reviving or improving the psychophysical efficiency
of people in some way handicapped in their ability to integrate, to relate and to
work productively.
Therapy and rehabilitation )are aimed not only at the well?being and health of the
body, but of the person as such who is stricken by bodily illness.)
-41
All therapy
aimed at the integral well?being of the person is not content with clinical success,
but views the rehabilitative action as a restoring of the individual to his full self,
through the reactivation or re?appropriation of physical functions weakened by the
illness.
.,* The patient has a right to any treatment from which he can draw
salutary benefit.
-48

,esponsibility for health care imposes on everyone )the duty of caring for himself
and of seeking treatment.) Conse(uently, )those who care for the sick should be
very diligent in their work and administer the remedies which they think are
necessary or useful.)
-4:
@ot only those aimed at apossible cure, but also those
which alleviate pain and bring relief in incurable cases.
.-* The health care worker who cannot effect a cure must never cease to
treat.
-75
He is bound to apply all )proportionate) remedies. 6ut there is
no obligation to apply )disproportionate) ones.
n relation to the conditions of a patient, those remedies must be considered
ordinary where there is due proportion between the means used and the end
intended. Where this proportion does not e#ist, the remedies are to be considered
e#traordinary.
31
To verify and establish whether there is due proportion in a particular case, )the
means should be well evaluated by comparing the type of therapy, the degree of
difficulty and risk involved, the necessary e#penses and the possibility of
application, with the result that can be e#pected, taking into account the conditions
of the patient and his physical and moral powers.)
-7-

.5* The principle here proposed of appropriate medical treatment in the
remedies can be thus specified and applied/
F)n the absence of other remedies, it is lawful to have recourse, with the consent
of the patient, to the means made available by the most advanced medicine, even if
they are still at an e#perimental stage and not without some element of risk.)
F)t is lawful to interrupt the application of such means when the results
disappoint the hopes placed in them,) because there is no longer due proportion
between )the investment of instruments and personnel) and )the foreseeable
results) or because )the techni(ues used sub*ect the patient to suffering and
discomfort greater than the benefits to be had.)
F)t is always lawful to be satisfied with the normal means offered by medicine.
@o one can be obliged, therefore, to have recourse to a type of remedy which,
although already in use, is still not without dangers or is too onerous.) This refusal
)is not the e(uivalent of suicide.) ,ather it might signify )either simple acceptance
of the human condition, or the wish to avoid the putting into effect of a remedy
disproportionate to the results that can be hoped for, or the desire not to place too
great a burden on the family or on society.)
-73

..* "or the restoration of the person to health, interventions may be
re(uired, in the absence of other remedies, which involve the
modification, mutilation or removal of organs.
Therapeutic manipulation of the organism is legitimi%ed here by the principle of
totality,
-74
and for this very reason also called the principle of therapeuticity, by
virtue of which )each particular organ is subordinated to the whole of the body and
should be sub*ected to it in case of conflict. Conse(uently, the one who has
received the use of the whole organism has the right to sacrifice a particular organ
if by keeping it, it or its activity might cause appreciable harm to the whole
organism, which cannot be avoided otherwise.)
-77

38
./* Physical life, although on the one hand manifesting the person and sharing his
worth, so that it cannot be disposed of as an ob*ect, on the other hand it does not
e#haust the value of the person nor does it represent the greatest good.
-7.

This is why part of it can be disposed of legitimately for the well$being of the
person. Cust as it can be sacrificed or put at risk for a higher good )such as the
glory of 2od, the salvation of souls and service to one's neighbor.)
-79
)Corporeal
life is a fundamental good, a condition here below of all the othersH but there are
higher values for which it could be legitimate or even necessary to e#pose oneself
to the danger of losing it.)
-71

Anal"esia an# anesthesia
.0* Pain, on the one hand, has of itself a therapeutic function, because
)it eases the confluence of the physical and psychic reaction of the
person to a bout of illness,)
-78
and on the other hand it appeals to
medicine for an alleviating and healing therapy.
.9* "or the Christian, pain has a lofty penitential and salvific meaning.
)t is, in fact, a sharing in Christ's Passion and a union with the
redeeming sacrifice which he offered in obedience to the "ather's will.
Therefore, one must not be surprised if some Christians prefer to
moderate their use of painkillers, in order to accept voluntarily at least
part of their sufferings and thus associate themselves in a conscious way
with the sufferings of Christ.)
-7:

Acceptance of pain, motivated and supported by Christian ideals, must not lead to
the conclusion that all suffering and all pain must be accepted, and that there
should be no effort to alleviate them.
-.5
Dn the contrary this is a way of humani%ing
pain. Christian charity itself re(uires of health care workers the alleviation of
physical suffering.
/1* )n the long run pain is an obstacle to the attainment of higher goods and
interests.)
-.-
t can produce harmful effects for the psycho$physical integrity of the
person. When suffering is too intense, it can diminish or impede the control of the
spirit. Therefore it is legitimate, and beyond certain limits of endurance it is also a
duty for the health care worker to prevent, alleviate and eliminate pain. t is
morally correct and right that the researcher should try )to bring pain under human
control.)
-.3

3:
Anesthetics like painkillers, )by directly acting on the more aggressive and
disturbing effects of pain, gives the person more control, so that suffering becomes
a more human e#perience.)
-.4

/1* +ometimes the use of analgesic and anaesthesic techni(ues and
medicines involves the suppression or diminution of consciousness and
the use of the higher faculties. n so far as the procedures do not aim
directly at the loss of consciousness and freedom but at dulling
sensitivity to pain, and are limited to the clinical need alone, they are to
be considered ethically legitimate.
-.7

The inorme# consent o the patient
/+* To intervene medically, the health care worker should have the
e#press or tacit consent of the patient.
n fact, he )does not have a separate and independent right in relation to the
patient. n general, he can act only if the patient e#plicitly or implicitly Adirectly or
indirectlyB authori%es him.)
-..
Without such authori%ation he gives himself an
arbitrary power.
-.9

6esides the medical relationship there is a human one/ dialogic, non?ob*ective.
The patient )is not an anonymous individual) on whom medical e#pertise is
practiced, but )a responsible person, who should be called upon to share in the
improvement of his health and in becoming cured. He should be given the
opportunity of personally choosing, and not be made to submit to the decisions and
choices of others.)
-.1

+o that the choice may be made with full awareness and freedom, the patient
should be given a precise idea of his illness and the therapeutic possibilities, with
the risks, the problems and the conse(uences that they entail.
-.8
This means that the
patient should be asked for an informed consent.
/,* With regard to presumed consent, a distinction must be made
between the patient who is in a condition to know and will and one who
is not.
n the former, consent cannot be presumed/ it must be clear and e#plicit.
n the latter case, however, the health care worker can, and in e#treme situations
must, presume the consent to therapeutic interventions, which from his knowledge
45
and in conscience he thinks should be made. f there is a temporary loss of
knowing and willing, the health care worker can act in virtue of the principle of
therapeutic trust, that is the original confidence with which the patient entrusted
himself to the health care worker. +hould there be a permanent loss of knowing
and willing, the health care worker can act in virtue of the principle of
responsibility for health care, which obliges the health care worker to assume
responsibility for the patient's health.
/-* With regard to the relatives, they should be informed about ordinary
interventions, and involved in the decision making when there is
(uestion of e#traordinary and optional interventions.
Research an# e)perimentation
/5* A therapeutic action which is apt to be increasingly beneficial to
health is for that very reason open to new investigative possibilities.
These are the result of a progressive and ongoing activity of research
and e#perimentation, which thus succeeds in arriving at new medical
advances.
To proceed by way of research and e#perimentation is a law of every applied
science/ scientific progress is structurally connected with it. 6iomedical sciences
and their development are sub*ect to this law also. 6ut they operate in a particular
field of application and observation which is the life of the human person.
The latter, because of his uni(ue dignity, can be the sub*ect of research and clinical
e#perimentation with the safeguards due to a being with the value of a sub*ect and
not an ob*ect. "or this reason, biomedical sciences do not have the same freedom
of investigation as those sciences which deal with things. )The ethical norm,
founded on respect for the dignity of the person, should illuminate and discipline
both the research stage and the application of the results obtained from it.)
-.:

/.* n the research stage, the ethical norm re(uires that its aim be to
)promote human well?being.)
-95
Any research contrary to the true good
of the person is immoral. To invest energies and resources in it
contradicts the human finality of science and its progress.
-9-

n the e#perimental stage, that is, testing the findings of research on a person, the
good of the person, protected by the ethical norm, demands respect for previous
conditions which are essentially linked with consent and risk.
4-
//* "irst of all, the consent of the patient. He )should be informed about
the e#perimentation, its purpose and possible risks, so that he can give
or refuse his consent with full knowledge and freedom. n fact, the
doctor has only that power and those rights which the patient himself
gives him.)
-93

This consent can be presumed when it is of benefit to the patient himself, that is,
when there is a (uestion of therapeutic e#perimentation.
/0* +econdly, there is the risk factor. Df its nature, every
e#perimentation has risks. Hence, )it cannot be demanded that all
danger and all risk be e#cluded. This is beyond human possibilityH it
would paraly%e all serious scientific research and would (uite often be
detrimental to the patient.... 6ut there is a level of danger that the moral
law cannot allow.)
-94

A human sub*ect cannot be e#posed to the same risk as beings which are not
human. There is a threshold beyond which the risk becomes humanly
unacceptable. This threshold is indicated by the inviolable good of the person,
which forbids him )to endanger his life, his e(uilibrium. his health, or to aggravate
his illness.)
-97

/9* ;#perimentation cannot be begun and generali%ed until every
safeguard has been put in place to guarantee the harmlessness of the
intervention and to lessen the risk. )The pre?clinical basic phase, carried
out carefully, should give the widest documentation and the most secure
pharmacological$to#icological guarantees and ensure operational
safety.)
-9.

To ac(uire these assurances, if it be useful and necessary, the testing of new
pharmaceutical products or of new techni(ues should first be done on animals
before they are tried on humans. )t is certain that the animal is for the service of
man and can therefore be the ob*ect of e#perimentation. However, it should be
treated as one of 2od's creatures, meant to cooperate in man's good but not to be
abused.)
-99
t follows that all e#perimentation )should be carried out with
consideration for the animal, without causing it useless suffering.)
-91

When these guarantees are in place, in the clinical phase e#perimentation on the
human person must be in accord with the principle of proportionate risk, that is, of
due proportion between the advantages and foreseeable risks. Here a distinction
43
must be made between e#perimentation on a sick person, for therapeutic reasons,
and on a healthy person, for scientific and humanitarian reasons.
01* n e#perimentation on a sick person, due proportion is attained from
a comparison of the condition of the sick person and the foreseeable
effects of the drugs or the e#perimental methods. Hence the risk rate
which might be proportionate and legitimate for one patient may not be
so for another.
t is a valid principle F as already said F that )in the absence of other remedies, it
is licit to have recourse, with the consent of the patient, to means made available
by the most advanced medicine, even if they are still at an e#perimental stage and
are not without some risk. 6y accepting them the patient might also give an
e#ample of generosity for the benefit of humanity.)
-98
6ut there must always be
)great respect for the patient in the application of new therapy still at the
e#perimental stage...when these are still high?risk procedures.)
-9:

)n desperate cases, when the patient will die if there is no intervention, if there is a
medication available, or a method or an operation which, though not e#cluding all
danger, still has some possibility of success, any right$thinking person would
concede that the doctor could certainly, with the e#plicit or tacit consent of the
patient, proceed with the application of the treatment.)
-15

01* Clinical e#perimentation can also be practiced , who voluntarily
offers himself )to contribute by his initiative to the progress of medicine
and, in that way, to the good of the community.) n this case, )once his
own substantial integrity is safeguarded, the patient can legitimately
accept a certain degree of risk.)
-1-

This is legitimi%ed by the human and Christian solidarity which motivates the
gesture/ )To give of oneself, within the limits marked out by the moral law, can be
a witness of highly meritorious charity and a means of such significant spiritual
growth that it can compensate for the risk of any insubstantial physical
impairment.)
-13

n any case, it is a duty to always interrupt the e#perimentation when the results
disappoint the e#pectations.
0+* +ince the human individual, in the prenatal stage, must be given the
dignity of a human person, research and e#perimentation on human
44
embryos and fetuses is sub*ect to the ethical norms valid for the child
already born and for every human sub*ect.
,esearch in particular, that is the observation of a given phenomenon during
pregnancy, can be allowed only when )there is moral certainty that there will be no
harm either to the life or the integrity of the e#pected child and the mother, and on
condition that the parents have given their consent.)
-14

;#perimentation, on the other hand, is possible only for clearly therapeutic
purposes, when no other possible remedy is available. )@o finality, even if in itself
noble, such as the foreseeing of a usefulness for science, for other human beings or
for society, can in any way *ustify e#perimentation on live human embryos and
fetuses, whether viable or not, in the maternal womb or outside of it. The informed
consent, normally re(uired for clinical e#perimentation on an adult, cannot be
given by the parents, who may not dispose either of the physical integrity or the
life of the e#pected child. Dn the other hand, e#perimentation on embryos or
fetuses has the risk, indeed in most cases the certain foreknowledge, of damaging
their physical integrity or even causing their death. To use a human embryo or the
fetus as an ob*ect or instrument of e#perimentation is a crime against their dignity
as human beings.) )The practice of keeping human embryos alive, actually or in
vitro, for e#perimental or commercial reasons,) is especially and )altogether
contrary to human dignity.)
-17

(onation an# transplantin" o or"ans
0,* The progress and spread of transplant medicine and surgery
nowadays makes possible treatment and cure for many illnesses which,
up to a short time ago, could only lead to death or, at best, a painful and
limited e#istence.
-1.
This )service to life,)
-19
which the donation and
transplant of organs represents, shows its moral value and legitimi%es
medical practice. There are, however, some conditions which must be
observed, particularly those regarding donors and the organs donated
and implanted. ;very organ or human tissue transplant re(uires an
e#plant which in some way impairs the corporeal integrity of the donor.
0-* , in which there is the e#plant and implant on the same person, are
legitimate in virtue of the principle of totality by which it is possible to
dispose of a part for the integral good of the organism.
05* Homoplastic transplants, in which the transplant is taken from a
person of the same species as the recipient, are legitimi%ed by the
47
principle of solidarity which *oins human beings, and by charity which
prompts one to give to suffering brothers and sisters.
-11
)With the advent
of organ transplants, begun with blood transfusions, human persons
have found a way to give part ofthemselves, of their blood and of their
bodies, so that others may continue to live. Thanks to science and to
professional training and the dedication of doctors and health care
workers...new and wonderful challenges are emerging. We are
challenged to love our neighbor in new waysH in evangelical termsMto
love 'even unto the end' ACn -4/-B, even if within certain limits which
cannot be transgressed, limits placed by human nature itself.)
-18

n homoplastic transplants, organs may be taken either from a living donor or from
a corpse.
0.* n the first case the removal is legitimate provided it is a (uestion of organs of
which the e#plant would not constitute a serious and irreparable impairment for the
donor. )Dne can donate only what he can deprive himself of without serious
danger to his life or personal identity, and for a *ust and proportionate reason.)
-1:

0/* n the second case we are no longer concerned with a living person but a
corpse. This must always be respected as a human corpse, but it no longer has the
dignity of a sub*ect and the end value of a living person. )A corpse is no longer, in
the proper sense of the term, a sub*ect of rights, because it is deprived of
personality, which alone can be the sub*ect of rights.) Hence, )to put it to useful
purposes, morally blameless and even noble) is a decision )not be condemned but
to be positively *ustified.)
-85

There must be certainty, however, that it is a corpse, to ensure that the removal of
organs does not cause or even hasten death. The removal of organs from a corpse
is legitimate when the certain death of the donor has been ascertained. Hence the
duty of )taking steps to ensure that a corpse is not considered and treated as such
before death has been duly verified.)
-8-

n order that a person be considered a corpse, it is enough that cerebral death of the
donor be ascertained, which consists in the )irreversible cessation of all cerebral
activity.) When total cerebral death is verified with certainty, that is, after the
re(uired tests, it is licit to remove organs and also to surrogate organic functions
artificially in order to keep the organs alive with a view to a transplant.
-83

00* ;thically, not all organs can be donated. The brain and the gonads
may not be transplanted because they ensure the personal and
4.
procreative identity respectively. These are organs which embody the
characteristic uni(ueness of the person, which medicine is bound to
protect.
09* There are also heterogeneous transplants, that is, with organs of a
different species than that of the recipient. )t cannot be said that every
transplant of tissues Abiologically possibleB between two individuals of
different species is morally reprehensible, but it is even less true that
every heterogeneous transplant biologically possible is not forbidden
and cannot raise ob*ections. A distinction must be made between cases,
depending on which tissue or organ is intended for transplant. The
transplant of animal se#ual glands to humans must be re*ected as
immoralH but the transplant of the cornea of a non?human organism to a
human organism would not create any problem if it were biologically
possible and advisable.)
-84

Among heterogeneous transplants are also included the implanting of artificial
organs, the lawfulness of which is conditioned by the beneficial effect for the
person and respect for his dignity.
91* The medical intervention in transplants )is inseparable from a
human act of donation.)
-87
n life or in death the person from whom the
removal is made should be aware that he is a donor, that is, one who
freely consents to the removal.
Transplants presuppose a free and conscious previous decision on the part of the
donor or of someone who legitimately represents him, normally the closest
relatives. )t is a decision to offer, without recompense, part of someone's body for
the health and well?being of another person. n this sense, the medical act of
transplanting makes possible the act of donation of the donor, that sincere gift of
himself which e#presses our essential call to love and communion.)
-8.

