Bishops' Pastoral Letter - CELEBRATING HUMAN LIFE
Pastoral Letter
by H.E. Mgr
Paul Cremona O.P.
Archbishop of
Malta
and
H.E. Mgr Mario
Grech
Bishop of Gozo
CELEBRATING HUMAN LIFE
Cherishing Life
1.
It is indeed positive to note that in
our country, there has been an ongoing debate with respect to the way in which
a number of couples can address the difficulty of infertilty. This gives witness just to what extent we
cherish human life. This is even more
appreciated when one realizes that in today’s age, in Europe, and in Malta too,
a large part of society is stingy with respect to new life, in the sense that
the birth rate is low.[1]
It is admirable that our society expresses such enthusiasm, particularly in the
case of those couples who are called upon to make great sacrifices.
2.
As Bishops of Malta and Gozo, bearing
in mind the cultural context of today’s society, we are addressing this
Pastoral Letter primarily to the Catholic community of our country; but also to
our Maltese and Gozitan brothers and sisters of goodwill who genuinely hold
Catholic teachings at heart.[2]
It is our duty as spiritual shepherds of this community to guide those
Catholics (in the first place, married couples who are experiencing difficulty
with procreation, as well as other persons who work in the field of science,
politics and the law), in order that they may form their consciences rightly on
a subject such as human life, a subject which is so sacred and fundamental.
3.
It is normal for a newly wedded couple
to desire children. It is often the case
that when faced with the problem of infertility, a couple feels that it has
failed. This sense of failure is
aggravated if this condition arises as a consequence of certain choices which
the couple would have made in the past.
4.
As Bishops, we empathize with these
couples and we wish to remind them that the fact that they are childless does
not mean that their mission as a married couple has been unsuccessful. We all know of couples who, in spite of being
childless, have proved to be worthy in other areas of their lives. Yet this does not resolve their great desire
to communicate their love by becoming parents.
For this reason, we appeal to men of science to carry on with their
research, leading them to seek solutions which are ethically and morally good,
in order that these married couples may fulfill their genuine and valid desire
to become parents. In our appeal, we are
reiterating that which His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI stated a few months ago
while he was addressing scientists gathered to discuss the diagnosis and
treatment of infertility. While praising the intellectual honesty of the
scientists who seek truth, he also felt
the need to make the following observation: “Scientism and the logic of profit seem effectively to
dominate the field of infertility and human procreation today, even to the
point of limiting many other areas of research”.[3]
YES to Life
5.
The Church is the Institution which
favours life more than any other institution in the world. It insists that the value of human life must
remain untarnished and the Church defends it from the very moment of
conception, always striving to bring to light the unique dignity of the human
being. This is in accordance with the
will of God, who alone is the Lord of life.
The Church recognizes that human life is not a ‘product’ which may be
fashioned, built, used and brushed aside.[4] The Church teaches that no one can “use” a
person, at whatever stage of his development, right from the first moment of
his existence until the moment of his natural death, whatever his condition. If
this fundamental respect is over-looked, science becomes man’s enemy. The
Church is fully aware of her duty to defend those who are vulnerable and to
give a voice to the voiceless. The Church
strongly reiterates its ‘yes’ to life, particularly when life is at it’s
weakest point, such as when a person’s development is in its early stages.
6.
It is in this light that the Church,
bearing in mind the principles of natural reason, and confirmed by Revelation,
has always insisted upon the fact that science is to be at the authentic
service of humanity. Scientific
development must progress within such limits which ensure that fundamental
respect towards the person is never lacking, otherwise it becomes an enemy of
the human being.
7.
The Church has always taught that
authentic service to humanity and the protection and promotion of his dignity
cannot be guaranteed unless one abides by the principles of truth about
mankind. This is explained very clearly
by Pope Benedict XVI in his encyclical Caritas
in veritate. In fact, the Church has
always taken loving initiatives (Caritas)
in favour of mankind in the light of the truth about the human person. Charity and truth go hand in hand; it is
truth which ensures authentic charity.
8.
The Church has the right and duty to
proclaim its moral judgment upon research and upon technical methods used for
human reproduction. By so doing, she is
in no way interfering in the scientific field; rather she is fulfilling her
mission of bringing to the attention of one and all, the ethical and social
responsibilities which arise from any action taken in respect of human beings.
The Truth protects Life
9.
What is the ethical truth regarding in vitro fertilization (IVF) which the
Catholic Church, out of love for mankind, and together with all its members,
has the duty to proclaim as part of its mission?
10.
According to the teachings of the
Church, any medical methods which are used to cure infertility should be
based upon a profound respect for the
following three fundamental values:
a.
The
value of life and the physical integrity of every person. This must be protected from the very moment of
conception until the moment of natural death of the human person, more so when
the person is in a vulnerable state. Any
form of discrimination with respect to different stages of life cannot be
justified and must be upheld like any other form of discrimination.[5]
“From conception, a life is begun which is neither that of the father
nor of the mother, it is rather the life of a new human being with his own
growth. It would never be made human if it were not human already”.[6] Some months ago, this most important value was
acknowledged at a civil level, that is, human life must be safeguarded from the
moment of conception (embryos).[7]
b.
