BISHOPS URGE CONGRESS TO ACT ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY CRISIS IN HEALTH CARE BEFORE YEAR’S END

BISHOPS URGE CONGRESS TO ACT ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY CRISIS IN HEALTH CARE BEFORE YEAR’S END

Cardinal DiNardo highlights problems for religious institutions, individuals

Sees Administration policy’s approach to religious freedom most grudging, arbitrary ever

Congressional action defending religious freedom long overdue

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, chair of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, called on Congress to address the crisis in health care sparked by the Obama administration’s contraceptive/sterilization coverage mandate in an August 3 letter to members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

            The mandate, which was announced a year ago by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, he said, “would forbid Americans to provide or purchase health coverage unless it includes female surgical sterilizations, all FDA-approved prescription drugs and devices for preventing pregnancy – including drugs and devices which can destroy a human life at its earliest stages – and ‘counseling and education’ to promote these to all women and girls of childbearing age.”

          

            Cardinal DiNardo called the mandate “unprecedented and misguided federal policy.” He added that “most of those who initiate or renew employee health plans as well as student plans at educational institutions after August 1 must comply with this mandate, notwithstanding their moral or religious objections, or drop their health coverage altogether as some colleges have now begun to do.” 

            “For our part, the Catholic bishops of the United States continue to advocate for life-affirming health care for all, especially for poor and vulnerable people.  We do not see this policy as a step in that direction,” he said.

            “Despite widespread opposition to this coercive policy by religious organizations, lawmakers and the general public, Congress has still taken no action to counter it.  The time for such action is, to say the least, overdue,” he said.

            “The fundamental importance of the religious freedom issue at stake demands a timely congressional response,” he said. “Through this mandate, the Administration is promoting an approach to religious freedom that is more grudging and arbitrary than any yet seen in federal law.”

           He added that a minority of religious employers – those which, among other things, engage primarily in prayer and preaching – are said to be exempt from the mandate. “By contrast, religious organizations which live out their faith by reaching out to all in need with health care and other humanitarian services are deemed ‘not religious enough’ for the exemption.  Many, though not all, of these organizations will qualify for a one-year delay in enforcement, after which partial control of their health plans will be handed over by the government to others willing to implement the mandate.” 

          Cardinal DiNardo highlighted the plight of employers who may have moral or religious objections to some or all of the mandated services, people who are “devout individuals and families who own and operate businesses, who without any word of protest from employees have been offering health coverage that does not violate their moral convictions.” With the mandate “their longtime practice will be contrary to federal law, punished by a tax of $100 a day per employee and other penalties,” he said. “In court, the Administration has insisted that these companies are entirely ‘secular’ with no claim on religious freedom.  In effect, if an organization is ‘for profit,’ it is not allowed to be ‘for’ anything else.  The owners who have imbued their companies with faith-based commitments to employee well-being, community service and social responsibility strongly disagree.  And at a time of grave concern over business and banking scandals, does anyone think that rewarding businesses obsessed solely with company profits is sound government policy?” 

          Cardinal DiNardo noted several current lawsuits opposing the mandate brought by institutions and individuals.

          “Vindication of the fundamental rights of these individuals and organizations may take years of litigation,” he said.

          “The validity of the religious freedom claim against the contraceptive mandate is clearer than ever – even for those supposedly ‘secular’ companies whose rights are completely ignored under that mandate,” he said. “Yet timely and uniform protection of these rights cannot be expected from the current lengthy judicial process.  Therefore the Catholic bishops of the United States and many others fervently hope Congress will address this urgent and fundamental issue before it completes its business this year.”

Simply, Stopping Tuberculosis

3rd World Stop TB Partnership Forum 24th March – World TB Day

By Rev. Msgr. Robert J. Vitillo Head of the Caritas Internationalis Delegation in Geneva and Chairperson, Catholic HIV and AIDS Network (CHAN)
http://www.caritas.org/includes/pdf/tbforum09.pdf


When compared to the biennial International AIDS Conferences, the environment of this Forum lacked the “glitz”. The crowds were smaller, and the activists were less assertive. But the sense of urgency was just as immediate and the passion was just as evident among the 1,500 participants from more than 100 countries who assembled on 23 March for the opening of the Third Stop TB Partners Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The theme of the Forum is both straightforward and compelling: “Simply, Stopping Tuberculosis (TB)”. Not many years ago, the global human family seemed to be well on its way to accomplishing that goal by the year 2050 – as had been promised by the public health, clinical, and scientific experts.

In the opening ceremony of the Forum, we learned that the dream may not be realized – due to a number of developments, including the large number of HIV/TB co-infections as well as the development of new and much harder-to-treat “multidrug-resistant (MDR)” and “extensively drug resistant (XDR)” strains of the bacillus that causes TB. It was reported that some 9.7 million people were diagnosed with TB during 2007 and 1.77 million people died of the disease.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aim toward a 50 percent reduction in TB prevalence and deaths by the year 2015. Experts are encouraged by good progress with treatment success: 84-85 percent. However, case detection rates are still quite poor – 37 percent of such infections are not being identified and, without a full course of treatment, those who have developed active TB disease can infect others through air-borne means.

Paediatric TB treatment faces many challenges since little progress has been made with developing “child-friendly” testing and medications for this disease (see more information on this subject in Caritas’ “ HAART for Children ” Campaign - http://www.caritas.org/activities/hiv_aids/the_campaign.html ) .