The possibility, thanks to biomedical progress, of )pro*ecting beyond death their
vocation to love) should persuade persons )to offer during life a part of their body,
an offer which will become effective only after death.) This is )a great act of love,
that love which gives life to others.)
-89

91* As part of this oblative )economy) of love, the medical act itself of
transplanting, of even *ust blood transfusion, )is not *ust another
intervention.) t )cannot be separated from the donor's act of giving,
from life?giving love.)
-81

49
Here the health care worker )becomes a mediator of something which is
particularly meaningful, the gift of self by a person F even after death F so that
another might live.)
-88

(epen#ency
9+* !ependency, in medical?health terms, is an addiction to a substance
or product F such as drugs, alcohol, narcotics, tobacco F for which the
individual feels an uncontrollable need, and the privation of which can
cause him psycho?physical disorders.
The phenomenon of dependency is escalating in our societies, which is disturbing
and, under certain aspects, dramatic. This is related, on the one hand, to the crisis
of values and meaning which contemporary society and culture
-8:
is e#periencing
and, on the other hand, to the stress and frustrations brought about by the (uest for
efficiency, by activism and by the high competitiveness and anonymity of social
interaction.
!oubtless, the evils caused by dependency and their cure are not a matter for
medicine alone. 6ut it does have a preventive and therapeutic role.
(ru"s
9,* !rugs and drug?dependency are almost always the result of an
avoidable evasion of responsibility, an aprioristic contestation of the
social structure which is re*ected without positive proposals for its
reasonable reform, an e#pression of masochism motivated by the
absence of values.
Dne who takes drugs does not understand or has lost the meaning and the value of
life, thus putting it at risk until it is lost/ many deaths from overdose are voluntary
suicides. The drug?user ac(uires a nihilistic mental state, superficially preferring
the void of death to the all of life.
9-* "rom the moral viewpoint )using drugs is always illicit, because it
implies an un*ustified and irrational refusal to think, will and act as free
persons.)
-:5

To say that drugs are illicit is not to condemn the drug$user. That person
e#periences his condition as )a heavy slavery) from which he needs to be freed.
-:-

The way to recovery cannot be that of ethical culpability or repressive law, but it
41
must be by way of rehabilitation which, without condoning the possible fault of the
person on drugs, promotes liberation from his condition and reintegration.
95* The deto#ification of the person addicted to drugs is more than
medical treatment. &oreover, medicines are of little or no use.
!eto#ification is an integrally human process meant to )give a complete
and definitive meaning to life,)
-:3
and thus to restore to the one addicted
that )self confidence and salutary self?esteem) which help him to
recover the *oy of living.
-:4

n the rehabilitation of a person addicted to drugs it is important )that there be an
attempt to get to know the individual and to understand his inner worldH to bring
him to the discovery or rediscovery of his dignity as a person, to help him to
reawaken and develop, as an active sub*ect, those personal resources, which the
use of drugs has suppressed, through a confident reactivation of the mechanisms of
the will, directed to secure and noble ideals.)
-:7

9.* Ksing drugs is anti?life. )Dne cannot speak of 'the freedom to take
drugs' nor of 'the right to drugs,' because a human being does not have
the right to harm himself and he cannot and must not ever abdicate his
personal dignity which is given to him by 2od,)
-:.
and even less does he
have the right to make others pay for his choice.
Alcoholism
9/* Knlike taking drugs, alcohol is not in itself illicit/ )its moderate use
as a drink is not contrary to moral law.)
-:9
Within reasonable limits wine
is a nourishment.
)t is only the abuse that is reprehensible)/
-:1
alcoholism, which causes
dependency, clouds the conscience and, in the chronic stage, produces serious
harm to the body and the mind.
90* The alcoholic is a sick person who needs medical assistance together
with help on the level of solidarity and psychotherapy. A program of
integrally human rehabilitation must be put in place for him.
-:8

48
Smokin"
99* With regard to tobacco also, the ethical unlawfulness is not in its use
but in its abuse. At the present time it is established that e#cessive
smoking damages the health and causes dependency. This leads to a
progressive lowering of the threshold of abuse.
+moking poses the problem of dissuasion and prevention, which should be done
especially through health education and information, even by way of
advertisements.
'sycho*pharmaceuticals
111* Psycho?pharmaceuticals are a special category of medicines used
to counter agitation, delirium and hallucinations and to overcome
an#iety and depression.
-::

111* To prevent, contain and overcome the risk of dependency and
addiction, psycho?pharmaceuticals should be sub*ect to medical control.
),ecourse to tran(uili%ing substances on medical advice in order to
alleviate F in well?defined cases F physical and psychological
suffering should be governed by very prudent criteria in order to offset
dangerous forms of addiction and dependency.)
355

t is the task of health authorities, doctors and those responsible for research
centers to apply themselves in order to reduce these risks to a minimum through
apt measures of prevention and information.
35-

11+* Administered for therapeutic purposes and with due respect for the
person, psycho?pharmaceuticals are ethically legitimate. The general
conditions for lawfulness in remedial intervention applies to these also.
n particular, the informed consent of the patient is re(uired and his right to refuse
the therapy must be respected, taking into account the ability of the mental patient
to make decisions. Also to be respected is the principle of therapeutic
proportionality in the choice and administration of these medicines, on the basis of
an accurate etiology of the symptoms and the motives for the sub*ect's re(uesting
this medicine.
353

11,* @on?therapeutic use and abuse of psycho?pharmaceuticals is
morally illicit if the purpose is to improve normal performance or to
4:
procure an artificial and euphoric serenity. This use of psycho?
pharmaceuticals is the same as that of any narcotic substance so the
ethical verdict already given in the case of drugs is valid also here.
'sycholo"y an# psychotherapy
11-* There is already ample evidence that all bodily illness has a
psychological component, either as a co?efficient or as an after?effect.
This is what psychosomatic medicine is concerned with, where the
therapeutic value depends on the doctor?patient relationship.
354

Health care workers should seek to relate to the patient in such a way that their
humanitarian attitude reinforces their professionalism and their competence is
more effective through their ability to understand the patient.
A human and loving approach to the patient, re(uired by an integrally human view
of illness and strengthened by faith,
357
is the key to this therapeutic effectiveness of
the doctor?patient relationship.
115* Psychological disorders and illnesses can be dealt with and treated
through psychotherapy. This includes a variety of methods by which
someone can help another to be cured or at least to improve.
Psychotherapy is essentially a growing process, that is, a path of liberation from
childhood problems, or from the past, in any case, which enables the individual to
assume his identity, role and responsibilities.
11.* Psychotherapy is morally acceptable as a medical treatment.
35.
6ut
it must respect the person of the patient, who allows access into his
inner world.
This respect prohibits the psychotherapist from violating the privacy of the other
without his consent and obliges him to work within these limits. )Cust as it is
unlawful to appropriate the goods of another or invade his corporal integrity
without his permission, so it is not permissible to enter the inner world of another
person against his wishes, whatever be the techni(ues and methods employed.)
359

The same respect prohibits the influencing or forcing of the patient's will. )The
psychologist whose only desire is the good of the patient, will be all the more
careful to respect the limits to his action set down by the moral code in that F in a
manner of speaking F he holds in his hands the psychological faculties of a
75
person, his ability to act freely, to achieve the noblest ideals which his personal
destiny and his social calling imply.)
351

11/* "rom the moral standpoint, logotherapy and counseling are
privileged forms of psychotherapy. 6ut they are all acceptable, provided
that they are practiced by psychotherapists who are guided by a
profound ethical sense.
'astoral care an# the Sacrament o Anointin" o the Sick
110* of the sick consists in spiritual and religious assistance. This is a
fundamental right of the patient and a duty of the Church Acf. &t -5/8H
0k :/3, -5/:B. @ot to assure it, not to support it, to make it discretionary
or to impede it is a violation of this right and infidelity to this duty.
This is the essential and specific, though not e#clusive, task of the health care
pastoral worker. 6ecause of the necessary interaction between the physical,
psychological and spiritual dimension of the person, and the duty of giving witness
to their own faith, all health care workers are bound to create the conditions by
which religious assistance is assured to anyone who asks for it, either e#pressly or
implicitly.
358
)n Cesus, the 'Word of life,' 2od's eternal life is thus proclaimed and
given. Thanks to this proclamation and gift, our physical and spiritual life, also in
its earthly phase, ac(uires its full value and meaning, for 2od's eternal life is in fact
the end to which our living in this world is directed and called.)
35:

119* ,eligious assistance implies that there be, within the health care
structure, the possibility and the means to carry this out.
The health care worker should be totally available to support and accede to the
patient's re(uest for religious assistance.
Where such assistance, for general or particular reasons, cannot be given by the
pastoral worker, it should be given directly F within possible and allowable limits
F by the health care worker, respecting the freedom and the religious affiliation of
the patient and aware that, in doing so, he does not detract from the rights of health
care assistance properly so called.
111* ,eligious assistance to the sick is part of the wider vision of
medical?pastoral assistance, that is, of the presence and activity of the
Church which is meant to bring the word and the grace of the 0ord to
those who suffer and to those who care for them.
7-
n the ministry of those F priests, religious and laity F who individually or as
communities are engaged in the pastoral care of the sick, the mercy of 2od lives
on, who in Christ has bound to human suffering, and the task of evangeli%ation,
sanctification and charity entrusted to the Church by the 0ord is carried out in a
singular and privileged manner.
3-5

This means that pastoral care of the sick has a special place in catechesis, in the
liturgy and in charity. ,espectively, it is a matter of evangeli%ing illness, helping a
person to uncover the redemptive meaning of suffering borne in communion with
ChristH of celebrating the sacraments as efficacious signs of the recreative and
vitali%ing grace of 2odH of witnessing by means of the )diakonia) AserviceB and the
)koinonia) AcommunionB to the therapeutic power of charity.
111* n pastoral care of the sick, the loveMfull of truth and of grace of
2od comes near to them in a special sacrament meant for them/ the
Anointing of the +ick.
3--

Administered to any Christian who is in a life$threatening condition, this sacrament
is a remedy for body and spirit, relief and strength for the patient in his corporeal$
spiritual integrity casting light on the mystery of suffering and death and bringing a
hope which opens the human present to the future of 2od. )The whole person
receives help from it for his salvationH he feels strengthened in his trust in 2od and
he receives reinforcement against the temptations of the devil and the fear of
death.)
3-3

+ince it has the efficacy of grace for the sick person, the Anointing of the +ick )is
not the sacrament of those only who are at the point of death.) Hence )the suitable
time to receive it is when one of the faithful, either from illness or old$age, begins
to be in danger of death.)
3-4

As with all the sacraments, the Anointing of the +ick should also be preceded by a
suitable catechesis so that the recipient, the sick person, is a conscious and
responsible sub*ect of the grace of the sacrament, and not an unconscious ob*ect of
the rite of imminent death.
3-7

11+* The proper minister of the Anointing of the +ick is the priest only,
and he should see that it is conferred )on those of the faithful whose
state of health is seriously threatened by old?age or illness.) To evaluate
the seriousness of the illness it is sufficient )to have a prudent or
probable *udgment.)
73
Celebrating communal Anointing might help to overcome negative pre*udices
against the Anointing of the +ick, and help to value the meaning of this sacrament
and the sense of ecclesial solidarity.
Anointing can be repeated if the sick person, having recovered from the illness for
which the sacrament was received, should again become ill, or if in the course of
the same illness his Condition should worsen.
t can be given before surgery if the reason for surgery is )a dangerous illness.)
Anointing may be conferred on the elderly )because of the notable diminishing of
their strength, even if they do not have any serious illness.)
f the conditions are present, it can also be conferred on children, )provided they
have sufficient use of reason.)
n the case of sick people who are unconscious or deprived of the use of reason, it
is to be Conferred )if there is reason to believe that in possession of their faculties
they themselves, as believers, would have, at least implicitly, re(uested holy
Anointing.)
)The sacrament cannot be conferred on a patient who is already dead.)
3-.

)When there is a doubt whether the sick person has attained the use of reason, or
whether the person is gravely ill or whether the person is dead, this sacrament is to
be conferred.)
3-9

11,* The ;ucharist, also, as <iaticum, has a special significance and
efficacy for the patient. )<iaticum of the body and blood of Christ
strengthens the believer and furnishes him with the pledge of
resurrection, as the 0ord has said/ The one who eats my flesh and drinks
my blood has eternal life, and will raise him up on the last day) ACn
9/.7B.
3-1

"or the sick person, the ;ucharist is this viaticum of life and hope. )Communion in
the form of <iaticum is, in fact, a special sign of participation in the mystery
celebrated in the sacrifice of the &ass, the mystery of the death of the 0ord and of
his passing to the "ather.)
3-8

Therefore it is the duty of a Christian to re(uest and receive <iaticum, and the
Church has a pastoral responsibility to administer it.
3-:

74
The minister of <iaticum is a priest. 6ut he may be substituted by a deacon or an
e#traordinary minister of the ;ucharist.
335

Charter For Health Care Workers:
$eath
11-* "or the health care worker, serving life means assisting it right up
to its natural completion.
0ife is in 2od's hands/ He is the 0ord, He alone decides the final moment. ;very
faithful servant guards this fulfillment of 2od's will in the life of every person
entrusted to his care. He does not consider himself the arbiter of death, *ust as and
because he does not consider himself the arbiter of anyone's life.
Terminal illnesses
115* When the state of one's health deteriorates to an irreversible and
fatal condition, a person enters into a terminal state of earthly e#istence.
"or him life is particularly and progressively precarious and painful. To
illness and physical suffering is added the psychological and spiritual
drama of detachment which death signifies and implies.
As such, the terminally ill patient is one who needs human and Christian
accompaniment, and it is here that doctors and nurses are called on to make their
e#pert and unrenounceable contribution. What is in (uestion is special medical
assistance for the dying person, so that also in dying he must know and will as a
living human being. )@ever more than in the pro#imity of death and in death itself
is life to be celebrated and e#tolled. This must be fully respected, protected and
assisted even in one who is e#periencing its natural end.... The attitude to the
terminally ill is often the acid test of a sense of *ustice and charity, of the nobility
of mind, of the responsibility and professional ability of health care workers,
beginning with doctors.)
33-

11.* !ying is part of life as its ultimate phase. t should be cared for,
then, as belonging to it. Hence it calls for the therapeutic responsibility
of the health care worker *ust as much and no less than every other
moment in human life.
The dying person should not be dismissed as incurable and abandoned to his own
resources and those of the family, but should be re?entrusted to the care of doctors
and nurses. These, interacting and integrating with the assistance given by
77
chaplains, social workers, relatives and friends, allow the dying person to accept
and live out his death.
333
To help one to die means to help him to live intensely the
final e#perience of his life. Where possible and when the one concerned wishes, he
should be given the opportunity of spending his last days at home with suitable
medical assistance.
11/* A terminally ill person should be given whatever medical
assistance helps to alleviate the pain accompanying death. This would
include the so$called palliative or symptomatic treatment.
The most important assistance is )loving presence) at the bedside of the dying
person.
334
There is a proper medical?health presence which, though not deceiving
him, makes him feel alive, a person among persons, because he is receiving, like
every being in need, attention and care. This caring attention gives confidence and
hope to the patient and makes him reconciled to death.
337
This is the uni(ue
contribution which doctors and nurses, by their being human and Christian F
more than by their e#pertise F can and should make to the dying person, so that
re*ection becomes acceptance and anguish gives way to hope.
n this way human dying is withdrawn from the phenomenon of )being overly
medicali%ed,) in which the terminal phase of life )takes place in crowded and
activity?dominated environments, controlled by medical health personnel whose
principal concern is the biophysical aspect of the illness.) All of this )is being seen
increasingly as disrespectful to the comple# human state of the suffering
person.)
33.