The value of conjugal unity. This
unity is manifest in the respect which the married couple foster for one
another; in recognizing that in their marriage, they have the right to become
parents. The married man and woman,
through their reciprocal gift of love, bring one another to perfection when
they cooperate with the Creator in the conception and bearing of children. For this reason, any couple which accepts a
third party to participate in the process of artificial fertilization is in
effecting constituting a rupture of their conjual unity, their conjugal
fidelity; it also obstructs the right of the married couple to become parents
exclusively through their mutual co-operative action.
c. The value of human sexuality in marriage. The conception of a human
person should be the outcome of the mutual self-giving love of the married
couple This gift is realized through
their sexual intimacy, an action through which the man and the woman become
“one body”. Therefore, bearing in mind
this value, the conception of new life cannot be treated solely as a biological
act. Neither can it be a technical
process which produces embryos as if they were objects. The gift of human life should be eagerly
accepted in marriage, which is the ideal and most natural situation for
conception to take place, through personal acts which are exclusive and
specific to married men and women. This
is in conformity with the teachings of the Church which state that “there is an inseparable connection, established
by God, which man on his own initiative may not break, between the unitive
significance and the procreative significance which are both inherent to the
marriage act”.[8]
11. Therefore, every technical
method which replaces the personal conjugal act fails to respect the dignity of
the human person and of the unity of marriage and so this is not
acceptable. On the other hand, such technical methods are acceptable when
they aid the personal conjugal act to achieve its aim, that is to concieve
human life.[9]
The natural law safeguards life
12. The IVF
method calls for the creation of several embryos in order for the desired child
to be born. Even though a number of
these embryos are not killed deliberately, but die a ‘natural’ death shortly
after they are concieved, the fact remains that several embryos are being
sacrificed and instrumentalized so that a child may be born. Both this
procedure, as well as the method in which human embryos are being selected in
order that a child may be born, confirms that the process, in itself, infringes
upon human dignity. Everything points to
the fact that in vitro fertilization
methods, which at first glance seem to be at the service of life, are in fact,
actually a threat to human life.
13.
At times the scientific process
involves the freezing of superfluous embryos (concieved through IVF) which are
not selected to be implanted in the mother’s womb (cryo-preservation). The Church makes it clear that it does not
consider the freezing of embryos to be an acceptable solution. The document, Donum Vitae, which was previously
referred to states clearly that: “The freezing of embryos, even when carried out in order to
preserve the life of an embryo - cryopreservation - constitutes an offence
against the respect due to human beings by exposing them to grave risks of
death or harm to their physical integrity and depriving them, at least
temporarily, of maternal shelter and gestation, thus placing them in a
situation in which further offences and manipulation are possible”.[10]
14. Parents can never concede to
the freezing of their children. By so
doing they would be shirking their responsibility as parents. On the other hand, if their ‘offspring’ is
frozen without their consent, they would be unfairly deprived of their
responsibility as parents. Through the freezing of these embryos, mankind is
creating new orphanages. Besides this,
the future of these frozen embryos is very bleak. The embryo, even while it is frozen, is still
in possession of certain unalienable rights. A democratic society is duty-bound to oversee
that the laws which protect these embryos are observed.
15. In some areas, it is being
suggested that in order to mitigate the dangers of frozen embryos, such embryos
which are not implanted in the mother’s womb are put up for adoption. This is not a solution either because serious
complications of a medical, psychological and legal nature may arise; this also
poses greater ethical problems.
16.
The IVF
process involves methods which at times considers the person, who is still
at the embryonic stage, to be merely “a mass of cells” which may be used,
selected and dispensed with. Many times,
a significant number of human embryos are sacrificed for the sake of the birth
of the desired child. Such in vitro
fertilization practices constitute the meditated and direct destruction of
innocent human life. The Church
Magisterium has always considered this destruction of embryos to be
abortive. Blessed John Paul II teaches
that: “Procured abortion is the deliberate and direct
killing, by whatever means it is carried out, of a human being in the initial
phase of his or her existence, extending from conception to birth”.[11]
Therefore the
above-mentioned practices cannot be morally justified in any way and under no
circumstances. It is never morally
permissible for a bad action (in this case, the destruction of a number of
embryos) to atone for a good cause (in this case, the conception and birth of a
desired child). It is a well-known moral
principle that the end does not justify the means.
17. Human life should be safe-guarded
and its integrity promoted from the very moment of conception. This obligation stems from the dignity of the
human person which is at the foundation of all human rights. Therefore, this is an obligation which stems
from the principles of natural law. Every person, because he is a person, has
an inherent dignity which must be acknowledged and respected by others. For
this reason, civil law would be just or unjust not based upon whether it agrees
or disagrees with the religious ethical code, but if it is not in conformity
with the human ethical code. This human
ethical code, also referred to as the natural law, does not depend upon
positive parliamentary legislation; even more so, it cannot be tarnished or brushed
aside by a majority vote in parliament.