What do Caritas and other Catholic humanitarian organizations have to do with fighting TB? The “mantra” at the Opening Sessions of the Forum was that we need to find new and creative ways to combat this major global killer disease that is both preventable and treatable.

One important way to do that is to expand the response beyond the traditional medical approaches, most especially by bringing efforts to the grassroots level; by forging new partnerships with government, international donors, and other members of civil society; and by integrating HIV and TB diagnosis, care and treatment. Caritas and other Catholic organizations already are doing this.

For that reason, I was honoured to present, at this Global TB Forum, some of the effective models developed by faith-based organizations and especially was pleased to do so on the Observance of World TB Day, 24 March 2009.

Read Msgr Vitillo’s speech from the forum.

USCCB comments cite reasons for HHS to keep conscience regulation

CONSCIENCE-USCCB Mar-23-2009



By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Rather than working to rescind a regulation that gives federal protection to the conscience rights of health care providers and institutions, the Obama administration's proper role is to enforce the will of Congress as already expressed in existing statutes, said attorneys for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Anthony R. Picarello Jr., USCCB general counsel, and Michael F. Moses, associate general counsel, filed public comments on behalf of the USCCB March 23 with the Department of Health and Human Services.

HHS opened a 30-day comment period March 10 on whether it should rescind a regulation that took effect two days before President Barack Obama took office. The rule codifies three longtime federal statutes prohibiting discrimination against health professionals who decline to participate in abortions or other medical procedures because of their religious or other moral objections.

"The question is not whether the policy to be pursued is the strong protection of conscience in health care -- Congress has already decided that question repeatedly and decisively by a series of statutes -- but how best to enforce the policy of conscience protection already expressed in those statutes," Picarello and Moses said.

The USCCB comments also said rescission of the regulation would conflict with the administration's stated goals of promoting "choice" and reducing abortions; reduce health care options for the poor and other underserved populations; and perpetuate the "undisguised hostility to conscience rights" and widespread ignorance of existing law that are already rampant.

"If the administration's policy is one of 'choice,' it cannot, consistent with that policy, refuse to accommodate a health care provider's choice not to participate in abortion," the USCCB said. "Otherwise, the policy is simply one of unmasked coercion."

Similarly, it makes no sense to contend that one is working to reduce abortions by increasing access to abortion, the comments said.

"Increasing abortion access increases abortion rates," the USCCB lawyers said. "The administration cannot coherently -- or in good faith -- claim to stand for both policies at the same time."

In soliciting public comment on the proposed rescission, HHS asked whether the regulation "reduces access to information and health care services, particularly by low-income women," as some groups such as Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America have charged.

The USCCB attorneys said rescinding the conscience regulation "would have uncertain effects on access" to abortion and sterilization, but "would certainly reduce access to life-affirming health care services, especially for poor and underserved populations."

Faced with a lack of conscience protections, health care providers and institutions opposed to abortion or sterilization could be forced out of business, thus reducing access to all health care, they added. "Indeed, the poorest and neediest patients will suffer the most from such reduction in access to life-affirming health care.

"Those who allege a conflict between conscience and 'access' neglect to ask why rural and other underserved areas are so frequently served only by a Catholic or other faith-based provider," the USCCB comments said. "This occurs because for-profit providers see no profit margin in serving poor or sparsely populated areas, while religiously affiliated providers ... see those patients as having inherent human dignity and human rights.

"If these providers were barred from acting in accord with the moral and religious convictions that motivated them to provide life-affirming health care in the first place, the result will not be more comprehensive health care for these areas but, in some cases, none at all," they added.

As evidence of the need for the current regulation, the USCCB attorneys said negative public reaction even before the rule took effect "demonstrates, at best, a deplorable lack of understanding about the federal legislative rights of conscience on which the regulation is based, at worst outright hostility to those statutory rights."

They also cited actions by groups such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Civil Liberties Union, NARAL Pro-Choice America and various state and local governments to ignore or override conscience rights in violation of the current federal statutes.

The USCCB called for outreach and educational efforts by HHS about the regulation "in addition to, rather than in lieu of, vigorous regulatory implementation of the existing conscience statutes."

"Public misperception about the conscience regulation and the statutes they enforce is, in and of itself, a testament to the need for regulatory enforcement and other guidance from HHS," the comments said.

"Congress has made its policy choice -- a choice that respects and advances this nation's founding principles of religious liberty and diversity, and that tends to increase patients' ready access to basic health care, regardless of their location or socio-economic status," the comments concluded. "The administration's regulatory actions should faithfully enforce that existing policy choice."

Tuesday, March 24, is World Tuberculosis Day.

World TB Day: Enlisting Communities in the Fight
from Catholic Relief Services Blog by John Lindner


Catholic Relief Services is providing tuberculosis treatment and care in eight countries, including the Philippines province of Maguindanao. The Maguindanao Province is one of the poorest provinces in the Southeast Asian country. The life expectancy is age 53, with tuberculosis as one of the leading causes of death. Throughout the province’s 28 communities, our health experts and local partners have devised a system that, in addition to upgrading health facilities, has drafted members of the community to fight the disease.