110* )6efore the mystery of death we are powerlessH human certainties
waver. 6ut it is precisely in the face of such a checkmate that Christian
faith...becomes a fount of serenity and peace.... What seems
meaningless takes on meaning and worth.)
339

When this )checkmate) takes place in the life of a person, in this decisive hour of
his e#istence, the witness of the health care worker's faith and hope in Christ has a
determining role. t displays new hori%ons of meaning, that is, of resurrection and
life, to the one who sees the prospects of earthly e#istence being closed to him.
)Dver and above all human consolations, no one can be blind to the enormous help
given to the dying and to their families by faith in 2od and the hope of eternal
life.)
331
To make faith and hope present is for doctors and nurses the highest form
of humani%ing death. t is more than alleviating a suffering. t means applying
one's skills in order to )make going to 2od easy for the patient.)
338

7.
(eath +ith #i"nity
119* The right to life is specified in the terminally ill person as )a right
to die in total serenity, with human and Christian dignity.)
33:

This cannot be interpreted as the power to kill oneself or to give this power to
others, but to e#perience dying in a human and Christian way and not flee from it
)at any cost.) This right is being e#plicitly e#pressed by people today in order to
safeguard themselves at the point of death against )the use of techni(ues that run
the risk of becoming abusive.)
345

Contemporary medicine, in fact, has at its disposal methods which artificially delay
death, without any real benefit to the patient. t is merely keeping one alive or
prolonging life for a time, at the cost of further, severe suffering. This is the so?
called )therapeutic tyranny,) which consists )in the use of methods which are
particularly e#hausting and painful for the patient, condemning him in fact to an
artificially prolonged agony.)
34-

This is contrary to the dignity of the dying person and to the moral obligation of
accepting death and allowing it at last to take its course. )!eath is an inevitable
fact of human life)/
343
it cannot be uselessly delayed, fleeing from it by every
means.
344

1+1* Aware that he is )neither the lord of life nor the con(ueror of
death,) the health care worker, in evaluating means, )should make
appropriate choices, that is, relate to the patient and be guided by his
real condition.)
347

Here he will apply the principle F already stated F of )appropriate medical
treatment,) which can be specified thus/ )When inevitable death is imminent,
despite the means used, it is lawful in conscience to decide to refuse treatment that
would only secure a precarious and painful prolongation of life, but without
interrupting the normal treatment due to the patient in similar cases. Hence the
doctor need have no concernH it is not as if he had failed to assist the person in
danger.)
34.

The administration of food and li(uids, even artificially, is part of the normal
treatment always due to the patient when this is not burdensome for him/ their
undue suspension could be real and properly so?called euthanasia.
79
1+1* "or the doctors and their assistants it is not a (uestion of deciding
the life or death of an individual. t is simply a (uestion of being a
doctor, that is, of posing the (uestion and then deciding according to
one's e#pertise and one's conscience regarding a respectful care of the
living and the dying of the patient entrusted to him. This responsibility
does not always and in all cases involve recourse to every means. t
might also re(uire the renunciation of certain means to make way for a
serene and Christian acceptance of death which is inherent in life. t
might also mean respect for the wishes of the patient who refuses the
use of such means.
349

The use o painkillers or the terminally ill
1++* Among the medicines administered to terminally ill patients are
painkillers. These, which help to make the course of the illness less
dramatic, contribute to the humani%ation and acceptance of death.
341

This, however, does not constitute a general norm of behavior.
348
)Heroic
behavior) cannot be imposed on everyone.
34:
And then, very often, )pain
diminishes the moral strength) of the person/
375
sufferings )aggravate the state of
weakness and physical e#haustion, impeding the impulse of the spirit and
debilitating the moral powers instead of supporting them. The suppression of pain,
instead, brings organic and psychic relief making prayer easier and enabling one to
give oneself more generously.)
37-

)Human and Christian prudence suggests the use for most patients of medicines
which alleviate or suppress pain, even if this causes torpor or reduced lucidity.
With regard to those who are unable to e#press their wishes, one can reasonably
suppose that they wish to take painkillers and these can be administered according
to medical advice.)
373

The use of painkillers with the dying, however, is not without its problems.
1+,* "irst, their use might have the effect, of not only alleviating pain,
but also of hastening death.
When )proportionate reasons) so re(uire, )it is permitted to use with moderation
narcotics which alleviate suffering, but which also hasten death.)
374
n this case
)death is not intended or sought in any way, although there is a risk of it for a
reasonable cause/ what is intended is simply the alleviation of pain in an effective
way, using for that purpose those painkillers available to medicine.)
377

71
1+-* There is also the possibility that painkillers will cause
unconsciousness in the dying person. This use must receive special
consideration.
37.

)Without serious reasons, the dying person must not be deprived of
consciousness.)
379
+ometimes the systematic use of narcotics which reduce the
consciousness of the patient is a cloak for the fre(uently unconscious wish of the
health care worker to discontinue relating to the dying person. n this case it is not
so much the alleviation of the patient's suffering that is sought as the convenience
of those in attendance. The dying person is deprived of the possibility of )living his
own life,) by reducing him to a state of unconsciousness unworthy of a human
being.
371
This is why the administration of narcotics for the sole purpose of
depriving the dying person of a conscious end is )a truly deplorable practice )
378

t is a different matter when there is a serious clinical case for the administration of
analgesics which suppress consciousness, as when there is violent and unbearable
pain. n this case the anesthetic is said to be licit, provided certain conditions are
fulfilled/ that the dying person has fulfilled or could still fulfill his moral, family
and religious obligations.
37:

Tellin" the truth to a #yin" person
1+5* Telling the truth about the diagnosis and prognosis to the dying
person, and more generally to those suffering from an incurable illness,
poses a problem of communication.
To inform someone that they are dying is difficult and dramatic, but this is not an
e#emption from being truthful. Communication between a dying person and those
in attendance cannot be based on pretense. This is never a human possibility for the
dying person and does not contribute to the humani%ation of dying.
The person has a right to be informed of their condition. This right is not lessened
where there is a diagnosis and prognosis of a terminal illness, rather, it is
heightened.
This information, in fact, is linked to important responsibilities which cannot be
delegated to another. There are responsibilities bearing on the treatment to be
applied with the informed consent of the patient.
With the approach of death comes the responsibility to fulfill certain duties in one's
relationship with the family, settling possible legal matters, resolving obligations to
78
a third party. "or a believer the approach of death re(uires that he be fully aware
when he performs certain actions, especially the reconciling encounter with 2od in
the sacrament of Penance.
The person cannot be abandoned to unconsciousness in the decisive )hour) of his
life, taking him away from himself and from his final and most important
decisions. )!eath is too essential a moment for its prospect to be avoided.)
3.5

1+.* The duty of being truthful with the terminally ill patient demands
discernment and human tact on the part of medical personnel.
t cannot consist of a detached and indifferent communication of the diagnosis and
relevant prognosis. The truth must not remain unspoken, but neither must it be
given in all its bare, crude reality. t should be given in line with love and charity,
calling all those who assist the patient in various ways to be attuned to this
communion. There is the need to establish a relationship of trust, receptivity and
dialogue with the patient, seeking the appropriate time and words. There is a way
of speaking that is discerning and respectful of the patient's moods, and it should
be in harmony with these. There is a form of conversation wherein (uestions are
tactfully handled and even provoked, so that the patient is gradually brought to an
awareness of his condition. f one tries to be present to the patient and sensitive to
his lot one will find the words and the replies which make it possible to
communicate in truth and in charity/ )giving the truth in love) A;ph 7/-.B.
1+/* );ach case has its own re(uirements, depending on the sensitivity
and ability of each person, of his or her relationship with the patient and
the patient's conditionH to provide for the patient's possible reactions
Arebellion, depression, resignation, etc.B, one will prepare oneself to face
them calmly and tactfully.)
3.-
t is not the e#actness of what is said that
is important, but the relationship of solidarity with the patient. t is not
simply a matter of giving clinical facts, but of meaningful
communication.
n this relationship the prospect of death is not presented as inescapable, and it
loses its anguishing power/ the patient does not feel isolated and condemned to
death. When the truth is presented to him in this way he is not left without hope,
because it makes him feel alive in a relationship of sharing and communion. He is
not alone with his illness/ he feels truly understood, and he is at peace with himself
and with others. He is himself as a person. His life, despite everything, has
meaning, and dying unfolds with optimistic and transcendent meaning.
7:
The moment o #eath
1+0* The use of resuscitative technology and the need for vital organs
for transplant operations pose anew today the problem of diagnosing
when death occurs.
!eath is seen and e#perienced by people as a decomposition, a dissolution, a
rupture.
3.3
t comes when the spiritual principle which governs the unity of the
individual is no longer able to e#ercise its functions on and in the organism and the
elements of the latter, left to themselves, dissociate.
Certainly, this destruction does not effect the entire human being. The Christian
faith F and not it alone F affirms the continuance, beyond death, of man's
spiritual principle.) "aith nourishes in the Christian the hope of again finding his
personal integrity transfigured and definitively possessed in Christ) A- Cor
-./33B.
3.4

This faith filled with hope does not prevent )death IfromJ being a painful rupture.)
6ut )the moment of this rupture is not directly perceptible, and the problem is to
identify the signs.)
3.7
To ascertain and interpret these signs is not a matter for faith
or morals but for medical science/ )it is for the doctor...to give a clear, precise
definition of death and of the moment of death.)
3..
)+cientists, analysts and
scholars must continue their research and their studies to determine in the most
precise way possible the e#act moment and the irrefutable sign of death.)
3.9

Dnce this determination has been achieved, in its light the (uestions and moral
conflicts arising from new technologies and new therapeutic possibilities can be
resolved. &oral theology, in fact, cannot but acknowledge the biomedical
determination as the decisive criterion.
1+9* With regard to this determination, the Pontifical Academy of
+ciences has made an authoritative contribution. "irst with regard to the
biomedical definition of death/ )a person is dead when he has
irreversibly lost all ability to integrate and coordinate the physical and
mental functions of the body.)
+econd, with regard to the precise moment of death/ )death comes when/ aB the
spontaneous functions of the heart and breathing have definitively ceased, or bB the
irreversible arrest of all brain activity.) n reality )brain death is the true criterion
of death, although the definitive arrest of cardio?respiratory activity very (uickly
leads to brain death.)
3.1

.5
"aith and morals accept these findings of science. However, they demand of health
care workers the most accurate use of the various clinical and instrumental
methods for a certain diagnosis of death so that a patient is not declared dead and
treated as such when in fact he is not dead.
Reli"ious assistance or the #yin"
1,1* The crisis which the approach of death involves prompts the
Christian and the Church to be a bearer of the light of truth which faith
alone can cast on the mystery of death.
!eath is an event which brings one into the life of 2od, and revelation alone can
pronounce a word of truth about it. This truth must be brought in faith to the dying
person. The annunciation )full of grace and truth) ACn -/-7B of the 2ospel
accompanies the Christian from the beginning to the end of life. The last word of
the 2ospel is the word of life that con(uers death and opens up the greatest hope to
the dying person.
1,1* !eath, then, must be evangeli%ed/ the 2ospel must be announced
to the dying person. t is a pastoral duty of the ecclesial community in
each one of its members, according to the responsibilities of each. The
hospital chaplain has a special obligation here, since he is called to
minister to the dying within the broader limits of the pastoral care of the
sick.
"or him this duty implies not only the role he personally carries out at the side of
the dying entrusted to his care, but also the promotion of this pastoral activity,
through organi%ing religious services, forming and sensiti%ing health care workers
and involving relatives and friends.
The announcement of the 2ospel to the dying finds especially e#pressive and
effective forms in charity, prayer and the sacraments.
1,+* Charity means that giving and receptive presence which establishes
with the dying person a communion born of attention, comprehension,
concern, patience, sharing and selflessness.
Charity sees in the dying person, as in no other, the face of the suffering and dying
Christ calling out for love. Charity to the dying person F this )poor one) who is
renouncing all the goods of this world F is a privileged e#pression of love of 2od
in one's neighbor Acf. &t 3./4-?75B.
.-
0oving the dying with Christian charity is helping them to recogni%e and feel
vividly the mysterious presence of 2od at their side/ in the charity of a brother the
love of 2od becomes visible.
1,,* Charity enables the relationship with the dying person to e#pand in
prayer, that is, in communion with 2od. n this communion one relates
to 2od as the "ather who welcomes his children returning to Him.
To help the dying person to pray and to pray with him means opening up to him
the hori%ons of divine life. t means, at the same time, entering into that
)communion of saints) in which all the relationships, which death seems to break
irreparably, are re?knit in a new way.
1,-* A privileged moment of prayer with the dying person is the
celebration of the sacraments/ the grace?filled signs of 2od's salvific
presence.
"oremost is the sacrament of the Anointing of the +ick through which the Holy
+pirit, completing in the Christian his assimilation to Christ begun in baptism,
makes him participate definitively in the paschal triumph over sickness and death.
<iaticum is eucharistic nourishment, the bread of communion with Christ which
gives the dying person the strength to face the final and decisive stage of life's
*ourney.
Penance is the sacrament of reconciliation/ at peace with 2od, the dying person is
at peace with himself and with his neighbor.
1,5* n this faith, filled with charity the powerlessness e#perienced
when faced with the mystery of death is not agoni%ing and paraly%ing.
The Christian finds hope and in it the possibility, despite everything, to
live and not suffer death.
The suppression o lie
1,.* The inviolability of human life means and implies in the last
analysis the unlawfulness of every act which directly suppresses human
life. )The inviolability of the right to life of the innocent human being
from conception to death is a sign and a re(uirement of the very
inviolability of the person, to whom the Creator has given the gift of
life.)
3.8

.3
2od himself )is the vindicator of every innocent life.) )He will call man to account
for the life of man/ each one will have to answer for his brother) A2en :/.H cf. &t
-:/-8H ,om -4/:B. And his commandment is categorical/ )Thou shalt not kill) A;#
35/-4B/ )!o not kill the innocent or the *ust one because will not absolve the
guilty one) A;# 34/1B.
3.:

1,/* This is why )no one can make an attempt on the life of an innocent
person without opposing 2od's love for that person, without violating a
fundamental, unrenouncable and inalienable right.)
395

This is a right that one has come directly from 2od Anot from others/ parents,
society, human authorityB. )Hence there is no one, no human authority, no science,
no medical, eugenic, social, economic or moral 'indicator' which can show or give
a valid *uridical *ustification for direct, deliberate disposal of an innocent human
life, that is, a disposal aimed at its destruction, either as an end or as a means to
another end which in itself may not be at all illicit.)
39-

n particular )nothing and no one can authori%e the killing of an innocent human
being, whether it is a fetus or an embryo, a child or an adult, elderly, ill, incurable
or dying. &oreover, no one can re(uest this homicidal act for themselves or for
another for whom they are responsible, nor can they consent to it e#plicitly or
implicitly. @o authority can legitimately impose it or permit it. t is, in fact, a
violation of divine law. an insult to the dignity of the human person, a anti$life
crime, an attempt on humankind )
393

1,0* )&inisters of life and never agents of death,)
394
it is for health care
workers )to safeguard life, to be watchful over its evolution and
development throughout its whole e#istence, respecting the plan drawn
up by the Creator.)
397

This vigilant ministry of safeguarding human life re*ects homicide as a morally
grave act, contrary to the medical mission, and opposes voluntary death, suicide, as
)unacceptable,) dissuading anyone tempted to do so from carrying it out.
39.

Among the modalities of the suppression of life, homicide or suicide, there are two
F abortion and euthanasia F against which this ministry should be particularly
vigilant and in a certain way prophetic, due to the cultural and legislative conte#t
which is rather fre(uently insensitive if not, indeed, favorable to their propagation.
.4
A$ortion
1,9* The inviolability of the human person from conception prohibits as
the suppression of prenatal life. This is )a direct violation of the
fundamental right to life of the human being)
399
and is )an abominable
crime.)
391

There is need to make e#plicit reference to suppression of life by abortion and its
moral gravity because of the ease of recourse to this homicidal practice today and
the ethical indifference towards it induced by a hedonistic and utilitarian culture F
offspring of theoretical and practical materialism F which has spawned a truly
abortionist mentality.
The elimination of the unwanted pregnancy has become a wide$spread
phenomenon, financed by ta#payer's money and facilitated by permissive and
guaranteed legislation.
398
All of this is the fatal cause for many people to avoid
taking responsibility for the e#pected child and so to banali%e a serious sin.
39:

)Knfortunately, this disturbing state of affairs, far from decreasing, is e#panding....
At the same time a new cultural climate is developing and taking hold, which gives
crimes against life a new and F if possible F even more sinister character, giving
rise to further grave concern/ broad sectors of public opinion *ustify certain crimes
against life in the name of the rights of individual freedom, and on this basis they
claim not only e#emption from punishment but even authori%ation by the state, so
that these things can be done with total freedom and indeed with the free assistance
of health care systems.)
315

1-1* The Church, like every person who holds life dear, cannot become
accustomed to this mentality, and she raises her voice in defense of life,
especially that of the defenseless and unknown, which embryonic and
fetal life is.
+he calls health care workers to professional loyalty, which does not tolerate any
action which suppresses life, despite )the Ask of incomprehension,
misunderstanding, and serious discrimination) which this consistency might
cause.
31-
"idelity to medical health de?legitimi%es every intervention, surgical or
pharmaceutical, intended to interrupt the pregnancy at any stage.
1-1* t is also true that in certain cases, by refusing an abortion, other
important goods F which it is only normal that one would want to
safeguard F are put in *eopardy. These could be/ danger to the mother's
.7
health, the burden of another child, a serious malformation of the fetus,
a pregnancy caused by rape. These problems cannot be ignored or
minimi%ed, nor the reasons supporting them. 6ut it must also be
affirmed that none of them can ob*ectively give the right to dispose of
another's life, even in the initial phase. )0ife, in fact, is too fundamental
a good for it to be compared with certain disadvantages, even if they be
very great.)
313

1-+* ;thical delegitimi%ation applies to all forms of direct abortion,
since it is an intrinsically blameworthy act. The use of substances or
means which impede the implantation of the fertili%ed embryo or which
cause its premature detachment is also an act of abortion. A doctor who
would knowingly prescribe or apply such substances or means would
cooperate in the abortion.
f the abortion follows as a foreseen but nor intended or willed but merely tolerated
conse(uence of a therapeutic act essential for the mother's health, this is morally
legitimate. The abortion in this case is the indirect result of an act which is not in
itself abortive.
314

1-,* f the health care worker is faced with legislation favorable to
abortion he )must refuse politely but firmly.)
317
)Dne can never obey a
law that is intrinsically immoral, and this is so in the case of a law
which admits, in principle, the lawfulness of abortion.)
31.