18.
It is a fact that in our country, the
practice of IVF is widespread. It has
just been reported that during the last 22 years, 750 women became pregnant
through this method. It is also a
well-known fact that where civil laws do not regulate the practice of IVF,
there is great disorder. In continuation
to what we stated earlier, we feel that civil law in respect of assisted
procreation should aim to safe-guard the three values we have already
mentioned, ie. the value of life and physical integrity of every person, the
value of the unitive aspect of marriage and the value of human sexuality in
marriage.
A law which
does not safe-guard these values is morally wrong. There are different levels of ethical gravity
emanating out of a law that does not respect these values. For this reason, men
of goodwill who are responsible to draw up legislation are duty-bound in
conscience to try and achieve the best possible benefits, or as far as
possible, to mitigate dangers.
Solidarity with
couples who wish to accept the gift of life
19. The Church, in deep
solidarity with couples who are facing problems of infertility, desires that
science will continue to develop and offer such technical methods which,
without replacing the conjugal act, assist the couple’s fertility
processes. It is the hope of the Church
that couples who are combatting infertility will not taken advantage of either
psychologically nor financially, especially since their situation already poses
enough stress as it is.
20. The Church is heavily committed in
several ways to assist couples who are facing such a situation and to offer
proper guidance on the real nature of their condition. First of all, the Church
steadfastly encourages couples not to concede to the temptation of taking “easy”
solultions simply because these seem technically possible. Not only are these
solutions morally wrong, but they are susceptible to danger in that they are to
the detriment of the physical and mental health of the couple, most especially
the woman. The Church is also committed
to take initiatives that are morally good, in order to assure the utmost
respect towards strengthening the couple and towards human life. Finally, it would be extremely helpful if one
were to embark upon a serious scientific study with respect to the cause and
prevention of infertility.
21. For this reason, the Church
makes an appeal to all people and reminds them of their obligation to form
their conscience properly. An authentic
Christian conscience is formed in the light of the principles of natural law
mentioned above and in conformity with the teachings of the Church. Catholics with a morally and correctly formed
conscience are called upon to give witness to the Truth of Love, and this love
is confirmed by the same truth.
22. In this
respect we wish to address those couples who have overcome infertility problems
by adopting or accepting to foster children.
Their generosity is most exemplary and praiseworthy. These couples offer hope not only to those
children whom they have welcomed into their lives and who are being reared with
love and care, but also to those couples, who similarly, are hoping to be
parents.
23. The Church holds close to her heart all those children who are
born as a result of IVF methods and confirms that they are still children of
God, even if the methods through which they were concieved go against Church
teachings and against human dignity. The
Church urges the parents of these children to trust in God’s mercy and to seek
the road to self-reconciliation, in line with their call and mission as
parents.
We
pray for God’s blessing upon all married couples and families of our country
and also upon all those who cherish and labour in favour of human life.
Today,
26th July, 2012 Memorial of St Joachim and St Anne.
X Paul Cremona O.P. X Mario Grech
Archbishop
of Malta
Bishop of Gozo
[1]In EU countries, the birth rate is 1.59, a
litte higher than ten years ago, however in Malta is decreased from 1.77 in
1999 to 1.38 in 2010. See Eurostat,
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tsdde220&plugin=0.
[2] Joseph Mercieca and Nikol Cauchi, “Declaration on
Artificial Insemination”, 26th July 1995; ibid., “Declaration on Ethical
Problems Related To Assisted
Reproduction”, 4th February 2005; ibid.,
“Declaration on the Protection of Human Life from Conception”, 1st July
2005; Joseph Mercieca, “The Dignity and
Integrity of Human Life”, 21st September 2005; Paul Cremona and Mario Grech,
“Pastoral Letter for Advent 2010, The place of the Crib in our families”,
27th November 2011; Mario Grech, “The
sorrow of couples who are unable to bear children”, 30th March 2012.
[3] Benedict XVI, Address to the General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for
Life, 25th February 2012, par. 2. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2012/february/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20120225_acdlife_en.html.
[5] Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Procured Abortion, 18th November
1974, par. 12.
[6] Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, Donum Vitae, Instruction on
respect for human life in its origin and on the dignity of procreation: replies
to certain questions of the day, 22nd February 1987, par. I.1 which quotes from
the Declaration on Procured Abortion of the same Congregation, 18th November
1974, par. 12.
[7] European Court of Justice, Oliver Brustle
vs Greenpeace, 18th October 2011 decided that human embryos deserved to be
respected with human dignity.
[8] Paul VI, Encyclical Letter, Humanae Vitae, 25th July 1968 par. 12. This teaching is repeated in
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum
Vitae, Instruction on respect for human life in its origin and on the
dignity of procreation: replies to certain questions of the day, 22nd February
1987, p IIB4a
[9] Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, Dignitas Personae, Instruction
on certain bioethical situations, 8th Settembru 2008, par. 12
[10] Par. I.6.
[11] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae, 25th March 1995, par.
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