“We want everyone in their circle of influence to elevate awareness on TB,” says CRS health advisor Elena McEwan. “If the community is not involved in taking charge of the disease, it poses a constant threat.” This even means using local drivers who might otherwise transport produce, to give patients a ride to a health clinic. This community collaboration has significantly increased detection and cure rates.

When we first began the project, there were only five functioning medical laboratories, 19 microscopes and seven medical technologists for the entire province. Upgrades to health facilities have allowed medical workers to treat patients and work more efficiently.

Health workers and residents, who are trained to handle test samples, have volunteered their time to get more residents tested for tuberculosis. Based on our 2007 records, these workers’ efforts alone have produced a 34 percent increase in detected tuberculosis cases.

Volunteer drivers are making overall healthcare more assessable to residents. They also deliver test samples to laboratories among other medical transport needs.

Community support groups give patients an outlet to share their experiences with each other. These support groups also foster awareness within families and the wider community. Because of this, patients “are less afraid of seeking care when they show TB symptoms,” McEwan says. “It’s like a happy ending marriage.”

There are three messages that our health experts want to send developing nations that are facing high rates of tuberculosis.
*The disease is curable.
*The drugs are free.
*Seek care if symptoms such as prolonged coughing occur

Public Comments on Conscience Protection in Catholic Health care

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is inviting public comment on a proposal to rescind an important December 2008 federal regulation that protects the conscience rights of health care providers.

Help protect the rights of our Catholic health care professionals and institutions.

Please visit www.usccb.org/conscienceprotection to access links to make a comment and to find out more information. Comments must be posted by April 9, 2009.
**************************
By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Warning that a failure to protect conscience rights would move the country "from democracy to despotism," Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago urged U.S. Catholics to tell the Obama administration that they "want conscience protections to remain strongly in place."

"No government should come between an individual person and God -- that's what America is supposed to be about," said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in a videotaped message available on the USCCB Web site at www.usccb.org/conscienceprotection and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NoCRwMqVzQ.

"This is the true common ground for us as Americans," he added. "We therefore need legal protections for freedom of conscience and of religion -- including freedom for religious health care institutions to be true to themselves."

Cardinal George was urging public comment by April 9 on an effort to rescind a regulation of the Department of Health and Human Services. The rule codifies several existing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination against health professionals who decline to participate in abortions or other medical procedures because of their religious or other moral objections.

HHS opened a 30-day comment period on the proposed rescission March 10. The regulation took effect two days before President Barack Obama took office.

The cardinal said the issue centers on "two principles or ideas that have been basic to life in our country: religious liberty and the freedom of personal conscience."

He noted that conscientious objection has been allowed for those opposed to participating in a war, "even though it's good to defend your country," and for doctors who do not want to be involved in administering the death penalty.

"Why shouldn't our government and our legal system permit conscientious objection to a morally bad action, the killing of babies in their mother's womb?" Cardinal George asked. "People understand what really happens in an abortion and in related procedures -- a living member of the human family is killed -- ... and no one should be forced by the government to act as though he or she were blind to this reality."

He urged Catholics to tell the Department of Health and Human Services "that you stand for the protection of conscience, especially now for those who provide the health care services so necessary for a good society."

Comments on the proposed HHS rule change may be submitted through an action alert at www.usccb.org/conscienceprotection, on the Web site www.Regulations.gov (by entering 0991-AB49 in the search box) or via e-mail to proposedrescission@hhs.gov. Attachments may be in Microsoft Word, WordPerfect or Excel, but Microsoft Word is preferred.

By mail, one original and two copies of written comments may be sent to: Office of Public Health and Science, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: Rescission Proposal Comments, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Ave. SW, Room 716G, Washington, DC 20201.

Cover the Uninsured Week...March 22-28, 2009

Catholic Social Teaching and Health Care
In our Catholic tradition, health care is a basic human right. Access to health care should not depend on where a person works, how much a family earns, or where a person lives. Instead, every person, created in the image and likeness of God, has a right to life and to those things necessary to sustain life, including affordable, quality health care. This teaching is rooted in the biblical call to heal the sick and to serve "the least of these," our concern for human life and dignity, and the principle of the common good. Unfortunately, tens of millions of Americans do not have health insurance. According to the Catholic bishops of the United States, the current health care system is in need of fundamental reform.

To learn about Catholic teaching on health care in more detail, read the full statement by the United States Catholic Bishops, A Framework for Comprehensive Health Care Reform.

Facts about the Uninsured
• In 2007, forty-six million Americans were living without health care coverage.1
• Since the Census Bureau collected 2007 data, the unemployment rate has grown from 4.4 percent to 7.6 percent, resulting in 3.5 million new people who are now uninsured. An estimated 14,000 persons a day are now losing coverage as a result of the recession.2
• Sixty-four percent of the uninsured are employed full-time, yearround.3
• Nearly 20 percent of uninsured Americans, or 8.7 million persons, are children.4
• Ethnic minorities make up a disproportionate percentage of the uninsured population.5
• The poor are more likely to be uninsured. Thirty-four percent of non-elderly persons below the poverty line are uninsured, compared to 21 percent of non-elderly persons earning two to three times the poverty line.6

(Sources: 1, 3, 4, 5 U.S. Census Bureau, 2008; 2 Center for American Progress, 2009; 6 Employee Benefit Research Institute estimates from the March Current Population Survey, 2007 Supplement.)