As a result, doctors and nurses are obliged to be conscientious ob*ectors. The great,
fundamental value of life makes this obligation a grave moral duty for medical
personnel who are encouraged by the law to carry out abortions or to cooperate
pro#imately in direct abortion.
Awareness of the inviolable value of life and of 2od's law protecting it, is
antecedent to all positive human law. When the latter is contrary to 2od's law,
conscience affirms its primary right and the primacy of 2od's law/ )Dne must obey
2od rather than men) AActs ./3:B.
)t is not always easy to follow one's conscience in obedience to 2od's law. t may
entail sacrifice and disadvantages, and one can in no way discount this costH
sometimes heroism is called for if one is to be faithful to these demands.
@evertheless, it must be clearly stated that the road of genuine progress for the
human person passes through this constant fidelity to a conscience upholding
rectitude and truth.)
319

..
1--* As well as being a mark of professional loyalty, conscientious
ob*ection on the part of the health care worker, for the right reasons, is
highly meaningful as a social condemnation of a legal in*ustice against
innocent and defenseless life.
1-5* The gravity of the sin of abortion and the ease with which it is
carried out, supported by law and the modern mentality, prompts the
Church to threaten the penalty of e#communication for the Christian
who procures it/ )Dne who procures an effective abortion incurs latae
sententiae e#communication.)
311

The e#communication has an essentially preventative and pedagogical
significance. t is a forceful call from the Church, meant to arouse insensitive
consciences, to dissuade people from an act which is absolutely incompatible with
2ospel demands, and to awaken unreserved fidelity to life. Dne cannot be in
ecclesial communion and at the same time disregard the 2ospel of life through the
practice of abortion.
The protection and acceptance of the e#pected child, its preference to all other
values, is a decisive and credible witness which the Christian must give no matter
what.
1-.* Health care workers have special obligations with regard to aborted
fetuses.
An aborted fetus, if it is still alive, should be bapti%ed if at all possible.
318

A dead aborted fetus must be given the same respect as a human corpse. This
means that it cannot be disposed of as *ust another item of rubbish. f at all possible
it should be appropriately interred.
0ikewise, the fetus cannot be used for e#perimentation or transplant if the abortion
was caused voluntarily. To do so would be an unworthy instrumentali%ation of a
human life.
Euthanasia
1-/* A mentality ever less ready to recogni%e life as a value in itself,
relative to 2od alone, independent of how it came into beingH a concept
of the (uality of life in terms of efficiency and psychophysical
satisfaction, incapable of seeing any meaning in suffering and handicap,
.9
and hence to be avoided at any cost and by every meansH a vision of
death as an absurd end to a life still to be en*oyed, or as a liberation
from an e#istence already considered meaninglessH all of this F within
a culture which, leaving 2od aside, makes man responsible to himself
alone and to freely established laws of society F is the soil of the
euthanasia culture. Where these convictions are disseminated )it could
seem logical and 'human' to end one's own life or that of another
'peacefully', when all that is left to it is suffering and serious
impairment.)
31:

)6ut this is really absurd and inhuman.)
385
;uthanasia is a homicidal act, which no
end can *ustify. 6y euthanasia is meant an action or omission which of its nature or
by intention causes death, in order that all suffering may be eliminated.
;uthanasia's terms of reference, therefore, are to be found in the intention of the
will and in the methods used.
38-
The pity aroused by the pain and suffering of
terminally ill persons, abnormal babies, the mentally ill, the elderly, those suffering
from incurable diseases, does not authori%e any form of direct euthanasia, active or
passive. This is not a (uestion of helping a sick person, but rather the intentional
killing of a person.
1-0* &edical and paramedical personnel?faithful to the task of )always
being at the service of life and assisting it to the end)
383
cannot
cooperate in any euthanistic practice even at the re(uest of the one
concerned, and much less at the re(uest of the relatives. n fact, the
individual does not have the right to euthanasia, because he does not
have a right to dispose arbitrarily of his own life. Hence no health care
worker can be the e#ecutive guardian of a non$e#istent right.
t is a different matter when there is (uestion of the right, already mentioned, of
dying with human and Christian dignity. This is a real and legitimate right which
medical personnel are called on to safeguard by caring for the patient and
accepting the natural termination of life. There is a radical difference between
)death dealing) and )consent to dying)/ the former is an act suppressing life, the
latter means accepting life until death.
1-9* )The pleas of gravely ill persons who sometimes ask for death are
not to be understood as implying a true desire for euthanasiaH in fact it is
almost always a case of an anguished plea for help and love. What a
sick person needs, besides medical care, is love, the human and
supernatural warmth with which the sick person can and ought to be
.1
surrounded by those close to him or her, parents and children, doctors
and nurses.)
384

The sick person who feels surrounded by a loving human and Christian presence
does not give way to depression and anguish as would be the case if one were left
to suffer and die alone and wanting to be done with life. This is why euthanasia is a
defeat for the one who proposes it, decides it and carries it out. "ar from being an
act of mercy to the patient, euthanasia is a gesture of individual and social self$pity
and an escape from an unbearable situation.
151* ;uthanasia upsets the doctor?patient relationship. Dn the part of
the patient, because he relates to the doctor as one who can assure him
of death. Dn the part of the doctor, because he is no longer the absolute
guarantor of life/ the sick person will be afraid that the doctor may
cause his death. The doctor?patient relationship is a life?trusting one
and this is how it should remain. ;uthanasia is a )crime) in which health
care workers, who are always and only guardians of life, can in no way
cooperate.
387
"or medical science it marks )a backward step of
surrender, as well as an insult to the personal dignity of the one who is
dying.)
38.
ts being depicted as a )further harbor of death after abortion)
should be understood as a )dramatic appeal) for effective, unreserved
fidelity to life.
389

