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Pope Benedict XVI- Addresses |
Address to the 12th
General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life
Congress on "The Human Embryo in the Pre-Implantation Phase"
H.H. Pope Benedict XVI
Clementine Hall
February 27, 2006
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate
and in the Priesthood,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
I address a respectful and cordial greeting to everyone on the
occasion of the General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for
Life and the International Congress on: "The human embryo in the
pre-implantation phase", which has just begun.
I greet in particular Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragān, President
of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, as well as
Bishop Elio Sgreccia, President of the Pontifical Academy for
Life, whom I thank for the kind words with which he has
presented clearly the special interest of the themes treated on
this occasion, and I greet Cardinal-elect Carlo Caffarra, a
long-standing friend.
Indeed, the study topic chosen for your Assembly, "The human
embryo in the pre-implantation phase", that is, in the very
first days subsequent to conception, is an extremely important
issue today, both because of the obvious repercussions on
philosophical-anthropological and ethical thought, and also
because of the prospects applicable in the context of the
biomedical and juridical sciences.
It is certainly a fascinating topic, however difficult and
demanding it may be, given the delicate nature of the subject
under examination and the complexity of the epistemological
problems that concern the relationship between the revelation of
facts at the level of the experimental sciences and the
consequent, necessary anthropological reflection on values.
As it is easy to see, neither Sacred Scripture nor the oldest
Christian Tradition can contain any explicit treatment of your
theme. St Luke, nevertheless, testifies to the active, though
hidden, presence of the two infants.
He recounts the meeting of the Mother of Jesus, who had
conceived him in her virginal womb only a few days earlier, with
the mother of John the Baptist, who was already in the sixth
month of her pregnancy: "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the baby leapt in her womb" (Lk 1: 41).
St Ambrose comments: Elizabeth "perceived the arrival of Mary,
he (John) perceived the arrival of the Lord the woman, the
arrival of the Woman, the child, the arrival of the Child"
(Comm. in Luc. 2: 19, 22-26).
Even in the absence of explicit teaching on the very first days
of life of the unborn child, it is possible to find valuable
information in Sacred Scripture that elicits sentiments of
admiration and respect for the newly conceived human being,
especially in those who, like you, are proposing to study the
mystery of human procreation.
The sacred books, in fact, set out to show God's love for every
human being even before he has been formed in his mother's womb.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were
born I consecrated you" (Jer 1: 5), God said to the Prophet
Jeremiah. And the Psalmist recognizes with gratitude: "You did
form my inward parts, you did knit me together in my mother's
womb. I praise you, for you are fearful and wonderful. Wonderful
are your works! You know me right well" (Ps 139[138]: 13-14).
These words acquire their full, rich meaning when one thinks
that God intervenes directly in the creation of the soul of
every new human being.
God's love does not differentiate between the newly conceived
infant still in his or her mother's womb and the child or young
person, or the adult and the elderly person. God does not
distinguish between them because he sees an impression of his
own image and likeness (Gn 1: 26) in each one.
He makes no distinctions because he perceives in all of them a
reflection of the face of his Only-begotten Son, whom "he
chose... before the foundation of the world.... He destined us
in love to be his sons... according to the purpose of his will"
(Eph 1: 4-6).
This boundless and almost incomprehensible love of God for the
human being reveals the degree to which the human person
deserves to be loved in himself, independently of any other
consideration - intelligence, beauty, health, youth, integrity,
and so forth. In short, human life is always a good, for it "is
a manifestation of God in the world, a sign of his presence, a
trace of his glory" (Evangelium Vitae, n. 34).
Indeed, the human person has been endowed with a very exalted
dignity, which is rooted in the intimate bond that unites him
with his Creator: a reflection of God's own reality shines out
in the human person, in every person, whatever the stage or
condition of his life.
Therefore, the Magisterium of the Church has constantly
proclaimed the sacred and inviolable character of every human
life from its conception until its natural end (cf. ibid., n.
57). This moral judgment also applies to the origins of the life
of an embryo even before it is implanted in the mother's womb,
which will protect and nourish it for nine months until the
moment of birth: "Human life is sacred and inviolable at every
moment of existence, including the initial phase which precedes
birth" (ibid., n. 61).
I know well, dear scholars, with what sentiments of wonder and
profound respect for the human being you carry out your
demanding and fruitful work of research precisely on the origin
of human life itself it is a mystery on whose significance
science will be increasingly able to shed light, even if it will
be difficult to decipher it completely.
Indeed, as soon as reason succeeds in overcoming a limit deemed
insurmountable, it will be challenged by other limits as yet
unknown. Man will always remain a deep and impenetrable enigma.
In the fourth century, St Cyril of Jerusalem already offered the
following reflection to the catechumens who were preparing to
receive Baptism: "Who prepared the cavity of the womb for the
procreation of children? Who breathed life into the inanimate
fetus within it? Who knit us together with bones and sinews and
clothed us with skin and flesh (cf. Jb 10: 11), and as soon as
the child is born, causes the breast to produce an abundance of
milk? How is it that the child, in growing, becomes an
adolescent, and from an adolescent is transformed into a young
man, then an adult and finally an old man, without anyone being
able to identify the precise day on which the change occurred?".
And he concluded: "O Man, you are seeing the Craftsman you are
seeing the wise Creator" (Catechesi Battesimale, 9,
15-16).
At the beginning of the third millennium these considerations
still apply. They are addressed not so much to the physical or
physiological phenomenon as rather to its anthropological and
metaphysical significance. We have made enormous headway in our
knowledge and have defined more clearly the limits of our
ignorance but it always seems too arduous for human intelligence
to realize that in looking at creation, we encounter the
impression of the Creator.
In fact, those who love the truth, like you, dear scholars,
should perceive that research on such profound topics places us
in the condition of seeing and, as it were, touching the hand of
God. Beyond the limits of experimental methods, beyond the
boundaries of the sphere which some call meta-analysis, wherever
the perception of the senses no longer suffices or where neither
the perception of the senses alone nor scientific verification
is possible, begins the adventure of transcendence, the
commitment to "go beyond" them.
Dear researchers and experts, I hope you will be more and more
successful, not only in examining the reality that is the
subject of your endeavour, but also in contemplating it in such
a way that, together with your discoveries, questions will arise
that lead to discovering in the beauty of creatures a reflection
of the Creator.
In this context, I am eager to express my appreciation and
gratitude to the Pontifical Academy for Life for its valuable
work of "study, formation and information" which benefits the
Dicasteries of the Holy See, the local Churches and scholars
attentive to what the Church proposes on their terrain of
scientific research and on human life in its relations with
ethics and law.
Because of the urgency and importance of these problems, I
consider the foundation of this Institution by my venerable
Predecessor, John Paul II, providential. I therefore desire to
express with sincere cordiality to all of you, the personnel and
the members of the Pontifical Academy for Life, my closeness and
support.
With these sentiments, as I entrust your work to Mary's
protection, I impart the Apostolic Blessing to you all.
Š Copyright 2006 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Look at the One they
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