How One Community Responded

In Polk County, FL, 120,000 people or 25 percent of the population are uninsured or underinsured. Recognizing that access to health care was a major issue in their community, congregations involved in Polk Ecumenical Action Council for Empowerment, or PEACE, an organization that receives funding from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), decided to take action. When it was announced that the already dwindling funds for healthcare for poor persons were slated to be cut entirely, PEACE joined with others to advocate for a referendum to institute a half cent sales tax which would be irected toward healthcare for poor persons. Although it was predicted to have little chance of passing, PEACE’s work led to support by 62 percent of voters, directing $26 million a year toward indigent healthcare.

But PEACE’s work was not finished. After monitoring the spending, PEACE realized that the money was reaching few people because it was being spent on high-cost specialty care instead of primary care. PEACE engaged in another advocacy campaign and won commitments from the county to open five new primary health clinics in areas of high need. Each clinic will serve up to 40,000 patients a year and will set fees on a sliding scale based on income. The first of the clinics opened in November 2007 and the second is scheduled to open in 2009.

How You Can Respond
• Make a commitment to learn more.

◊ Learn about the Church’s teachings by reading the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ A Framework for Comprehensive Health Care Reform.

◊ Read the recent backgrounder on health care from the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development.

◊ Read Catholic Charities USA’s materials on health care and the role health care reform plays in CCUSA’s Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America.

◊ Read Catholic Health Association’s Vision for U.S. Health Care and access information on hosting community meetings and reaching out to local media.
◊ Visit the Cover the Uninsured Week website for educational resources, local events, and ideas for action as an individual, parish, or community.
• Use the Prayer and Liturgy resources to engage your parish or community in this issue.

US BISHOPS WELCOME HHS REGULATION PROTECTING CONSCIENCE RIGHTS IN HEALTH CARE

WASHINGTON — A final regulation protecting health care providers’ conscience rights was issued December 18 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The U.S. Catholic bishops’ spokesperson on abortion, Deirdre A. McQuade, welcomed the published regulation as a way to protect medical personnel from being coerced to violate their consciences in federally funded programs. The regulation clarifies and implements existing federal statutes enacted by Congress in 1973, 1996 and 2004. (See text of these laws.)

“Individuals and institutions committed to healing should not be required to take the very human life that they are dedicated to protecting,” McQuade said. “The enforcement of federal laws to protect their freedom of conscience is long overdue.”

“Catholic health care providers will especially welcome this mark of respect for the excellent life-affirming care they provide to all in need. But Catholics do not stand alone in opposition to the deliberate destruction of nascent human life. All health care providers should be free to serve their patients without violating their most deeply held moral and religious convictions in support of life,” McQuade said.

“The USCCB thanks Secretary Michael Leavitt for implementing this regulation,” McQuade said. “We urge the incoming Congress and Administration to honor this much-needed implementation of longstanding laws. Respect for conscience rights on abortion should be a strong point of agreement among those considering themselves ‘pro-life’ and ‘pro-choice.’ Yet this regulation is already under attack. A month before it was even published, pro-abortion senators had introduced a bill (S. 20) to invalidate it regardless of its content.”

The USCCB issued a statement on August 21 welcoming the proposed regulation when it was first released for public comment. Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chair of the bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities, also wrote to Congress urging respect for conscience protection measures. Formal comments on the proposal were later submitted by the USCCB Office of General Counsel.

“Dignitas Personae”...TEACHING ON SOME BIOETHICAL QUESTIONS

VATICAN CITY , 12 DEC 2008 ( VIS ) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office the Instruction of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith “Dignitas Personae” on certain bioethical questions was presented. It was published in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Polish.



Archbishops Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life; Bishop Elio Sgreccia, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life; and Maria Luisa Di Pietro, associate professor of Bioethics at the Sacred Heart University, Rome and President of the “Science and Life” Association took part in the press conference.



Archbishop Ladaria affirmed that this instruction is the fruit of study that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith undertook in 2002 on new questions in bioethics with the goal of bringing the same dicastery’s instruction “Donum vitae” (1987) up to date. The document, approved by the Pope, “forms part of the ordinary Magisterium of the Successor of Peter” and “is of a doctrinal nature”.



This instruction “encourages biomedical investigation that respects the dignity of all human beings and of procreation. ... At the same time, it does not exclude diverse biomedical technology as ethically illicit and”, he said, “will probably be accused of containing too many prohibitions. Nevertheless, faced with this possible accusation it is necessary to emphasize that the Church feels the duty of making those without voices heard”.



Archbishop Fisichella noted that the document “attempts to express the Church’s proper, authorized contribution to the formation of conscience, not only of believers but also of those who try to hear the arguments presented and to debate them. This is”, he said, “an intervention that forms part of the Church’s mission and should be listened to not only as legitimate but also as necessary in a pluralist, secular, and democratic society”.



For her part, Professor Di Pietro noted that before examining the questions dealt with in the document, such as techniques of assisting fertility, in vitro fertilization, the freezing of embryos and eggs, embryo reduction, and pre-implant diagnosis, “it is necessary to remember the three fundamental goods that govern each of the decisions”:



- The recognition of the dignity of the person of each human being from conception to natural death, with the consequent subjectivity of the right to life and physical integrity.