Charter For Health Care Workers:
En&notes
1 John Paul II, during his visit to Mercy Maternity Hospital in Melbourne, Nov.
28, 198, in Insegna!enti I"#2 $198% 1&'(, n. ). *+i,e and physical health are
precious gi,ts entrusted to us by -od. .e !ust ta/e reasonable care o, the!,
ta/ing into account the needs o, others and the co!!on good* $000 2288%.
12ac/3
2 John Paul II, 4o the participants at t5o congresses o, !edicine and surgery,
6ct. 2&, 1987, in Insegna!enti #p. 1717, n. . 12ac/3
' *In e8ercising your pro,ession, you are al5ays dealing 5ith the hu!an person,
5ho entrusts his body to you, con,ident o, your co!petence as 5ell as your
solicitude and concern. It is the !ysterious and 5onder,ul reality o, the li,e o, a
hu!an being, 5ith his su,,ering and his hope, that you are dealing 5ith.* John
Paul II, 4o the participants at a surgery congress, 9eb. 19, 198&, in Insegna!enti
"#1 $198&% '&(, n. 2. 12ac/3
.8
( 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at a !edical congress on tu!or therapy,
9eb. 2), 1982 in Insegna!enti :#1, 98. 0,. also John Paul II; *None o, you can be
!erely a doctor o, an organ or an apparatus, but you !ust loo/ to the 5hole
person,* 4o the .orld 0ongress o, 0atholic <octors, 6ct. ', 1982, in
Insegna!enti :#', pp. &'*&(, n. (. 12ac/3
) 0,. John Paul II, 4o the 0ongress o, Italian 0atholic <octors, 6ss. =o!. 6ct.
18,1988. 12ac/3
John Paul II, Motu Proprio *<olentiu! ho!inu!,* 9eb. 11,198), in
Insegna!enti :III#1, p. (&(, n. 2. *0are ,or the health o, its citi>ens re?uires that
society help in the attain!ent o, living conditions that allo5 the! to gro5 and
reach !aturity; ,ood and clothing, housing, health care, basic education,
e!ploy!ent, and social assistance* $000 2288%. 12ac/3
& John Paul II, 4o the participants at a !edical congress on tu!or therapy, 9eb.
2), 1982, in Insegna!enti :#1, p. 98, n. (. 0,. 4o the participants at a scienti,ic
congress, May 21, 1982, in Insegna!enti :#2, p. 1&92, n. ). 12ac/3
8 *@s I have said !any ti!es in !y !eetings 5ith health care 5or/ers, your
vocation is one 5hich co!!its you to the noble !ission o, service to people in the
vast, co!ple8 and !ysterious ,ield o, su,,ering* John Paul II, 4o representatives o,
the Italian 0atholic <octors, March (,1989, in Insegna!enti "II#1, p. (87, n. 2.%
12ac/3
9 John Paul II, 4o the @ssociation o, Italian 0atholic <octors, <ec. 28. 19&8, in
Insegna!enti I, p. ('. *Aou are a5are o, the close relationship, the analogy, the
interaction bet5een the !ission o, the priest on the one hand and that o, the health
care 5or/er on the other; all are devoted, in di,,erent 5ays, to the salvation o, the
person, and care ,or his health, to ,ree hi! ,ro! illness, su,,ering and death, to
pro!ote in hi! li,e 5ellBbeing and happiness* $John Paul II, *<iscourse ,or the
127th anniversary o, the ,oundation o, the C2a!bin -esuC hospital,* March 18,
1989, in Insegna!enti "II#1, 7)*78, n. 2%. 12ac/3
17 0,. John Paul II, @post. +etter Dalvi,ici doloris, in Insegna!enti :II#1, ')'*')8,
nn. 28B'7E 4o an international group o, scientists, @pril 2&, 198(, in Insegna!enti
:II#1, 11''B11'), n. 2; 4o the 0atholic health organi>ations o, the Fnited Dtates,
Dept. 1(, 198&, in Insegna!enti "#' $198&% )7. 12ac/3
11 *4he very personal relationship o, dialogue and trust established bet5een you
and the patient re?uires o, you a level o, hu!anity 5hich, ,or the believer, is ,ound
in the richness o, 0hristian charity. 4his is the divine virtue 5hich enriches all
your actions and gives to your gestures, even the si!plest o, the!, the po5er o, an
act per,or!ed by you in inner co!!union 5ith 0hrist*; John Paul II 4o the
@ssociation o, <ental <octors, <ec. 1(, 198(, in Insegna!enti :II#2, 1)92B1)9(,
n. (. *Aou bring to the sic/Broo! and to the operating table so!ething o, -odCs
.:
charity, o, the love and tenderness o, 0hrist, the great <octor o, the soul and the
body*; John PaulII, 4o the C9atebene,ratelliC hospital, @pril ), 1981, in
Insegna!enti I:#1, p. 89), n. '. 12ac/3
12 0,. John Paul II, 4o the C@r!ida 2arelliC training school ,or pro,essional
nurses, May 2&, 1989, in Insegna!enti "II#1, p. 1'(, n. '. *.hat a sti!ulus ,or
the desired Cpersonali>ationC o, !edicine could co!e ,ro! 0hristian charity, 5hich
!a/es it possible to see in the ,eatures o, every sic/ person the adorable ,ace o, the
great, !ysterious Patient, 5ho continues to su,,er in those over 5ho! your
pro,ession bends, 5isely and providentlyG* $John Paul II, 4o the participants at
t5o congresses o, !edicine and surgery, 6ct. 2&, 1987, in Insegna!enti III#2, p.
1717, n. &%. 12ac/3
1' 0,. John Paul II, 4o the @ssociation o, Italian 0atholic <octors, <ec. 28, 19&8,
in Insegna!enti 1, ('&H('8. 12ac/3
1( 0,. John Paul II, 4o the sta,, o, the C9atebene,ratelliC hospital, @pril ), 1981, in
Insegna!enti I:#1, p. 89). n. '. 12ac/3
1) John Paul II, 4o the @ssociation o, Italian 0atholic <octors, <ec. 28, 19&8, in
Insegna!enti 1, p. ('&. 12ac/3
1 John Paul II, 4o the Italian 9ederation o, 6rthopedic 4echnology .or/ers,
Nov. 19, 19&9, in Insegna!enti II#2, p. 127&, n. (E c,. 4o the participants at a
scienti,ic congress, May 21, 1982, in Insegna!enti :#2, p. 1&92, n. ). 12ac/3
1& *Aour 5or/...can beco!e a religious act* $John Paul II, 4o the participants at a
surgery congress, 9eb. 19, 198&, in Insegna!enti "#1 $198&% '&), n. 'E c,. Paul :I,
Insegna!enti di Paolo :I, vol. 1, 19', p. 1(1%. 12ac/3
18 John Paul II, Motu Proprio *<olentiu! ho!inu!,* 9eb. 11, 198), in
Insegna!enti :III#1 $198)% p. (&). 12ac/3
19 *Ivery concern ,or illness and su,,ering is part o, the li,e and the !ission o, the
0hurch* $John Paul II, 4o the 0atholic health organi>ations o, the Fnited Dtates
o, @!erica, Dept. 1(, 198&, in Insegna!enti "#' 1198&3 )72H)7', n. '%. *@llo5ing
hersel, to be guided by the e8a!ple o, Jesus the C-ood Da!aritanC $c,. +/ 17;29'&%
and upheld by his strength, the 0hurch has al5ays been in the ,ront line in
providing charitable help; so !any o, her sons and daughters, especially !en and
5o!en religious, in traditional and ever ne5 ,or!s, have consecrated and
continue to consecrate their lives to -od, ,reely giving o, the!selves out o, love ,or
their neighbor, especially ,or the 5ea/ and needy* $John Paul II, Incyclical
Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. 2&%. 12ac/3
27 0,. John Paul II, 4o the 5orld 0ongress o, 0atholic doctors, 6ct. ' 1982, in
Insegna!enti :#', p. &, n. '. *4he +ord Jesus 0hrist physician o, our souls and
bodies, 5ho ,orgave the sins o, the paralytic and restored hi! to bodily health, has
95
5illed that his 0hurch continue, in the po5er o, the Holy Dpirit, his 5or/ o,
healing and salvation even a!ong her o5n !e!bers. 4his is the purpose o, the
t5o sacra!ents o, healing; the sacra!ent o, Penance and the sacra!ent o,
@nointing o, the Dic* $000 1(21%. 12ac/3
21 *Aour presence at the sic/Bbed is bound up 5ith that o, those J priests,
religious and laity J 5ho are engaged in apostolate to the sic/. Kuite a nu!ber o,
the aspects o, that apostolate coincide 5ith the proble!s and tas/s o, the service to
li,e rendered by !edicine. 4here is a necessary interaction bet5een the e8ercise o,
the !edical pro,ession and pastoral 5or/, because the one obLect o, both is the
hu!an person, seen in his dignity o, a child o, -od, a brother or sister needing,
Lust li/e ourselves, help and co!,orting* $John Paul II, 4o the .orld 0ongress o,
0atholic <octors, 6ct. ' 1982, in Insegna!enti :#', p. &, n. %. 12ac/3
22 *Aou, 5hile you alleviate su,,erings and try to cure the!, at the sa!e ti!e are
5itnesses o, the 0hristian vie5 o, su,,ering and o, the !eaning o, li,e and death, in
the 5ay it is taught by your 0hristian ,aith* $John Paul II, 4o the 0atholic Health
6rgani>ations o, the Fnited Dtates o, @!erica, Dept. 1(, 198&, in Insegna!enti "#'
1198&3 pp. )72 and )7).% 12ac/3
2' John Paul II, @post. I8hort. 0hristi,ideles laici, <ec. '7, 1988, in Insegna!enti
"I#(, p. 217, n. )'. 12ac/3
2( 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at the International 0ongress ,or
@ssistance to the <ying, in 6ss. =o!. March 18, 1992, n. . *Ivery individual,
precisely by reason o, the !ystery o, the .ord o, -od 5ho 5as !ade ,lesh $c,. Jn
1; 1(%, is entrusted to the !aternal care o, the 0hurch* John Paul II, Incyclical
Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. '%. 12ac/3
2) John Paul II, 4o the participants at a surgery congress, 9eb. 19,198& in
Insegna!enti "#1, p. '&), n. '. *4he advance o, science and technology, this
splendid 5itness o, the hu!an capacity ,or understanding and ,or perseverance,
does not dispense hu!anity ,ro! the obligation to as/ the ulti!ate religious
?uestions. =ather it spurs us on to ,ace the !ost pain,ul and decisive o, struggles,
those o, the heart and o, the !oral conscience* John Paul II, Incyclical :eritatis
splendor, n. 1%. 12ac/3
2 0,. John Paul II, Motu Proprio *<olentiu! ho!inu!,* 9eb. 11, 198), in
Insegna!enti :III#1 $198)% p. (&). *Ispecially signi,icant is the rea5a/ening o, an
ethical re,lection on issues a,,ecting li,e. 4he e!ergence and ever !ore
5idespread develop!ent o, bioethics is pro!oting !ore re,lection and
dialogueMbet5een believers and nonHbelievers, as 5ell as bet5een ,ollo5ers o,
di,,erent religionsMon ethical proble!s, including ,unda!ental issues pertaining
to hu!an li,e* $John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. 2&%.
12ac/3
9-
2& 0,. John Paul II, 4o the @ssociation o, 0atholic health care 5or/ers, 6ct. 2(,
198, in Insegna!enti I"#2, p. 11&1, n. '. *In todayCs cultural and social conte8t, in
5hich science and the practice o, !edicine ris/ losing sight o, their inherent
ethical di!ension, healthHcare pro,essionals can be strongly te!pted at ti!es to
beco!e !anipulators o, li,e, or even agents o, death* John Paul II Incyclical
Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. 89%. 12ac/3
28 Dynod o, 2ishops, special @sse!bly ,or Iurope, 0oncluding Dtate!ent, in 6ss.
=o!. <ec. 27, 1991, n. 17. *It is illusory to clai! that scienti,ic research and its
applications are !orally neutral. 6n the other hand, guiding criteria cannot be
deduced ,ro! !erely technical e,,icacy, nor ,ro! the use,ulness to so!e to the
detri!ent o, others, nor, 5orse still, ,ro! the do!inant ideologies. Dcience and
technology re?uire, by their very inner signi,icance, unconditional respect ,or the
,unda!ental criteria o, !oralityE they !ust be at the service o, the hu!an person,
o, his inalienable rights, o, his true and integral good, in con,or!ity 5ith -odCs
plan and 5ill* 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87
$1988% Introduction, 2, p. &' $c,. 000 229(%. 12ac/3
29 Ithical co!!ittees, co!posed o, specialists in the !edical and !oral nerds,
are also established by govern!ents, 5hich give the! consultative and supervisory
roles. *4he 0hurch is a5are that the issue o, !orality is one 5hich deeply touches
every personE it involves all people, even those 5ho do not /no5 0hrist and his
-ospel or -od hi!sel,. Dhe /no5s that it is precisely on the path o, the !oral li,e
that the 5ay o, salvation is open to all* John Paul II, Incyclical :eritatis
splendor, n. '. *...No dar/ness o, error or o, sin can totally e8tinguish in the
hu!an person the light o, -od the 0reator. In the depths o, his heart there al5ays
re!ains a yearning ,or absolute truth and a thirst to attain ,ull /no5ledge o, it.*
4his is elo?uently proved by !anCs tireless research in all ,ields and in every
sector. His search ,or the !eaning o, li,e proves it even !ore $ibid., n. 1%. 0,. John
Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199). n. (. 12ac/3
'7 0,. John Paul II, 4o the plenary asse!bly o, the Ponti,ical 0ouncil ,or Pastoral
@ssistance to Health 0are .or/ers, 9eb. 9,1997, in Insegna!enti "III#2, p. (7), n.
(. 12ac/3
'1 John Paul II, @post. +etter Dalvi,ici doloris, in Insegna!enti :II#1, 2)(H'), n.
29. 12ac/3
'2 0,. 4o scientists and health care 5or/ers, Nov. 12, 198&, in Insegna!enti "#'
$198&% 1788; *4he hu!ani>ation o, !edicine is a duty o, Lustice, and its
i!ple!entation cannot be entirely delegated to others, since it re?uires the
co!!it!ent o, all. Its operative ,ield is very vast; it goes ,ro! health education to
the creation o, greater sensitivity in those in public authorityE ,ro! direct
involve!ent in oneCs o5n 5or/place to ,or!s o, cooperation J local, national and
93
international J 5hich are !ade possible by the e8istence o, so !any
organi>ations and associations 5hich have a!ong their purposes the call, direct
or indirect, ,or a need to !a/e !edicine ever !ore hu!an.* 12ac/3
'' John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2).199). n. '(. 12ac/3
'( Ibid., n. ('. 12ac/3
') John Paul II, 4o the .orld Medical @ssociation, 6ct. 29, 198', in Insegna!enti
:I#2, 921. 0,. @llocution to the participants at a congress o, the Ponti,ical
@cade!y o, Dciences, 6ct. 2', 1982, in Insegna!enti :#', 89)H898. 12ac/3
' 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988% 8).
0,. John Paul II, @post. I8hort. 0hristi,deles laici, <ec. '7, 1988, in Insegna!enti
"I#(, pp. 21''H21'), n. '8E c,. Holy Dee, 0harter o, the =ights o, the 9a!ily, 6ct.
22, 198', art. (. 12ac/3
'& John Paul II, 4o the Fnion o, Italian Jurists, <ec. ), 198&, in Insegna!enti "#',
$198&% 129). *4he 0hurch re!ains deeply conscious o, her Cduty in every age o,
e8a!ining the signs o, the ti!es and interpreting the! in the light o, the -ospel, so
that she can o,,er in a !anner appropriate to each generation replies to the
continual hu!an ?uestionings on the !eaning o, this li,e and the li,e to co!e and
on ho5 they are related*C $John Paul II, Incyclical :eritatis splendor, n. 2%.
12ac/3
'8 John Paul II, 4o the .orld Medical @ssociation, 6ct. 29 198', in Insegna!enti
:I#2,921H92'. 0,. 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D
87 $1988% 97H92. 12ac/3
'9 0,. Icu!. 0oun. :atican II, Past. 0onstit. -audiu! et spes, n. )7E Paul :I,
Incyclical Hu!anae vitae, in @@D 7 $198% p. (8&. 12ac/3
(7 John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. ('. 12ac/3
(1 0,. Paul :I, Incyclical Hu!anae vitae, in @@D 7 $198% p. (8&, n. 17. 12ac/3
(2 Icu!. 0oun. :atican II, Past. 0onstit. -audiu! et spes, n. )1. 12ac/3
(' 0,. Paul :I, Incyclical Hu!anae vitae, in @@D 7 $198% p. (88, n. 12. 12ac/3
(( *4he inner structure o, the !arriage act is such that, 5hile it pro,oundly unites
the partners, it ,its the! ,or the generation o, ne5 li,e, according to la5s inscribed
in the very being o, the !an and the 5o!an* $Paul :I, Incyclical Hu!anae vitae,
in @@D 7 11983 pp. (88H(89, n. 12%. 12ac/3
() 0,. 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988%
91. 12ac/3
( 0,. Paul :I, Incyclical Hu!anae vitae, n. 12E John Paul II, @postol. I8hort.
9a!iliaris consortio, in @@D &( $1982% p. 118, n. '2. *0onse?uently, Cthe one 5ho
5ishes to understand hi!sel, thoroughly J and not Lust in accordance 5ith
i!!ediate, partial, o,ten super,icial, and even illusory standards and !easures o,
94
being J !ust 5ith his unrest, uncertainty and even his 5ea/ness and sin,ulness,
5ith his li,e and death, dra5 near to 0hrist....*C $John Paul II, Incyclical :eritatis
splendor, n. 8%. 12ac/3
(& Natural !ethods *are diagnostic !eans ,or the ,ertile periods o, the 5o!an,
5hich !a/e it possible to re,rain ,ro! se8ual relations 5hen legiti!ate !otives o,
responsibility dictate the avoidance o, conception* $John Paul II, 4o the
participants at a course ,or teachers o, natural !ethods, Jan. 17, 1992, in 6ss.
=o!. Jan. 11, 1992, n. '%. 12ac/3
(8 0,. Paul :I, Incyclical Hu!anae vitae, in @@D 7 $198% p. (88, n. 11 and p.
(92, n. 1. 12ac/3
(9 John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. 9&. 12ac/3
)7 0,. Paul :I, Incyclical Hu!anae vitae, in @@D 7 $198% p. (89, n. 1'E c,. also
John Paul II, @postol. I8hort. 9a!iliaris consortio, in @@D &( $1982% p. 118, n.
'2. 12ac/3
)1 John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. 2'. 12ac/3
)2 0,. Paul :I, Incyclical Hu!anae vitae, in @@D 7 $198% p. (97, n. 1(. 12ac/3
)' 0,. John Paul II, @postol. I8hort. 9a!iliaris consortio, in @@D &( $1982% p.
118, n. '2. 12ac/3
)( John Paul II, 4o the participants at a course ,or teachers o, natural !ethods,
Jan. 17, 1992, in 6ss. =o!. Jan. 11, 1992, n. '. 12ac/3
)) 0,. John Paul II, @postol. I8hort. 9a!iliaris consortio, in @@D &( $1982% p.
118, n. '2. 12ac/3
) John Paul II, 4o the participants at t5o congresses on the proble!s o,
!atri!ony, the ,a!ily and ,ertility, June 8, 198(, in Insegna!enti :II#1, 1(H
1). *6n the innate !eaning 5hich is that o, !utual, total donation by the
partners, contraception i!poses an obLectively contradictory !eaning, na!ely that
o, not giving onesel, co!pletely to the other* $@post. I8hort. 9a!iliaris consortio,
'2%. 12ac/3
)& John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. 1'. 12ac/3
)8 John Paul II, @post. I8hort. 9a!iliaris consortio, in @@D &( $1982% p. 127, n.
'2. 12ac/3
)9 0,. ibid, p. 122, n. ''. 12ac/3
7 Ibid, p. 12), n. '). 12ac/3
1 John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. 1(. 12ac/3
2 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988% &.
12ac/3
97
' John ""III, Incyclical Mater et Magistra, III, in @@D )' $191% ((&. 0,. Pius
"II, 4o the participants at a congress o, the Italian 0atholic Fnion o,
6bstetricians, 6ct. 29, 19)1, in @@D (' $19)1% 8)7. 12ac/3
( 0,. John Paul II, -eneral @udience, Jan. 1, 1987, in Insegna!enti III#1 $1987%
1(8H1)2. 12ac/3
) 0,. Pius "II, 4o the participants at a congress o, the Italian 0atholic Fnion o,
6bstetricians, 6ct. 29, 19)1, in @@D (' $19)1% 8)7. 12ac/3
John ""III, Incyclical Mater et Magistra, III, in @@D )' $191% ((&. 12ac/3
& 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988% 9.
12ac/3
8 Pius "II, 4o the participants at the I: International 0ongress o, 0atholic
<octors, Dept. '7, 19(9, in @@D (1 $19(9% )7. 12ac/3
9 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988% 92.
12ac/3
&7 *Ho!ologous 9I:I4 ta/es place outside the bodies o, the partners through the
actions o, third parties 5hose co!petence and technical activity deter!ine the
success o, the interventionE it entrusts the li,e and identity o, the e!bryo to the
po5er o, doctors and biologists and gives technology do!inion over the origin
and destiny o, the hu!an person* $ibid., p. 9'%. 12ac/3
&1 0,. ibid., @@D 87 $1988% pp. 8)H8,91H92,9H9&. *4he origin o, a hu!an
person is really the result o, a donation. 4he conception should be the ,ruit o, the
love o, its parents. It cannot be desired nor conceived as the product o, the
intervention o, !edical or biological techni?ues; this 5ould be to reduce it to
beco!ing the obLect o, scienti,ic technology. No one can subLect the arrival o, a
child into the 5orld to conditions o, technical e,,iciency 5hich can be evaluated
according to para!eters o, control and do!inion* $ibid, p. 92%. 12ac/3
&2 0,. ibid, @@D 87 $1988% pp. 91, 92H9(. 12ac/3
&' John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. 22. 12ac/3
&( 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988%, p.
9'. 12ac/3
&) 0,. ibid., p. 9&. *@ child is not so!ething o5ed to one, but is a gi,t. 4he
Csupre!e gi,t o, !arriageC is a hu!an person. @ child !ay not be considered a
piece o, property, an idea to 5hich an alleged Cright to a childC 5ould lead. In this
area, only the child possesses genuine rights; the right Cto be the ,ruit o, the
speci,ic act o, the conLugal love o, his parents,C and Cthe right to be respected as a
person ,ro! the !o!ent o, his conception*C $000 2'&8%. 12ac/3
& 0,. ibid., p. 8) and 8(. 4he *soHcalled Cspare e!bryosC are...used ,or research
5hich, under the prete8t o, scienti,ic or !edical progress, in ,act reduces hu!an
9.
li,e to the level o, si!ple Cbiological !aterialC to be ,reely disposed o,* $John Paul
II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. 1(%. 12ac/3
&& 0,. 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988%,
p. 9(. *0ertainly ho!ologous 9I:I4 is not burdened 5ith all the ethical negativity
5hich is to be ,ound in e8traH!atri!onial procreationE the ,a!ily and the
!arriage are still the a!bient o, the birth and education o, the child.* Ho5ever, it
is at variance 5ith the dignity o, hu!an procreation, depriving it o, the dignity
5hich is proper and connatural to it. 12ac/3
&8 John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. 2'. 12ac/3
&9 0,. 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988%,
pp. 8&H89. 12ac/3
87 0,. ibid, p. 88E see also John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2),
199), n. 2'. 12ac/3
81 0,. ibid, p. 89. 12ac/3
82 0,. ibid, pp. 92H9(. 12ac/3
8' 0,. ibid, p. 9). 12ac/3
8( 0,. ibid, pp. 9)H9. 12ac/3
8) 0,. John Paul II, 4o the sta,, o, the ne5 C=egina MarghentaC hospital, <ec. 27,
1981, in Insegna!enti I:#2, p. 11&9, n. '. 12ac/3
8 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at the ')th -eneral @sse!bly o, the .orld
Medical @ssociation, 6ct. 29, 198', in Insegna!enti :I#2, 91&H92', @@D & $198(%
'973E 4o the 0atholic health organi>ations o, the Fnited Dtates o, @!erica, Dept.
1(, 198&, in Insegna!enti "#' $198&% )77H)7&E 4o the participants at the :II
Dy!posiu! o, Iuropean 2ishops, 6ct. 1&, 1989, in Insegna!enti "II#2, p. 9(&, n.
&. 12ac/3
8& 0ong. <oct. 9aith. <eclaration on Procured @bortion, June 18, 19&(, in @@D
$19&(% &'8. 12ac/3
88 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988% &8H
&9. 12ac/3
89 Iven the theory o, the ,ourteenth day J the day 5hen the pri!itive strea/
appears, in 5hich the cells lose their totiHpotentiality and t5in divisions are no
longer possible J cannot ignore and deny the ,unda!ental and decisive
biogenetic ,act o, the hu!an and individual nature o, the ,ruit o, the conception.
12ac/3
97 John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. ((. 12ac/3
91 John Paul II, 4o the participants at a congress ,or obstetricians, Jan. 2, 1987,
in Insegna!enti III#1, p. 192, n. 1. 12ac/3
99
92 0,. 0ode o, 0anon +a5, can. 82#2. 12ac/3
9' John Paul II, 4o the participants at a congress ,or 6bstetricians, Jan. 2, 1987,
in Insegna!enti III#1, p. 192, n. 2. 0,. John Paul II, Incyclical :eratatis splendor,
n. 1'. 12ac/3
9( Icu!. 0oun. :at. II, Past. 0onstit. -audiu! et spes, n. 2(. 12ac/3
9) 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988% &(.
12ac/3
9 John Paul II, 4o the participants at the ')th -eneral @sse!bly o, the .orld
Medical @ssociation, 6ct. 29, 198', in Insegna!enti :I#2, 91&H92', @@D & $198(%
'9'3. *4he hu!an person, created in the i!age o, -od, is a being at once
corporeal and spiritual. 4he biblical account e8presses this reality in sy!bolic
language 5hen it a,,ir!s that Cthen the +ord -od ,or!ed !an o, dust ,ro! the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath o, li,eE and !an beca!e a living
beingC $-en 2;&%. Man, 5hole and entire, is there,ore 5illed by -od* $000 '2%.
12ac/3
9& 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988% &(H
&). *4he unity o, soul and body is so pro,ound that one has to consider the soul to
be the C,or!C o, the body; i.e., it is because o, its spiritual soul that the body !ade
o, !atter beco!es a hu!an, living bodyE spirit and !atter, in !an, are not t5o
natures united, but rather their union ,or!s a single nature* $000 ')%. 12ac/3
98 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at the ')th -eneral @sse!bly o, the .orld
Medical @ssociation, 6ct. 29, 198', in Insegna!enti :I#2, 927, n. ). 12ac/3
99 *4he body reveals the hu!an being, e8presses the person and is the ,irst
!essage o, -od to the hu!an being hi!sel,* $John Paul II, allocutions o, Jan. 9
and 9eb. 27,1987, in Insegna!enti III#1, 889) and (28H('(%. 12ac/3
177 4he !oral la5, in 5hich biological !eanings ta/e shape, *cannot be seen as a
!erely biological nor!* but as integrally hu!an; in it is e8pressed *the rational
order according to 5hich the hu!an person is called by the 0reator to direct and
regulate his li,e and his actions and, in particular, souse and dispose o, his o5n
body*; 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988%
p. &(E Paul :I, Incyclical Hu!anae vitae, in @@D 7 $198% p. (8&, n. 17. 12ac/3
171 0,. John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. 2'. 12ac/3
172 John Paul II, @post. I8hort. 0hristi,ideles laici, <ec. '7, 1988, in
Insegna!enti "I#(, p. 21'', n. '8. 12ac/3
17' John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. (7. 12ac/3
17( 0,. Pius "II, 4o the participants at the 0ongress o, Italian 0atholic
6bstetricians, 6ct. 29, 19)1, in @@D (' $19)1% 8'8; John Paul II, 4o the
participants at the )(th updating 0ourse o, the 0atholic Fniversity, Dept. , 198(,
91
in Insegna!enti :II#2, p. '''. *4he hu!an body shares in the dignity o, the Ci!age
o, -odC; it is a hu!an body precisely because it is ani!ated by a spiritual soul,
and it is the 5hole hu!an person that is intended to beco!e, in the 2ody o, 0hrist,
a te!ple o, the Dpirit* $000 '(%. 12ac/3
17) John Paul II, 4o the participants at a congress o, the *Move!ent ,or +i,e,*
6ct. 12, 198), in Insegna!enti :I#2, 9''H9', n. 2. 0, 4o scientists and health
care 5or/ers, Nov. 12, 198&,in Insegna!enti "#' $198&% 178(H178), n. 2. 0,. Pius
"II, 4o the !e!bers o, the 9irst International 0ongress o, Histopathology o, the
Nervous Dyste!, Dept. 1(, 19)2, in @@D (( $19)2% p. &82. 12ac/3
17 0,. Pius "II, <iscourses and 2roadcasts, ", :atican Polyglot Press, 19(9, pp.
98,,E 4o the *Dan +uca* Italian Fnion o, Medical 2iology, Nov. 12, 19((, in
<iscourses and 2roadcasts, :I cit., 191,,E John Paul II, 4o the Ponti,ical @cade!y
o, Dciences, 6ct. 21, 198), in Insegna!enti :III#2, p. 1781 n. '. 12ac/3
17& John Paul II, 4o the participants at a congress ,or obstetricians, Jan. 2,
1987, in Insegna!enti III#1, p. 192, n. 2E 4o the participants at the congress o, the
Italian @ssociation o, @nesthesiology, 6ct. (, 198(, in Insegna!enti :II#2, p. &)7,
n. (E 4o the 0atholic health organi>ations o, the Fnited Dtates o, @!erica, Dept.
1(, 198&, in Insegna!enti "#' $198&% )7(. 12ac/3
178 John Paul II, 4o the participants at a congress o, the *Move!ent ,or +i,e,*
6ct. 12, 198), in Insegna!enti :III#2, pp. 9''H9', n. 2. 12ac/3
179 John Paul II, 4o the participants at the III 0ongress o, the @ssociation o,
0atholic Health 0are .or/ers, 6ct. 2(, 198, in Insegna!enti I"#2, p. 11&2.
12ac/3
117 *Dcientists and doctors !ust not thin/ that they are lords o, li,e, but rather its
e8pert and generous servants* $John Paul II, 4o the Ponti,ical @cade!y o,
Dciences, 6ct. 21, 198), in Insegna!enti :III#2, p. 1781, n. '. 12ac/3
111 John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. '9. 12ac/3
112 John Paul II, 4o the participants at a congress o, the *Move!ent ,or +i,e,*
<ec. (, 1982, in Insegna!enti :#', p. 1)1', n. ), 4o the Ponti,ical @cade!y o,
Dciences, 6ct. 2', 1982, in Insegna!enti :#', p. 89, n. 2E 4o the participants at
the 0ollo?uiu! o, the *Nova Dpes* international 9oundation, Nov. 9, 198&, in
Insegna!enti "#' $198&% 17)7H17)1, n. 2. 12ac/3
11' 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988% &'.
12ac/3
11( Icu!. 0ou!. :at. II, Past. 0onstit. -audiu! et spes, n. 1); *6ur age, !ore
than any o, the past, needs such 5isdo! i, all that !an discovers is to be ennobled
through hu!an e,,ort.* 12ac/3
98
11) 0,. Pont. 0oun. *0orFnu!*, Do!e ethical ?uestions relating to the gravely in
and the dying, July 2&, 1981, in Inchiridion :aticanu!, &. <ocu!enti u,,iciali
della Danta Dede 1987H1981. I<2, 2ologna 198), p. 11'&, n. 2.1. 12ac/3
11 0,. John Paul II, 4o the @ssociation o, Italian 0atholic <octors, <ec. 28,
1987, in Insegna!enti III#2, p. 177&, n. 'E 4o a delegation o, the *9ood and
<isar!a!ent International* @ssociation, 9eb. 1', 198, n. '. 12ac/3
11& 0,. 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D &2
$1987% )((H)()E John Paul II, 4o the .orld Medical @ssociation, 6ct. 29, 198',
in Insegna!enti :I#2, 918, n. 2E @post. I8hort. 0hristi,ideles laici, <ec. '7, 1988,
in Insegna!enti "I#(, p. 21''H21'), n. '8. 12ac/3
118 John Paul II, @post. I8hort. 0hristi,ideles laici, <ec. '7, 1988, in
Insegna!enti "I#(, p. 21'', n. '8. *Man is not the !aster o, li,e, nor is he the
!aster o, death. In li,e and in death, he has to entrust hi!sel, co!pletely to the
Cgood pleasure o, the Most High,C to his loving plan* $John Paul II, Incyclical
Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. (%. 12ac/3
119 *4he doctor has only the po5er and rights over the patient 5hich the latter
gives hi!, either e8plicitly or tacitly. 9or his part, the patient cannot give !ore
rights than he has* $Pius "II, 4o the !e!bers o, the 9irst International 0ongress
on Histopathology o, the Nervous Dyste!, Dept.1(, 19)2, in @@D (( 119)23 p.
&82.% 12ac/3
127 *4he patient is bound by the i!!anent teleology established by nature. He has
the right to use J li!ited by the natural ,inality J the ,aculties and po5ers o, his
hu!an nature.* $Ibid.% 12ac/3
121 John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2),199), n. (&. 12ac/3
122 0,. Pius "II, 4o the !e!bers o, the 9irst International 0ongress on
Histopathology o, the Nervous Dyste!, Dept. 1(, 19)2 in @@D (( $19)2% p. &82.
12ac/3
12' John Paul II, 4o the participants at a surgery congress, 9eb. 19, 198&, in
Insegna!enti "I#1 $198&% '&(, n. 2. 12ac/3
12( John Paul II, 4o the sta,, o, the C=egina Margherita hospital, <ec. 27, 1981, in
Insegna!enti I:#2, p. 11&9, n. '. 12ac/3
12) Pont. 0oun. *0or Fnu!,* 0o!!unity health, in Inchiridion :aticanu!, .
<ocu!enti u,,iciali della Danta Dede 19&&H19&9. I<2, 2ologna 198', p. '2), n.
1.2. 12ac/3
12 John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. &9. 12ac/3
12& John Paul II, Motu Proprio *<olentiu! ho!inu!,* 9eb. 11, 198), in
Insegna!enti :III#1 $198)% pp. (&'H(&(. *Illness and su,,ering have al5ays been
a!ong the gravest proble!s con,ronted in hu!an li,e. In illness !an e8periences
9:
his po5erlessness, his li!itations, and his ,initude. Ivery illness can !a/e us
gli!pse death* $000 1)77%. *4he !ission o, Jesus, 5ith the !any healings he
per,or!ed, sho5s -odCs great concern even ,or !anCs bodily li,e* $John Paul II,
Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2),199), n. (&%. 12ac/3
128 John Paul II, Motu Proprio *<olentiu! ho!inu!,* 9eb. 11, 198), in
Insegna!enti :III#1 $198)% pp. (&'H(&(. 12ac/3
129 John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. )7. 12ac/3
1'7 0,. John Paul II, during a visit to Mercy Maternity Hospital in Melbourne,
Nov. 28, 198, in Insegna!enti I"#2 $198% 1&'', n. 2. *4he sic/ too are sent as
laborers into the +ordCs vineyard. 4he burden that tires the !e!bers o, the body
and shatters the serenity o, the spins, ,ar ,ro! deterring the! ,ro! 5or/ in the
vineyard, calls the! to live out their hu!an and 0hristian vocation and to share in
the gro5th o, the Ningdo! o, -od in ne5 5ays, 5hich are also !ore valuable*
$John Paul II, @post. I8hort. 0hristi,ideles laici, in Insegna!enti "I#(, p. 217,
)'%. 12ac/3
1'1 John Paul II, <iscourse in +ourdes, @ugust 1), 198', n. ( *6n the cross,
0hrist !ade his o5n all the 5eight o, evil and too/ a5ay the sin o, the 5orld $Jn 1,
29%, o, 5hich sic/ness is but a conse?uence, 2y his passion and death on the cross,
0hrist has given ne5 !eaning to su,,ering; no5 it can con,igure us to hi! and
unite us 5ith his rede!ptive passion.* 12ac/3
1'2 John Paul II, @post. I8hort. 9a!iliaris consortio, n. &). 12ac/3
1'' 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at a congress o, *Move!ent ,or +i,e,*
<ec. (, 1982, in Insegna!enti, :#', p. 1)12, n. (. 12ac/3
1'( 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988%
&9H87. .ith regard to the diagnostic techni?ues !ostly used, 5hich are
echography $and a!niocentesis, it can be said that the ,or!er appears to be ris/H
,ree 5hereas the latter contains ele!ents o, ris/ considered acceptable and
there,ore proportionate. 4he sa!e cannot be said ,or other techni?ues, such as
placento centesis, ,etoscopy and the collecting o, villi sa!ples 5hich have !ore or
less high levels o, ris/. 12ac/3
1') Ibid. *Prenatal diagnosis, 5hich presents no !oral obLections i, carried out in
order to identi,y the !edical treat!ent 5hich !ay be needed by the children the
5o!b, all too o,ten beco!es an opportunity ,or proposing and procuring an
abortion. 4his is eugenic abortion, Lusti,ied in public opinion on the basis o, a
!entality...5hich accepts li,e only under certain conditions and reLects it 5hen it is
a,,ected by any li!itation, handicap or illness* $John Paul II, Incyclical
Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. 1(%. 12ac/3
15
1' 0,. 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988%
&9H87. *Dince it !ust be treated ,ro! conception as a person, the e!bryo !ust be
de,ended in its integrity, cared ,or, and healed, as ,ar as possible. li/e any other
hu!an being* $000 22&(%. 12ac/3
1'& 0,. John Paul II, Motu Proprio *<olentiu! ho!inu!,* 9eb. 11, 198), in
Insegna!enti :III#1 $198)% pp. (&'H(&(. *4hose 5hose lives are di!inished or
5ea/ened deserve special respect. Dic/ or handicapped persons should be helped
to lead lives as nor!al as possible* $000 22&%. 12ac/3
1'8 *Ivery person has a pri!ary right to 5hat is necessary ,or the care o, his or
her health and there,ore to suitable !edical assistance* $John Paul II, 4o the
.orld 0ongress o, 0atholic <octors, 6ct. ', 1992, in Insegna!enti :#', p. &', n.
'%. 12ac/3
1'9 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D &2
$1987% p. )(9. 12ac/3
1(7 *Iven 5hen it cannot cure, science can and should treat and assist the sic/
person* $John Paul II, 4o the participants at a study course on *hu!an preH
leu/e!ias,* Nov. 1), 198), in Insegna!enti :III#2, p. 12), n. ). 0,. John Paul II,
4o t5o 5or/ groups set up by the Ponti,ical @cade!y o, Dciences, 6ct. 21, 198),
in Insegna!enti :II#2, p. 1782, n. (. 12ac/3
1(1 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987 in @@D &2 $1987%
pp. )(9H))7. 12ac/3
1(2 0,. ibid. 12ac/3
1(' *4he principle o, totality states that the part e8ists ,or the 5hole, and
conse?uently that the good 6, the part is subordinated to that o, the 5hole; that
the 5hole is deter!ining ,or the part and it can dispose o, it in its o5n interests
$Pius "II, 4o the !e!bers o, the 9irst International 0ongress on Histopathology
o, the Nervous Dyste!, Dept. 1(, 19)2, in @@D (( 119)23 p. &8&%. 12ac/3
1(( Pius "II, 4o the !e!bers o, the "":I Italian 0ongress o, Frology, 6ct. 8,