- The unity of marriage, which carries with it the reciprocal respect of the right of the spouses to become father and mother only through one another.



- The specifically human values of sexuality that “demand that the procreation of a human person be desired as the fruit of the conjugal act specific to the love between spouses”.



Bishop Sgreccia referred to the third part of the document that speaks of newly proposed therapies that involve the manipulation of the embryo or the human genetic patrimony.



“The text holds that it is necessary”, he said, “to keep in mind one fundamental distinction: theoretically, genetic therapy can be applied to somatic cells with directly therapeutic ends or to germinal cells”. As regards the latter, “it is not possible to intervene as there still does not exist a safe technique”, he stressed, “because it could entail the risk of deformation in the hereditary genetic patrimony of future generations”.



The former president of the Pontifical Academy for Life affirmed that “the distinction between reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning is untenable and thus also always presupposes a reproduction”.



Click here to read the summary of the document



OP/DIGNITAS PERSONAE/... VIS 081212 (580)

CDF new Bioethics Document...forthcoming

Bioethics document coming in December
Posted on November 26, 2008 by John Thavis from CNS news blog


VATICAN CITY — A new Vatican instruction on bioethics, prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is scheduled to be published Dec. 12, informed sources said Wednesday.

The document, under discussion for at least two years, is expected to examine ethical issues in biological research and health care that have emerged in recent years, including the cloning and freezing of human embryos, stem cell research and new therapeutic possibilities.

When members of the doctrinal congregation met in a plenary session last January, U.S. Cardinal William J. Levada, congregation prefect, said much of their discussion focused on the field of bioethics.

At that time, the cardinal hinted that a document was in the works. He said it might examine new therapeutic options and some ethical problems that were not explicitly considered by two previous church documents: the doctrinal congregation’s instruction “Donum Vitae” (”The Gift of Life”) in 1987 and Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, “Evangelium Vitae” (”The Gospel of Life”) in 1995.

Pope Benedict XVI was head of the doctrinal congregation when both those documents were published. Addressing the congregation in January, the pope said the new problems included the freezing of human embryos, the selective reduction of embryos, pre-implant diagnosis, research on embryonic stem cells and attempts at human cloning.

The pope said the starting point for the church’s reflection remains the same:

"The two fundamental criteria for moral discernment in this field are unconditional respect for the human being as a person from the moment of conception to natural death, (and) respect for the originality of the transmission of human life through the acts proper to spouses."

The new document is expected to be unveiled at a Vatican press conference, the sources said.

VATICAN AIDE CAUTIONS OBAMA ON ETHICS

Says Some Humans Shouldn't Be Used for Others

By Carmen Villa

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 11, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry is warning the president elect of the United States that it is unethical to give the green light to embryonic stem-cell research.

Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán said this today (11-11) during a press conference to present the dicastery's upcoming international conference on child illness. He was responding to a question regarding an announcement Sunday from Barack Obama's team that the future president would reverse the policy of George Bush and give the go-ahead to embryonic stem cell research.

A basic principle of bioethics, the cardinal recalled, is that "what builds up man is good, what destroys him is bad."

Noting that human dignity is an end in itself, and not a means that can be manipulated, the Vatican official affirmed: "One person can never be used as a means for another."

It is not possible to kill one human being to save another, he insisted.

Moreover, Cardinal Lozano Barragán noted that there are many other ways to get stem cells, such as by extracting them from the umbilical cord or other organs.

"When we're dealing with transplants that endanger neither the donor nor the receiver, everything is welcome; there is no question to the contrary," he said.

Furthermore, the prelate noted, there is misinformation in the public sphere about stem cells. They were initially presented as a "panacea," he said, but stem cells taken from embryos have yet to give any of the promised results.

Professor Alberto Ugazio, coordinator of the department of pediatric medicine at the Bambino Gesù hospital of Rome, seconded the cardinal's affirmation.

With the use of embryonic stem cells "not even one study has given positive results," he said. Meanwhile, the doctor explained, lives have been saved with stem cells taken from other parts of the body.

Holy See on Malaria

"A Major Threat to Human Security"

NEW YORK, OCT. 21, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address delivered by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, at the 63rd U.N. General Assembly on Oct. 15. The Agenda item addressed was: "2001-2010: Decade to Roll Back Malaria in Developing Countries, Particularly in Africa."

* * *

Mr President,

My delegation is grateful for the extensive report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of General Assembly Resolution 62/180 entitled: 2001-2010: Decade to Roll Back Malaria in Developing Countries, Particularly in Africa and notes both the challenges in combating this disease as well as the progress made thus far.

The recent General Assembly decision to give greater attention to developing countries, especially in Africa, is a positive step in the right direction, particularly because it recognizes that malaria can be substantially reduced by public awareness, education and committing resources toward research and treatment. Given that in the last fifteen years there has been an increased prevalence of the disease -- which could well double the death rate in the next twenty years -- it is imperative that the international community work together in order to fight this endemic.

Each year between 300 and 500 million people contract malaria which kills over 1 million people -- at least one death every thirty seconds. According to the World Health Organization, 90 percent of such deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa and the majority of victims are children under five years of age -- with almost 3,000 children dying every day in that region. Furthermore, the next largest number of victims are pregnant mothers.

Malaria remains a major threat to human security. Because of the cost of prevention and treatment, those who live in poverty are those most susceptible to this serious disease.

A great number of committed individuals, especially skilled health personnel, are working in primary health centers and through various faith-based organizations in many of the most affected areas in order to care for and properly treat those who have been infected. These providers who often go unnoticed, perform heroic acts of service by caring for those in need.

Our focus in addressing this disease must remain on research, prevention and treatment. We know that the reduction of malaria transmission is achieved by prevention of mosquito bites and control of the mosquito population. In this prospective it seems opportune to recall the Abuja Declaration that calls, among other things, for the development of mechanisms to facilitate the provision of reliable information to decision-makers at different epidemiological levels to enable health authorities to devise appropriate control and surveillance strategies.

Individuals must be able to receive affordable, safe and, where necessary, free diagnostic testing and drugs. Proper diagnosis is available and infected individuals can make full recovery if provided with the adequate means. Efforts should be made so that appropriate treatment is accessible to those who are suffering.

Resources must continue to be allocated to ongoing research into developing new, safe and cost-efficient vaccines as well as medicines to treat those infected. Success in such endeavors will not fail to translate into gradual reduction in the number of overall infections.

In a particular way my Delegation calls the attention to positive efforts in assisting those in need. One is reminded of the importance of educating and helping families care for their loved ones who have contracted malaria. Many Catholic organizations are deeply involved in this field, with wide and directed campaigns. Furthermore, they train community groups to educate parents and caregivers of young children infected with malaria.

Notwithstanding other serious infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis that demand equal attention, our efforts on malaria cannot be sidelined. Clearly, the global community must remain committed to fight all diseases which threaten human lives and security.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Msgr. Robert Vitillo, Interview With Caritas Expert on HIV

ZE08073112 - 2008-07-31
Permalink: http://web.zenit.org/article-23393?l=english

Beyond Condoms in the AIDS Debate

By Karna Swanson

MEXICO CITY, JULY 31, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Teaching abstinence outside marriage and fidelity within has been proved to be much more effective in decreasing the spread of HIV than simply distributing condoms, according to the special advisor on HIV for Caritas Internationalis.

Monsignor Robert Vitillo, who will participate in the XVII International AIDS Conference, to be held Aug. 3-8 in Mexico City, adds that unfortunately, abstinence and infidelity are not given the attention they deserve among experts and researchers.

Some 25,000 experts, physicians, activists and decision-makers from around the world are expected to attend the conference organized by the International AIDS Society, which has at its theme "Universal Action Now."

Caritas Internationalis sponsored a pre-conference seminar Wednesday for Caritas participants from Latin America, and on Aug. 5, together with the Jesuits of Mexico and the Catholic HIV and AIDS Network, it will host delegates from Catholic organizations in an evening of prayer and discussion.

In this interview with ZENIT, Monsignor Vitillo shares what he sees as the Church's role in fighting the spread of the AIDS virus, and the role of faith-based organizations at the conference.

Q: You say a major challenge the Church faces with regards to AIDS is ignorance of what the Church is doing to fight it. What is the Church doing? What is unique about the Church's approach?

Monsignor Vitillo: As I have been privileged to witness the response of the Catholic Church to the HIV pandemic on literally every continent, I have noted that the Church's response is very consistent with its overall mission:

-- To teach people both about the facts related to this pandemic, and about the permanent values that should be the foundation of our response. This includes both how to prevent the further spread of HIV -- by observing sexual abstinence outside marriage and life-long, mutual fidelity within marriage -- and how we should respond to those already living with or affected by the virus -- with acceptance, love, and solidarity, and without discrimination, rejection, or stigmatization.

-- To serve people. Here the Caritas organizations at the regional, national, diocesan and parish levels have played -- and continue to do so -- an important role in organizing and replicating health care, social services, emotional support, income-generation activities, orphan care, advocacy and self-help programs for and with persons living with or affected by HIV.

In addition to Caritas, there are many other Catholic organizations working to help those affected by HIV.

-- To provide pastoral care to persons living with or affected by HIV.

Many people who know firsthand the impact of the virus are searching to deepen their relationship with God, especially as they face the challenge which HIV has posed to them and/or to their loved ones.

They also desperately want to understand that this virus has not been sent as a "punishment from God" -- a number of bishops' conferences, as well as Pope John Paul II, addressed this issue very clearly by explaining that, according to Catholic doctrine, God does not "punish" people by sending them illnesses.

Q: Last week 50 Catholic groups asked Benedict XVI to lift the Church's ban on artificial contraception, and accused the Church's stance of having "catastrophic effects" in the spread of AIDS. Does the Church's position against condoms constitute an obstacle against fighting AIDS?

Monsignor Vitillo: I would like to slightly transpose this question in order to emphasize my strong conviction that the Church's teaching, which insists on sexual abstinence outside marriage and lifelong, mutual fidelity within marriage, is indeed scientifically valid and has offered evidence-based proof that people who observe such behavior have been able to prevent the spread of HIV.

Studies in countries where the HIV prevalence rate has been decreased in recent years, such as Uganda, Kenya, and Thailand, indicate that people in these countries were more disposed to reduce the number of their sexual partners and/or to delay the onset of sexual activity than to adopt the use of condoms.