19)', in @@D () $19)'% p. &(E c,. Pius "II, 4o the !e!bers o, the 9irst
International 0ongress on Histopathology o, the Nervous Dyste!, Dept. 1(, 19)2,
in @@D (( $19)2% &82H&8'. 4he principle o, totality is applied at the outbrea/ o,
the illness; there alone is veri,ied *correctly* the relation o, the part to the 5hole.
0,. ibid, p. &8&. *.here the relationship o, the part to the 5hole is veri,ied, and to
the e8tent that it is veri,ied, the part is subordinated to the 5hole, 5hich can in its
o5n interests dispose o, the part $ibid%. 4he physical integrity o, a person cannot
be i!paired to cure an illness o, psychic or spiritual origin. Here it is not a
?uestion 6, diseased or !al,unctioning organs. @nd so their !edicoHsurgical
!anipulation is an arbitrary alteration o, the physical integrity o, the person. It is
not la5,ul to sacri,ice to the 5hole, by !utilating it, !odi,ying it or re!oving it, a
1-
part 5hich is not pathologically related to the 5hole. @nd this is 5hy the principle
o, totality cannot be correctly ta/en as a criterion ,or legiti!ati>ing antiH
procreative sterili>ation therapeutic abortion and transse8ual !edicine and
surgery. It is di,,erent 5ith psychic su,,erings and spiritual disorders 5ith an
organic basis, that is, 5hich arise ,ro! a de,ect or physical disease; on these it is
legiti!ate to intervene therapeutically. 12ac/3
1() 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988% &).
12ac/3
1( 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D &2
$1987% p. )(). 12ac/3
1(& 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Procured @bortion, June 18, 19&(, in @@D
$19&(% &'H&'&. 12ac/3
1(8 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at a congress o, the Italian @ssociation o,
@nesthesiology, 6ct. (, 198(, in Insegna!enti :II#2, p. &(9 n. 2. 12ac/3
1(9 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D &2
$1987% )(2H))2, III. 12ac/3
1)7 *4he 0hristian is bound to !orti,y the ,lesh and apply hi!sel, to interior
puri,ication.... Inso,ar as sel,Hcontrol and control o, disordered tendencies cannot
be ac?uired 5ithout the help o, physical pain, this beco!es a need and it !ust be
accepted, but inso,ar as it is not re?uired ,or this purpose, it cannot be said that
there is a strict obligation ,or it. Hence the 0hristian is never obliged to desire itE
he sees it as a !ore or less suitable !eans, according to the circu!stances, to the
end he is pursuing* $Pius "II, 4o an international asse!bly o, doctors and
surgeons, 9eb. 2(, 19)&, in @@D (9 119)&3 p. 1')%. 12ac/3
1)1 Ibid, p. 1'. 12ac/3
1)2 0,. Pont. 0oun. *0or Fnu!,* Do!e Ithical Kuestions =elating to the -ravely
Ill and the <ying, July 2&, 1981, in Inchiridion :aticanu!, &, <ocu!enti u,,iciali
della Danta Dede 1987H1981. I<2, 2ologna 198), p. 11(1, n. 2.'.1E John Paul II,
4o t5o 5or/ groups set up by the Ponti,ical @cade!y o, Dciences, 6ct. 21, 198),
in Insegna!enti :III#2, p. 1782, n. (. 12ac/3
1)' John Paul II, 4o the participants at a congress o, the Italian @ssociation o,
@nesthesiology, 6ct. (, 198(, in Insegna!enti :II#2, p. &)7, n. '. 12ac/3
1)( 0,. Pius "II, 4o an international asse!bly o, doctors and surgeons, 9eb. 2(,
19)&, in @@D (9 $19)&% pp. 1'8H1('. 12ac/3
1)) Pius "II, 4o the doctors o, the -. Mendel Institute, Nov. 2(, 19)&, in @@D (9
$19)&% p. 17'1. 12ac/3
1) *4he patient cannot be the obLect o, decisions 5hich he 5ill not !a/e, or, i, he
is not able to do so, 5hich he could not approve. 4he *person,* principally
13
responsible ,or his o5n li,e, should be the center o, any assisting intervention;
others are there to help hi!, not to replace hi!* $Pont. 0oun. *0or Fnu!,* Do!e
Ithical Kuestions =elating to the -ravely Ill and the <ying, July 2&, 1981, in
Inchiridion :aticanu! &, <ocu!enti u,,iciali della Danta Dede 1987H1981. I<2,
2ologna 198), p. 11'&, n. 2.1.2%. 12ac/3
1)& John Paul II, 4o the .orld 0ongress o, 0atholic <octors, 6ct. ', 1982, in
Insegna!enti :#', p. &', n. (. 12ac/3
1)8 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at t5o congresses on !edicine and
surgery, 6ct. 2&,1987, in Insegna!enti III#2, 1778H1779, n. ). 12ac/3
1)9 John Paul II, 4o the representatives o, the Italian Dociety o, Medicine and the
Italian Dociety o, -eneral Durgery, 6ct. 2&, 1987, n. '. 12ac/3
17 John Paul II, 4o the participants at a congress on cancer, @pril 2, 198, in
Insegna!enti I"#1, 11)2H11)'. 12ac/3
11 0,. John Paul II, 4o scientists and health care 5or/ers, Nov. 12, 198&, in
Insegna!enti "#', $198&% 178H178&, n. (. *Do!e abusive interpretations o,
scienti,ic research in the ,ield o, anthropology !ust also be !entioned. @rguing
,ro! the great variety o, custo!s, behavior patterns and institutions present in
hu!anity these theories conclude, i, not al5ays 5ith the denial o, universal hu!an
values, at least 5ith a relativist conception o, !orality* $John Paul II, Incyclical
:eritatis splendor, n. ''%. 12ac/3
12 John Paul II, 4o the participants at t5o congresses on !edicine and surgery,
6ct. 2&, 1987, in Insegna!enti III#2,1779, n. ). 12ac/3
1' Pius "II, 4o the !e!bers o, the 9irst International 0ongress on
Histopathology o, the Nervous Dyste!, Dept. 1(, 19)2, in @@D (( $19)2% p. &88.
12ac/3
1( John Paul II, 4o a con,erence on phar!acy in the synod hall, 6ct. 2(, 198, in
Insegna!enti I"#2, p. 118'E c,. 4o the participants at a surgery congress, 9eb. 19,
198&, in Insegna!enti "#1 $198&% '&, n. (. *=esearch or e8peri!entation on the
hu!an being cannot legiti!ate acts that are in the!selves contrary to the dignity
o, persons and to the !oral la5. 4he subLectsC potential consent does not Lusti,y
such acts. I8peri!entation on hu!an beings is not !orally legiti!ate i, it e8poses
the subLectCs li,e or physical and psychological integrity to disproportionate or
avoidable ris/s* $000 229)%. 12ac/3
1) 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at t5o congresses on !edicine and
surgery, 6ct. 2&, 1987, in Insegna!enti III#2, 1778H1779, n. )E 4o the participants
at a study course on *hu!an preHleu/e!ias,* Nov. 1), 198), in Insegna!enti
:III#2, p. 12), n. ). 12ac/3
14
1 John Paul II, 4o the participants at a !eeting o, the Ponti,ical @cade!y o,
Dciences, 6ct. 2', 1982, in Insegna!enti :#', p. 89&, n. (; *4here,ore, the
reduction in e8peri!ents on ani!als, 5hich are progressively beco!ing less
necessary, is in accordance 5ith the good o, all creation* $ibid %. 12ac/3
1& 0,. John Paul II, 4o a con,erence on phar!acy in the synod hall, 6ct. 2(,
198, in Insegna!enti I"#2, p. 118'. 12ac/3
18 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ),1987, in @@D &2 $1987%
p. ))7. *It !ay happen, in doubt,ul cases, 5hen /no5n !eans have ,ailed, that a
ne5 !ethod, as yet insu,,iciently tested, o,,ers, together 5ith rather dangerous
ele!ents, a good probability o, success. I, the patient consents, the application o,
the procedure in ?uestion is la5,ul* $Pius "II, 4o the participants at the 9irst
International 0ongress on Histopathology o, the Nervous Dyste!, Dept. 1(, 19)2,
in @@D (( $19)2% p. &88%. 12ac/3
19 John Paul II, 4o the participants at a study course on *hu!an preHleu/e!ias,*
Nov. 1), 198), in Insegna!enti :III#2, p. 12), n. ). 12ac/3
1&7 Pius "II, 4o the participants at the :II @sse!bly o, the .orld Medical
@ssociation, Dept. '7, 19)(, in Pius "II, <iscourses to <octors, =o!e, 197, p.
')8. 12ac/3
1&1 0, John Paul II, 4o the participants at t5o congresses on !edicine and
surgery, 6ct. 2&, 1987, in Insegna!enti III#2, p. 1779, n. ). 12ac/3
1&2 Ibid 12ac/3
1&' 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, in @@D 87 $1988% 81H8'. *4his
evaluation o, the !orality o, abortion is to be applied also to the recent ,or!s o,
intervention on hu!an e!bryos 5hich, although carried out ,or purposes
legiti!ate in the!selves, inevitably involve the/illing o, those e!bryos.... 4he use
o, hu!an e!bryos or ,etuses as an obLect o, e8peri!entation constitutes a cri!e
against their dignity as hu!an beings 5ho have a right to the sa!e respect o5ed
to a child once born, Lust as to every person* $John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu!
vitae, March 2), 199), n. '%. 12ac/3
1&( 0,. 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, in @@D 87 $1988% 81H8'. *I
conde!n in a !ost e8plicit and ,or!al 5ay e8peri!ental !anipulation o, the
hu!an e!bryo, because it is a hu!an beingE ,ro! the !o!ent o, its conception
until death it can never be instru!entali>ed ,or any reason 5hatsoever* $John
Paul II, 4o the participants at a !eeting o, the Ponti,ical @cade!y o, Dciences,
6ct. 2), 1982, in @@D &) $198'% '&%. *=espect ,or the hu!an being e8cludes all
/inds o, e8peri!ental !anipulation or e8ploitation o, the e!bryo* $Holy Dee,
0harter on the =ights o, the 9a!ily, (#b, in 6ss. =o!., 6ct. 2), 198'%. 12ac/3
17
1&) 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at the 9irst International 0ongress on the
4ransplant o, 6rgans, June 27, 1991, in Insegna!enti "I:#1 $1991% 1&17. 12ac/3
1& Ibid, *6rgan transplants are not !orally acceptable i, the donor or those 5ho
legiti!ately spea/ ,or hi! have not given their in,or!ed consent. 6rgan
transplants con,or! 5ith the !oral la5 and can be !eritorious i, the physical and
psychological dangers and ris/s incurred by the donor are proportionate to the
good sought ,or the recipient. It is !orally inad!issible directly to bring about the
disabling !utilation or death o, a hu!an being, even in order to delay the death o,
other persons* $000 229%. 12ac/3
1&& 0,. Pius "II, 4o the delegates o, the Italian @ssociation o, 0ornea <onors and
the Italian Fnion ,or the 2lind, May 1(, 19), in @@D (8 $19)% ((H()E John
Paul II, 4o the participants at the 9irst International 0ongress on the 4ransplant
o, 6rgans, June 27 1991, in Insegna!enti "I:#1 $1991% 1&11. 12ac/3
1&8 John Paul II, 4o the participants at the 9irst International 0ongress on the
4ransplant o, 6rgans, June 27, 1991, in Insegna!enti "I:#1 $1991% 1&11. 12ac/3
1&9 Ibid., n. (. 12ac/3
187 0,. Pius "II, 4o the delegates o, the Italian @ssociation o, 0ornea <onors and
the Italian Fnion ,or the 2lind. May 1(, 19) in @@D (8 $19)% pp. (2H((.
12ac/3
181 Ibid, pp. (H(&. 12ac/3
182 0,. Ponti,ical @cade!y o, Dciences, <eclaration on the @rti,icial Prolongation
o, +i,e and <eter!ining the Precise Mo!ent o, <eath, 6ct. 21, 198), n. 1, '.
12ac/3
18' Pius "II, 4o the delegates o, the Italian @ssociation o, 0ornea <onors and the
Italian Fnion ,or the 2lind, May 1(, 19), in @@D (8 $19)% pp. (2H((. 12ac/3
18( John Paul II, 4o the participants at the 9irst International 0ongress on the
4ransplant o, 6rgans, June 27, 1991, in Insegna!enti "I:#I $1991% 1&11, n. '.
12ac/3
18) IbidE c,. Pius "II, 4o the delegates o, the Italian @ssociation ,or 0ornea
<onors and the Italian Fnion ,or the 2lind, May 1( 19), in @@D (8 $19)% p.
(). 0,. Pius "II, <iscourses to <octors p. (&; *In advertising $,or cornea
donors% an intelligent reserve should be !aintained to avoid serious interior and
e8terior con,licts. @lso, is it necessary, as o,ten happens, to re,use any
co!pensation as a !atter o, principleO 4he ?uestion has arisen. .ithout doubt
there can be grave abuses i, reco!pense is de!andedE but it 5ould be an
e8aggeration to say that any acceptance or re?uire!ent o, reco!pense is i!!oral.
4he case is analogous to that o, blood trans,usionE it is to the donorCs credit i, he
re,uses reco!pense, but it is not necessarily a ,ault to accept it.* 12ac/3
1.
18 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at the 9irst international 0ongress on the
4ransplant o, 6rgans, June 27, 1991, in Insegna!enti "I:#1 $1991% 1&12. 12ac/3
18& 0,. ibid, &, p. 1&1', n. ). 12ac/3
188 Ibid., p. 1&1', n. ); *4he di,,iculty o, the intervention, the need to act
pro!ptly, and the need ,or !a8i!u! concentration on the tas/, should not lead to
the doctorCs losing sight o, the !ystery o, love contained in 5hat he is doing.* *4he
di,,erent co!!and!ents o, the <ecalogue are really so !any re,lections o, the one
co!!and!ent about the good o, the person, at the level o, the !any di,,erent
goods 5hich characteri>e his identity as a spiritual and bodily being in
relationship 5ith -od, 5ith his neighbor and 5ith the !aterial 5orld* $John Paul
II, Incyclical :eritatis splendor, n. 1'%. 12ac/3
189 *@t the root o, alcohol and drug abuse J ta/ing into account the pain,ul
co!ple8ity o, causes and situations J there is usually an e8istential vacuu!, due
to an absence o, values and a lac/ o, sel,Hestee!, o, trust in others and in li,e in
general* $John Paul II, 4o the participants at the International 0on,erence on
<rugs and @lcohol, Nov. 2', 1991, in Insegna!enti "I:#2 $1991% 12(9, n. 2.
12ac/3
197 Ibid., n. (. 12ac/3
191 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at the :II .orld 0ongress o, 4herapeutic
0o!!unities, Dept. &, 198(, in Insegna!enti :II#2, p. '(&, n. '. 12ac/3
192 Ibid, p. ')7, n. &. 12ac/3
19' 0,. John Paul II, Message to the International 0ongress in :ienna, June (,
198&, in Insegna!enti :II#2, p. '(&, n. '. 12ac/3
19( John Paul II, 4o the participants at the :II .orld 0ongress o, 4herapeutic
0o!!unities, Dept. &, 198(, in Insegna!enti :II#2, p. '(&, n. '. 12ac/3
19) John Paul II, 4o the participants at the International 0on,erence on <rugs
and @lcohol, Nov. 2', 1991, n. (. *4he use o, drugs in,licts very grave da!age on
hu!an li,e and health. 4heir use, e8cept on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave
o,,ense. 0landestine production o, and tra,,ic/ing in drugs are scandalous
practices. 4hey constitute direct cooperation in evil, since they encourage people
to practices gravely contrary to the !oral la5* $000 2291%. 12ac/3
19 John Paul II, 4o the participants at the International 0on,erence on <rugs
and @lcohol, Nov. 2', 1991, n. (. 12ac/3
19& Ibid, n. (. 12ac/3
198 *4he present econo!ic conditions in society, as 5ell as the high level o,
poverty and une!ploy!ent, can be contributary ,actors that increase in your
people a sense o, unrest, insecurity, ,rustration and social alienation, leading the!
on to the illusory 5orld o, alcohol as an escape ,ro! the proble!s o, li,e*; John
19
Paul II, 4o the participants at a congress on alcoholis!, in Insegna!enti :III#1, p.
1&(1. 12ac/3
199 4here are three categories o, psychoHphar!aceuticals. 4he ,irst is that o,
neuroleptics, the antiHpsychotics 5hich have !ade possible the closing o,
psychiatric hospitals, since they overco!e agitation, deliria and hallucinations,
and so !a/e it useless to con,ine and isolate patientsE in any case, these !easures
5ere nonHcurative. 4he second category is co!prised o, sedatives or tran?uili>ers
and the third antidepressives. 12ac/3
277 John Paul II, 4o the participants at the International 0on,erence on <rugs
and @lcohol, Nov. 2', 1991, n. (. 12ac/3
271 Ibid. 12ac/3
272 0,. Pius "II, 4o the International 0ongress o, NeuroHpsychophar!acology,
Dept. 9, 19)8, in <iscourses and 2roadcasts :ol. "", pp. '2&H'''. 12ac/3
27' 4his is con,ir!ed by the ,re?uency and the conviction 5ith 5hich patients tell
the doctor; *No5 that I have spo/en to you I ,eel better.* @nd in ,act Lust as *there
is therapeutic input 5hich physical healing can bring to the spirit o, the patientE
inversely, there is a therapeutic input 5hich can be brought to physical su,,ering
through psychologicoHspiritual co!,orting.* Paul :I, 4o the III .orld 0ongress o,
the International 0ollege o, Psychoso!atic Medicine, Dept. 18 19&), in @@D &
$19&)% )((. 12ac/3
27( 0,. John Paul II, Motu Proprio <olentiu! ho!inu!, 9eb. 11, 1988, in
Insegna!enti :III#1, p. (&(. 12ac/3
27) *0onsidered in its totality, !odern psychology deserves approval ,ro! the
!oral and religious vie5point.* $Pius "II, 4o the !e!bers o, the "III
International 0ongress on @pplied Psychology, @pril 17, 19)8, in @@D )7 $19)8%
p. 2&(. 12ac/3
27 Ibid, p. 2&. 12ac/3
27& Ibid, p. 281. 12ac/3
278 *I8perience teaches that !an, needing either preventative or therapeutic
assistance, reveals needs that go beyond actual organic pathology. It is not only
suitable treat!ent that he 5ants ,ro! the doctor JE treat!ent 5hich, in any case,
sooner or later 5ill ,atally sho5 itsel, to be insu,,icient J but the hu!an support
o, a brother, 5ho can share 5ith hi! a li,e vie5, in 5hich also the !ystery o,
su,,ering and death 5ill !a/e sense. @nd 5hence can be had, i, not in ,aith, this
tran?uili>ing response to the supre!e ?uestions o, e8istenceO* $John Paul II, 4o
the .orld 0ongress o, 0atholic <octors, 6ct. ', 1982, in Insegna!enti :#', p. &),
n. %. 12ac/3
279 John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. '7. 12ac/3
11
217 *@ uni?ue light shines ,ro! the paschal !ystery on the speci,ic tas/ 5hich
pastoral health care is called to ,ul,ill in the great co!!it!ent o, evangeli>ation*
$John Paul II, 4o the plenary asse!bly o, the Ponti,ical 0ouncil ,or Pastoral
@ssistance to Health 0are .or/ers, 9eb. 11, 1992, in 6ss. =o!. 9eb. 12, 1992, n.
&%. 0,. 000 1)7'. 12ac/3
211 In the an8ious and pain,ul state in 5hich he ,inds hi!sel,, the seriously ill
person needs a special grace ,ro! -od to /eep hi! ,ro! losing heart. 4here is the
danger that te!ptation !ight !a/e his ,aith 5aver. 9or this very reason, 0hrist