Such behaviors -- reduction of sexual partners and delay of onset of sexual activity -- are much closer to the Church's teaching on sexuality and on prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections than is an exclusive focus on condom promotion.

Regrettably, however, many scientists, HIV prevention educators, and AIDS activists are so fixed on condom promotion that they do not give due attention to the risk avoidance that is possible to achieve through abstinence outside marriage and mutual, lifelong fidelity within marriage.

I believe that the Church does a great service to HIV prevention efforts by focusing on risk avoidance and on deeper and longer-lasting behavior change that is necessary to make a significant impact on reducing -- and, hopefully, stopping -- the further transmission of HIV.

Q: Will faith-based organizations have a strong voice at this international conference, or is the work of these organizations seen as being on the margin?

Monsignor Vitillo: In recent international conferences on AIDS, the voice of faith-based organizations has grown stronger, but there always is room for improvement in this regard.

For the past several International AIDS Conferences, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA), based in Geneva, has made efforts to organize an ecumenical pre-conference. This year, in Mexico City, the EAA has some 450 registered participants for the pre-conference that will be held from July 31 to Aug. 2.

The EAA also organizes an inter-faith exhibit booth at which many organizations -- Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish and others -- exhibit their resources. Because this is a joint effort, the booth is large enough to "compete" with pharmaceutical companies, large governmental displays, etc., for the attention of the some 25,000 participants in the International AIDS Conference.

There have been efforts by some of the conference organizers, including the International AIDS Society, to include the voices of religious leaders and of those working with faith-based organizations.

Regrettably, for some groups, including some particularly aggressive activist groups, faith-based organizations represent an obstacle to an effective AIDS response. I believe that such thinking is deeply flawed and fails to recognize the crucial and life-saving response to AIDS that is embodied in the faith-based efforts.

Some of these groups receive substantial funding from foundations, and even from some governments, that attempt to promote a relativist, secular agenda in the world.

And these groups sponsor few, if any, direct services to those living with or affected by the virus, even though they represent themselves as the "voice" of people so affected. They certainly don't represent the majority of poor and marginalized people who very much appreciate the engagement of churches and faith-based organizations in the global response to AIDS.

I believe that we need to engage such negative "voices" in respectful dialogue, but, at the same time, we must stay focused on the activities that will have the greatest impact on the lives of those who know firsthand the impact of HIV in their lives.

Q: Is there a divide between faith-based and secular organizations, or do they work together? Do faith-based organizations face any extra challenges?

Monsignor Vitillo: There certainly is positive experience and much more potential for faith-based and secular organizations to work together on those efforts for which they share common values and strategies.

For example, in June 2007, Caritas Internationalis and the Unions of Superiors General jointly sponsored a Night of Solidarity -- an initiative of the World AIDS Campaign -- to promote universal access to anti-retroviral medications.

As another example, Caritas Internationalis and the Catholic HIV/AIDS Network plan to join the "Making Medicines Child-Sized" advocacy campaign of the World Health Organization to promote medicines, including anti-retroviral medications, that are better adapted for use among children.

I believe that faith-based organizations face some particular challenges related to such collaboration:

-- Many secular groups are not accustomed to working with faith-based organizations. The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance recently published a manual titled "Building Better Partnerships" to assist such groups to understand better the major faith traditions, the values that undergird their beliefs and actions, and the strategies employed by them in responding to AIDS.

-- Faith-based groups must exercise particular caution to avoid compromising their beliefs and values when they engage in such collaboration with secular groups, and must be careful to avoid creating any scandal through such collaboration.

-- Such collaboration may require that faith-based and secular groups "agree to disagree" on certain issues and make special efforts to respect each other without compromising their own basic identity and values.

Q: What is the message Caritas brings to the table at this conference? Conversely, what is Caritas hoping to take away?

Monsignor Vitillo: Caritas participants bring many gifts and skills, as well as needs, to the table of the International AIDS Conference.

First of all, we must remember that Caritas is rooted in Catholic teaching, especially in the social doctrine of the Church. That teaching brings us a vision of the whole person, created in the image of God, gifted with a God-given, unique and irrevocable dignity.

Catholic doctrine also reminds us that, as a Church, we are a community and must act as a leaven to help people, especially those who are most poor, vulnerable and marginalized, to develop themselves, even as we look forward to the fulfillment of our development at the end of our earthly lives and at the end of this world.

This vision is beautifully articulated in "Deus Caritas Est," the first encyclical of our Holy Father, Benedict XVI. The Confederation of Caritas Internationalis has studied and continues to reflect on this encyclical with particular care and attention, and we bring that reflection to all our responses to the world social challenges and natural and human-made emergencies, including that of the HIV pandemic.

This equips us to bring to the International AIDS Conference a desire to identify more than technical or temporary solutions to this pandemic and, alternatively, to identify solutions based on values and on long-term behavior change on the level of relationships between individuals and in society as a whole.

For the past 20 years our confederation has joined other Catholic organizations in sharing both our learning and experience in responding to HIV and in advocating for more just policies and solutions to problems related to this pandemic. I think that we will have more participants from Catholic organizations than at previous conferences, so I hope we can make our presence known and appreciated.

Finally, I think that I can speak for other Caritas participants when I say that we hope to learn more -- the current scientific evidence related to the pandemic, projections for the future, effective strategies for prevention, care, support, and treatment. Of course, we will need to assess such strategies from the "lens" of our Catholic values and teaching.