5ished to give his sic/ ,aith,ul the strength and the very real support o, the
*sacra!ent o, @nointing* $0ong. <iv. .orship, Dacra!ent o, @nointing and
Pastoral 0are o, the Dic/, Nov. 1&, 19&2. Id. 4ypica, :at. Polyglot Press, 19&2, p.
81, n. )%. 0,. 000 1)11. 12ac/3
212 Ibid, n. . 12ac/3
21' 0,. Icu!. 0oun. :atican II, 0onstit. on the Dacred +iturgy Dacrosanctu!
conciliu!, n. &'. 0,. 000 1)1(. 12ac/3
21( *2y the grace o, this sacra!ent the sic/ person receives the strength and the
gi,t o, uniting hi!sel, !ore closely to 0hristCs PassionE in a certain 5ay he is
consecrated to bear ,ruit by con,iguration to the DaviorCs rede!ptive Passion*
$000 1)21%. 4he sic/ 5ho receive this sacra!ent, *by ,reely uniting the!selves to
the passion and death o, 0hrist,* *contribute to the good o, the people o, -od*
$+- 11%. *2y celebrating this sacra!ent, the 0hurch, in the co!!union o, saints,
intercedes ,or the bene,it o, the sic/ person, and he, ,or his part, through thegrace
o, this sacra!ent, contributes to the sancti,ication o, the 0hurch and to the good
o, all people ,or 5ho! the 0hurch su,,ers and o,,ers hersel, through 0hrist to -od
the 9ather* $000 1)22%. 12ac/3
21) 0,. 0ong. <iv. .orship, 4he Dacra!ent o, @nointing and Pastoral 0are o, the
Dic/, nn. 8H19. 12ac/3
21 0ode o, 0anon +a5, can. 177)E c,. can. 177(H177&. 12ac/3
21& 0ong. <iv. .orship, 4he Dacra!ent o, @nointing and Pastoral 0are o, the
Dic/, n. 2. 0,. 000 1)2(. 12ac/3
218 Ibid., n. 2. 12ac/3
219 *@ll the bapti>ed 5ho can receive Holy 0o!!union are obliged to receive
:iaticu!. In ,act all the ,aith,ul, 5ho ,or any reason are in danger o, death, are
bound by precept to receive Holy 0o!!union, and pastors should ta/e care that
the ad!inistration o, this sacra!ent be not de,erred, so that the ,aith,ul can
bene,it ,ro! it 5hile they are still in ,ull possession o, their ,aculties* $Ibid, n. 2&%.
12ac/3
227 0,. ibid, n. 29. 12ac/3
18
221 John Paul II, 4o the participants at the International 0ongress o, the *6!nia
Ho!inis* @ssociation, @ug. 2), 1997, in Insegna!enti "III#2, p. '28. *Duch a
situation can threaten the already ,ragile e?uilibriu! o, an individualCs personal
and ,a!ily li,e, 5ith the result that, on the one hand, the sic/ person, despite the
help o, increasingly e,,ective !edical and social assistance ris/s ,eeling
over5hel!ed by his or her o5n ,railtyE and on the other hand, those close to the
sic/ person can be !oved by an understandable even i, !isplaced co!passion*
$John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. 1)%. 12ac/3
222 0,. 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ) 1987. in @@D &2
$1987% p. ))1. 12ac/3
22' 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at the International 0ongress on
@ssistance to the <ying, in 6ss. =o!. March 18, 1992 n. ). 12ac/3
22( *It is only a hu!an presence, discreet and caring, 5hich allo5s the patient to
e8press hi!sel, and to ,ind a hu!an and spiritual co!,ort, that 5ill have a
tran?uili>ing e,,ect* $Pont. 0oun. *0or Fnu!,* Do!e Ithical Kuestions =elating
to the -ravely Ill and the <ying, July 2&, 1981, in Inchiridion :aticanu! &,
<ocu!enti u,,iciali della Danta Dede 1987H1981. I<2, 2ologna 198), p. 11)1, n.
(.'%. 12ac/3
22) 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at the International 0ongress on
@ssistance to the <ying, in 6ss. =o!. March 18, 1992, n. ). 12ac/3
22 Ibid, n. 1. *CIt is in regard to death that !anCs condition is !ost shrouded in
doubtC $-D, 18%. In a sense bodily death is natural, but ,or ,aith it is in ,act Cthe
5ages o, sinC $=!. ;2'%. 9or those 5ho die in 0hristCs grace it is a participation
in the death o, the +ord, so that they can also share his =esurrection* $000 177E
c,. also 000 1779%. 12ac/3
22& John Paul II, 4o t5o 5or/ groups set up by the Ponti,ical @cade!y o,
Dciences, 6ct. 21, 198), in Insegna!enti, :III#2, p. 178', n. E c,. 4o the
participants at the International 0ongress on @ssistance to the <ying, in 6ss.
=o!. March 18, 1992, n. ). 12ac/3
228 John Paul II, 4o t5o 5or/ groups set up by the Ponti,ical @cade!y o,
Dciences, 6ct. 21, 198), in Insegna!enti :III#2, p. 178', n. . 0,. 000 1717.
*<eath itsel, is anything but an event 5ithout hope. It is the door 5hich opens 5ide
on eternity and, ,or those 5ho live in 0hrist, an e8perience o, participation in the
!ystery o, his death and resurrection* $John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae,
March 2), 199), n. 9&%. 12ac/3
229 0, 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D &2
$1987% p. )(9. 12ac/3
2'7 Ibid. 12ac/3
1:
2'1 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at the International 0ongress on
@ssistance to the <ying, in 6ss. =o! March 18, 1992, n. (. 0,. John Paul II,
Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. ). 12ac/3
2'2 John Paul II, 4o t5o 5or/ groups set up by the Ponti,ical @cade!y o,
Dciences, 6ct. 21, 198), in Insegna!enti :III#2, p. 1782, n. ). 12ac/3
2'' *9ro! this point o, vie5, the use o, therapeutic !eans can so!eti!es raise
proble!s*; 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D
&2 $1987% p. )(9. 12ac/3
2'( 0,. John Paul II, 4o t5o 5or/ groups set up by the Ponti,ical @cade!y o,
Dciences, 6ct. 21, 198), in Insegna!enti :III#2, p. 1782. n. 12ac/3
2') 0ong. <oc. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D &2 $1987%
p. ))1. 0,. John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. ).
12ac/3
2' 0,. Pont. 0oun. *0or Fnu!,* Do!e Ithical Kuestions =elating to the -ravely
Ill and the <ying, July 2&, 1981, in Inchiridion :aticanu!, &, <ocu!enti u,,iciali
della Danta Dede 1987H1981. I<2, 2ologna 198), p. 11), n. &.2E ibid., p. 11(',
n. 2.(.1; *Iarthly li,e is a ,unda!ental but not absolute good. Hence the li!its o,
the obligation to /eep a person alive !ust be speci,ied. 4he distinction J already
outlined J bet5een CproportionateC !eans, 5hich !ust never be renounced so as
not to anticipate or cause death, and CdisproportionateC !eans, 5hich can be and,
so as not to ,all into therapeutic tyranny, !ust be renounced, is a decisive ethical
criterion ,or speci,ying these li!its. Here the health care 5or/er ,inds a
!eaning,ul and reassuring guideline ,or the solution o, the co!ple8 cases
entrusted to his responsibility. .e are thin/ing in particular o, states o, per!anent
and irreversible co!a, o, tu!orous pathologies 5ith unhappy prognosis, o, the
aged in grave and ter!inal states o, li,e.* 12ac/3
2'& 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at the congress o, the Italian @ssociation
o, @nesthesiology, 6ct. (, 198(, in Insegna!enti :II#2, p. &(9, n. 2E 4o t5o 5or/
groups set up by the Ponti,ical @cade!y o, Dciences, 6ct. 21, 198), in
Insegna!enti :III#2, p. 1782, n. (. 12ac/3
2'8 9or the believer *pain, especially that o, the ,inal !o!ents o, li,e, assu!es a
special !eaning in -odCs salvi,ic plan,* as *a participation in the passion* and
*union 5ith the rede!ptive sacri,ice* o, 0hrist. 9or this reason the 0hristian can
be ,reely induced to accept pain 5ithout alleviation or to !oderate the use o,
pain/illers; c,. 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ) 1987, in @@D
&2 $1987% p. )(&. 12ac/3
2'9 0,. Pius "II, 4o an international asse!bly o, doctors and surgeons, 9eb. 2(,
19)&, in @() (9 $19)&% p. 1(&E 4o the participants at a congress on neuroH
85
psychophar!acology, Dept. 9, 19)8, in @@D )7 $19)8% p. 9(E 0ong. <oct. 9aith,
<eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D &2 $1987% p. )(&. 12ac/3
2(7 0,. John Paul II, 4o t5o 5or/ groups set up by the Ponti,ical @cade!y o,
Dciences, 6ct. 21, 198), in Insegna!enti :III#2, p. 1782, n. (. 12ac/3
2(1 0,. Pius "II, 4o an international asse!bly o, doctors and surgeons, 9eb. 2(,
19)&, in @@D (9 $19)&% p. 1((. 12ac/3
2(2 0,. 0ong. <oct 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987. in @@D &2
$1987% pp. )(&H)(8. 12ac/3
2(' 0,. Pius "II, 4o the participants at a congress on neuroHpsychophar!acology,
Dept. 9, 19)8, in @@D )7 $19)8% p. 9(. 12ac/3
2(( 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D &2
$1987% p. )(8. 0,. Pius "II, 4o an international asse!bly o, doctors and surgeons,
9eb. 2(, 19)&, in @@D (9 $19)&% p. 1(E 4o the participants at a congress on
neuroHpsychophar!acology, Dept. 9, 19)8, *2MI '29.* 0,. John Paul II,
Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. ). 12ac/3
2() 0,. 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D &2
$1987% p. )(8. 12ac/3
2( Pius "II, 4o an international asse!bly o, doctors and surgeons, 9eb. 2(,
19)&, in @@D (9 $19)&% pp. 1((H1(). 12ac/3
2(& 0, Pont. 0oun. *0or Fnu!,* Do!e Ithical Kuestions =elating to the -ravely
Ill and to the <ying, July 2&, 1981, in Inchiridion :aticanu! &, <ocu!enti
u,,iciali della Danta Dede 1987H1981. I<2, 2ologna 198), p. 11)', n. (.(. 12ac/3
2(8 0,. Pius "II, 4o an international asse!bly o, doctors and surgeons, 9eb. 2(,
19)&, in @@D (9 $19)&% 1(). 12ac/3
2(9 0,. Pius "II, 4o an international asse!bly o, doctors and surgeons, 9eb. 2(,
19)&, in @@D (9 $19)&% p. 1('H1(E 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on
Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D &2 $1987% p. )(8. *I, the patient obstinately
re,uses and persists in as/ing ,or the narcosis, the doctor !ay agree to it 5ithout
thereby beco!ing guilty o, ,or!al cooperation in the ,ault co!!itted. 4his, in ,act,
does not depend on the narcosis, but on the i!!oral 5ill o, the patientE 5hether
the analgesic it given to hi! or not, his behavior 5ill be identical; he 5ill not do
his duty.* $Pius "II, 4o an international asse!bly o, doctors and surgeons, 9eb.
2(, 19)&, in @@D (9 119)&3 p. 1(%. 12ac/3
2)7 0, Pont. 0oun. *0or Fnu!,* Do!e Ithical Kuestions =elating to the -ravely
Ill and the <ying, in Inchiridion :aticanu! &, <ocu!enti u,,iciali della Danta
Dede 1987H1981. I<2, 2ologna 198), p. 11)9, n. .1.1. *<eath is the end o, !anCs
earthly pilgri!age, o, the ti!e o, grace and !ercy 5hich -od o,,ers hi! so as to
8-
5or/ out his earthly li,e in /eeping 5ith the divine plan, and to decide his ulti!ate
destiny* $000 171'%. 12ac/3
2)1 Pont. 0oun. *0or Fnu!,* Do!e Ithical Kuestions =elating to the -ravely Ill
and the <ying, in Inchiridion :aticanu! & <ocu!enti u,,iciali della Danta Dede
1987H1981. I<2, 2ologna 198), p. 11)9, n. .1.2. 12ac/3
2)2 0,. Icu!. 0oun. :atican II, Past. 0onstit. -audiu! et spes, n. 18E John Paul
II, @post. +etter Dalvi,ici doloris, in Insegna!enti :II 11, '''H''), n. 1)E 4o the
participants at the Meeting o, the Ponti,ical @cade!y o, Dciences on *<eter!ining
the Mo!ent o, <eath,* <ec. 1(, 1989, in Insegna!enti "II#2, p. 1)2&, n. (. 12ac/3
2)' 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at the Meeting o, the Ponti,ical @cade!y
o, Dciences on *<eter!ining the Mo!ent o, <eath,* <ec. 1(, 1989, in
Insegna!enti "II#2, 1)2'H1)29, n. (. 12ac/3
2)( 0,. ibid. 12ac/3
2)) Pius "II, 4o a group o, doctors, Nov. 2(, 19)&, *2MI ('2, ('(.* 12ac/3
2) John Paul II, 4o the participants at the !eeting o, the Ponti,ical @cade!y o,
Dciences on *<eter!ining the Mo!ent o, <eath,* <ec. 1(, 1989, in Insegna!enti
"II#2. 1)2'H1)29. n. . 12ac/3
2)& 0,. Ponti,ical @cade!y o, Dciences, <eclaration on the @rti,icial Prolongation
o, +i,e and <eter!ining I8actly the Mo!ent o, <eath, n. 1. 12ac/3
2)8 0ong. <oct. 9aith, Instruct. <onu! vitae, 9eb. 22, 198&, in @@D 87 $1988%
&)H&E c,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at the 4hird -eneral @sse!bly o, the
.orld Medical @ssociation, 6ct. 29, 198', n. 2. 12ac/3
2)9 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at a !eeting o, the *Move!ent ,or +i,e,*
6ct. 12, 198), in Insegna!enti :III#2, 9''H9' n. 2. 12ac/3
27 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D &2
$1987% p. )((. 0,. John Paul II, Incyclical :eritatis splendor, n. 1'. 12ac/3
21 0, Pius "II, 4o the congress o, the Italian 0atholic Fnion o, 6bstetricians,
6ct. 29, 19)1, in @@D (' $19)1% p. 8'8. *Dcripture speci,ies the prohibition
contained in the ,i,th co!!and!ent; *<o not slay the innocent and the righteous*
$I8. 2';&%. 4he deliberate !urder o, an innocent person is gravely contrary to the
dignity o, the hu!an being, to the golden rule, and to the holiness o, the 0reator.
4he la5 ,orbidding it is universally valid; it obliges each and everyone, al5ays
and every5here* $000 221%. 12ac/3
22 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D &2
$1987% )((H)(). *It is unLusti,ied to discri!inate bet5een the di,,erent li,e stages.
4he right to li,e is still intact in an old person, even i, he or she is very debilitatedE
an incurably ill person does not lose it. It is no less legiti!ate in the ne5born child
83
than in the !ature person* 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Procured @bortion,
June 18, 19&(, in @@D $19&(% &'&H&'8. 12ac/3
2' John Paul II, 4o the @ssociation o, Italian 0atholic <octors, <ec. 28, 19&8, in
Insegna!enti 1, p. ('8. 12ac/3
2( John Paul II, 4o the .orld 0ongress o, 0atholic <octors, 6ct. ',1982, in
Insegna!enti :#' &1. 12ac/3
2) 0, 0ong. <oct 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D &2
$1987% p. )(); *Iveryone has the obligation o, living in con,or!ity 5ith -odCs
plan. :oluntary death, that is suicide...is a re,usal on !anCs part to accept -odCs
5ill and his loving purpose. 2esides, suicide is o,ten a denial o, love ,or onesel,, a
reLection o, the natural aspiration ,or li,e, a renounce!ent o, oneCs duties o, Lustice
and charity to oneCs neighbor, to the various co!!unities and to society at large,
although at ti!es there !ay be J as 5e /no5 J psychological ,actors 5hich
attenuate or, indeed, ta/e a5ay responsibility. @ clear distinction should be !ade,
ho5ever, bet5een suicide andsacri,ice !ade ,or a higher !otive J such as -odCs
glory, the salvation o, souls, service to oneCs neighbor J by 5hich one gives oneCs
li,e or puts it in danger* $ibid.%. 12ac/3
2 Holy Dee, 0harter on the =ights o, the 9a!ily, art. ( la. 12ac/3
2& Icu!. 0oun. :atican II, Past. 0onstit., -audiu! et spes, n. )1. 0,. Paul :I,
4o the participants at the ""III National 0ongress o, the Fnion o, Italian 0atholic
Jurists, in @@D ( $19&2% pp. &&H&&9. 12ac/3
28 0,. John Paul II, 4o the representatives o, the *Move!ent ,or li,e,* Jan. 2),
198, in Insegna!enti I"#1, 197H192, n. '. 12ac/3
29 0,. John Paul II, 4o t5o international groups o, scholars, Nov. ', 19&9, in
Insegna!enti II#2, pp. 17'(H17''). 12ac/3
2&7 John Paul II, Incyclical Ivangeliu! vitae, March 2), 199), n. (. 12ac/3
2&1 0,. John Paul II, 4o the @ssociation o, Italian 0atholic <octors, <ec. 28,
19&8, in Insegna!enti I p. ('8 0ong. <oct. 9aith <eclaration on Procured
@bortion, June 18,19&1, in @@D $19&(% &((, n. 2(. *Dince the ,irst century the
0hurch has a,,ir!ed the !oral evil o, every procured abortion. 4his teaching has
not changed and re!ains unchangeable. <irect abortion, that is to say, abortion
5illed either as an end or a !eans, is gravely contrary to the !oral la5. CAou shall
not /ill the e!bryo by abortion and shall not cause the ne5born to perishC
$<idache 2, 2%* 1000 22&13. 12ac/3
2&2 0,. 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Procured @bortion, June 18, 19&(, in
@@D $19&(% &'9. 12ac/3
2&' 09 Pius "II 4o *9ace o, the 9a!ily* and the *@ssociations o, +arge
9a!ilies,* Nov. 2&, 19)1, in @@D (' $19)1% p. 8)9. 12ac/3
84
2&( 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at a !eeting ,or obstetricians, Jan. 2,
1987, in Insegna!enti III#1, p. 19(, n. '. 12ac/3
2&) 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Procured @bortion, June 18, 19&(. in @@D
$19&(% &((. n. 22. 12ac/3
2& Ibid, n. 2(. 12ac/3
2&& 0ode o, 0anon +a5, can. 1'98. +atae sententiae !eans that the
e8co!!unication need not be pronounced by authority in every single case. It is
incurred by anyone 5ho procures an abortion by the si!ple ,act o, having
voluntarily procured it 5hile a5are o, the e8co!!unication. 12ac/3
2&8 0,. 0ode o, 0anon +a5, can. 8&1. 12ac/3
2&9 John Paul II, 4o the participants at the )(th Fpdating 0ourse o, the 0atholic
Fniversity, Dept. , 198(, in Insegna!enti :II#2, '''H''(. 12ac/3
287 Ibid., p. ''(, n. '. *.hatever its !otives and !eans, direct euthanasia consists
in putting an end to the lives o, handicapped, sic/ or dying persons. It is !orally
unacceptable* $000 22&&%. 12ac/3
281 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D &2
$1987% pp. )()H)(. 12ac/3
282 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at the III .orld 0ongress o, the
*International 0ollege o, Psychoso!atic Medicine,* Dept. 18, 19&). in @@D &
$19&)% )(). 12ac/3
28' 0ong. <oct. 9aith, <eclaration on Iuthanasia, May ), 1987, in @@D &2
$1987% p. )(. 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at the International 0ongress
on @ssistance to the <ying, in 6ss. =o!. March 18, 1992, nn. ', ). 12ac/3
28( 0,. John Paul II, 4o t5o 5or/ groups set up by the Ponti,ical @cade!y o,
Dciences, 6ct. 21, 198), n. '. 12ac/3
28) 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at a study course on *hu!an
preleu/oe!ias,* Nov. 1), 198), in Insegna!enti :III#2, p. 12), n. ). 12ac/3
28 0,. John Paul II, 4o the participants at the )(th Fpdating 0ourse o, the
0atholic Fniversity, Dept. , 198(, in Insegna!enti :II#2, p. ''(, n. (. 12ac/3
87