And we wish to deepen our appreciation for the firsthand experience of those who live with or have been affected directly by HIV, and to engage them more actively in our Caritas-sponsored responses to the pandemic.

Vatican Aide: Death a Reality, Despite Technology

Vatican Aide: Death a Reality, Despite Technology
Affirms That Palliative Care Headed in Good Direction

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 3, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Even in societies marked by great scientific and technological progress, Christians still face the challenge of death and dying well, says Father Federico Lombardi.

The director of the Vatican press office affirmed this on Vatican Television's latest edition of "Octava Dies." The spokesman was commenting on Benedict XVI's Feb. 25 address to the participants in the Pontifical Academy for Life conference on the theme "Close By the Incurable Sick Person and the Dying: Scientific and Ethical Aspects."

Father Lombardi noted how the Pope asked for "the sincere participation of the Church and society in this ancient but always relevant problem."

"The passage of death, toward which we are all drawing near, is an important moment in our life," he said. "It has a meaning such that every human person should prepare for it and be accompanied in it. Or is this not so?"

Father Lombardi noted, "It is not said that the greater capacity of modern medical science should be employed to help life that is slipping away, inasmuch as this can seem unimportant, above all when it is a matter of people who are poor and alone, people who, from a utilitarian perspective, may appear only to be a burden."

Yet Benedict XVI recalled Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who wanted the poorest of the poor to experience "in the embrace of brothers and sisters the warmth of the Father" who welcomes them.

Nevertheless, Father Lombardi affirmed that the "commitment of palliative medicine to alleviate the suffering of the incurably ill is going in the right direction." And he recalled the Pope's emphasis on the rights of families to assist the terminally ill.

He said: "There is a whole culture of solidarity that must be developed, because," as the Pontiff concluded, "it is a cruel and inhuman society that is unable to accept those who are suffering and is incapable of contributing through compassion so that this suffering can be shared and even born interiorly."

"In this perspective, the Church re-emphasizes its opposition to every form of direct euthanasia," Father Lombardi affirmed. "This is because [the Church] cannot renounce believing in love and hope, in the meaning of suffering and in the transcendent destiny that we all have."

THE POPE CONDEMNS ALL FORMS OF DIRECT EUTHANASIA

THE POPE CONDEMNS ALL FORMS OF DIRECT EUTHANASIA

VATICAN CITY, 25 FEB 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, the Holy Father received participants in an international congress entitled: "Close by the Incurable Sick Person and the Dying: Scientific and Ethical Aspects". the even was promoted by the PontificalAcademyfor Life for the occasion of their general assembly which will be held in the Vaticanover coming days.

"Death", said the Pope, "concludes the experience of earthly life, but through death there opens for each of us, beyond time, the full and definitive life. ... For the community of believers, this encounter between the dying person and the Source of Life and Love represents a gift that has a universal value, that enriches the communion of the faithful". In this context, he highlighted how all the community should participate alongside close relatives in the last moments of a person's life. "No believer", he said, "should die alone and abandoned".

All society "is called to respect the life and dignity of the seriously ill and the dying", said the Holy Father. "Though aware of the fact that 'it is not science that redeems man', all society, and in particular the sectors associated with medical science, are duty bound to express the solidarity of love, and to safeguard and respect human life in every moment of its earthly development, especially when it is ill or in its terminal stages.

"In more concrete terms", he added, "this means ensuring that every person in need finds the necessary support through appropriate treatments and medical procedures - identified and administered using criteria of therapeutic proportionality - while bearing in mind the moral duty to administer (on the part of doctors) and to accept (on the part of patients) those means for preserving life which, in a particular situation, may be considered as 'ordinary'".

As for forms of treatment "with significant levels of risk or that may reasonably be judged to be 'extraordinary', recourse thereto may be considered as morally acceptable, but optional. Furthermore, it will always be necessary to ensure that everyone has the treatment they require, and that families tried by the sickness of one of their members receive support, especially if the sickness is serious or prolonged".

Just as when a child is born family members have specific rights to take time off work, said the Pope, in the same way "similar rights must be recognised" to the relatives of the terminally ill. "A greater respect for individual human life inevitably comes through the concrete solidarity of each and all, and constitutes one of the most pressing challenges of our times".

After noting how it is becoming ever more common for elderly people in large cities to be alone "even in moments of serious illness and when approaching death", the Holy Father noted that such situations increase pressures towards euthanasia, "especially when a utilitarian view of people has become established". In this context, he once again recalled "the firm and constant ethical condemnation of all forms of direct euthanasia, in keeping with the centuries-long teaching of the Church".

"The synergetic efforts of civil society and of the community of believers must ensure not only that everyone is able to live in a dignified and responsible way, but also that they can face moments of trial and of death in the finest condition of fraternity and solidarity, even where death comes in a poor family or a hospital bed".

Society, said the Holy Father must "ensure due support to families who undertake to care in the home, sometimes for long periods, sick members who are afflicted with degenerative conditions, ... or who need particularly costly assistance. ... It is above all in this field that synergy between the Church and the institutions can prove particularly important in ensuring the necessary help for human life in moments of frailty". AC/.../PONTIFICAL ACADEMY FOR LIFE VIS080225 (650)