Protection of Conscience Project
Protection of Conscience Project
www.consciencelaws.org
Service, not Servitude

Service, not Servitude

Charter for Health Care Workers

Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers


New Charter for health Care Workers
In 2017 the Charter was superseded by the New Charter for Health Care Workers
Endnotes

1. John Paul II, during his visit to Mercy Maternity Hospital in Melbourne, Nov. 28, 1986, in Insegnamenti IX/2 (1986) 1734, n. 5. "Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good" (CCC 2288).

2. John Paul II, To the participants at two congresses of medicine and surgery, Oct. 27, 1980, in Insegnamenti III/2, p. 1010, n. 6.

3. "In exercising your profession, you are always dealing with the human person, who entrusts his body to you, confident of your competence as well as your solicitude and concern. It is the mysterious and wonderful reality of the life of a human being, with his suffering and his hope, that you are dealing with." John Paul II, To the participants at a surgery congress, Feb. 19, 1987, in Insegnamenti X/1 (1987) 374, n. 2.

4. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at a medical congress on tumor therapy, Feb. 25, 1982 in Insegnamenti V/1, 698. Cf. also John Paul II: "None of you can be merely a doctor of an organ or an apparatus, but you must look to the whole person," To the World Congress of Catholic Doctors, Oct. 3, 1982, in Insegnamenti V/3, pp. 673-674, n. 4.

5. Cf. John Paul II, To the Congress of Italian Catholic Doctors, Oss. Rom. Oct. 18,1988.

6. John Paul II, Motu Proprio "Dolentium hominum," Feb. 11,1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/1, p. 474, n. 2. "Care for the health of its citizens requires that society help in the attainment of living conditions that allow them to grow and reach maturity: food and clothing, housing, health care, basic education, employment, and social assistance" (CCC 2288).

7. John Paul II, To the participants at a medical congress on tumor therapy, Feb. 25, 1982, in Insegnamenti V/1, p. 698, n. 4. Cf. To the participants at a scientific congress, May 21, 1982, in Insegnamenti V/2, p. 1792, n. 5.

8. "As I have said many times in my meetings with health care workers, your vocation is one which commits you to the noble mission of service to people in the vast, complex and mysterious field of suffering" John Paul II, To representatives of the Italian Catholic Doctors, March 4,1989, in Insegnamenti XII/1, p. 480, n. 2.)

9. John Paul II, To the Association of Italian Catholic Doctors, Dec. 28. 1978, in Insegnamenti I, p. 436. "You are aware of the close relationship, the analogy, the interaction between the mission of the priest on the one hand and that of the health care worker on the other: all are devoted, in different ways, to the salvation of the person, and care for his health, to free him from illness, suffering and death, to promote in him life well-being and happiness" (John Paul II, "Discourse for the 120th anniversary of the foundation of the 'Bambin Gesu' hospital," March 18, 1989, in Insegnamenti XII/1, 605-608, n. 2).

10. Cf. John Paul II, Apost. Letter Salvifici doloris, in Insegnamenti VII/1, 353-358, nn. 28-30; To an international group of scientists, April 27, 1984, in Insegnamenti VII/1, 1133-1135, n. 2: To the Catholic health organizations of the United States, Sept. 14, 1987, in Insegnamenti X/3 (1987) 506.

11. "The very personal relationship of dialogue and trust established between you and the patient requires of you a level of humanity which, for the believer, is found in the richness of Christian charity. This is the divine virtue which enriches all your actions and gives to your gestures, even the simplest of them, the power of an act performed by you in inner communion with Christ": John Paul II To the Association of Dental Doctors, Dec. 14, 1984, in Insegnamenti VII/2, 1592-1594, n. 4. "You bring to the sick-room and to the operating table something of God's charity, of the love and tenderness of Christ, the great Doctor of the soul and the body": John Paul II, To the 'Fatebenefratelli' hospital, April 5, 1981, in Insegnamenti IV/1, p. 895, n. 3.

12. Cf. John Paul II, To the 'Armida Barelli' training school for professional nurses, May 27, 1989, in Insegnamenti XII/1, p. 1364, n. 3. "What a stimulus for the desired 'personalization' of medicine could come from Christian charity, which makes it possible to see in the features of every sick person the adorable face of the great, mysterious Patient, who continues to suffer in those over whom your profession bends, wisely and providently!" (John Paul II, To the participants at two congresses of medicine and surgery, Oct. 27, 1980, in Insegnamenti III/2, p. 1010, n. 7).

13. Cf. John Paul II, To the Association of Italian Catholic Doctors, Dec. 28, 1978, in Insegnamenti 1, 437-438.

14. Cf. John Paul II, To the staff of the 'Fatebenefratelli' hospital, April 5, 1981, in Insegnamenti IV/1, p. 895. n. 3.

15. John Paul II, To the Association of Italian Catholic Doctors, Dec. 28, 1978, in Insegnamenti 1, p. 437.

16. John Paul II, To the Italian Federation of Orthopedic Technology Workers, Nov. 19, 1979, in Insegnamenti II/2, p. 1207, n. 4; cf. To the participants at a scientific congress, May 21, 1982, in Insegnamenti V/2, p. 1792, n. 5.

17. "Your work...can become a religious act" (John Paul II, To the participants at a surgery congress, Feb. 19, 1987, in Insegnamenti X/1 (1987) 375, n. 3; cf. Paul VI, Insegnamenti di Paolo VI, vol. 1, 1963, p. 141).

18. John Paul II, Motu Proprio Dolentium hominum, Feb. 11, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/1 (1985) p. 475.

19. "Every concern for illness and suffering is part of the life and the mission of the Church" (John Paul II, To the Catholic health organizations of the United States of America, Sept. 14, 1987, in Insegnamenti X/3 [1987] 502-503, n. 3). "Allowing herself to be guided by the example of Jesus the 'Good Samaritan' (cf. Lk 10:2937) and upheld by his strength, the Church has always been in the front line in providing charitable help: so many of her sons and daughters, especially men and women religious, in traditional and ever new forms, have consecrated and continue to consecrate their lives to God, freely giving of themselves out of love for their neighbor, especially for the weak and needy" (John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 27).

20. Cf. John Paul II, To the world Congress of Catholic doctors, Oct. 3 1982, in Insegnamenti V/3, p. 676, n. 3. "The Lord Jesus Christ physician of our souls and bodies, who forgave the sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health, has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation even among her own members. This is the purpose of the two sacraments of healing: the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick (CCC 1421).

21. "Your presence at the sick-bed is bound up with that of those-priests, religious and laity-who are engaged in apostolate to the sick. Quite a number of the aspects of that apostolate coincide with the problems and tasks of the service to life rendered by medicine. There is a necessary interaction between the exercise of the medical profession and pastoral work, because the one object of both is the human person, seen in his dignity of a child of God, a brother or sister needing, just like ourselves, help and comforting" (John Paul II, To the World Congress of Catholic Doctors, Oct. 3 1982, in Insegnamenti V/3, p. 676, n. 6).

22. "You, while you alleviate sufferings and try to cure them, at the same time are witnesses of the Christian view of suffering and of the meaning of life and death, in the way it is taught by your Christian faith" (John Paul II, To the Catholic Health Organizations of the United States of America, Sept. 14, 1987, in Insegnamenti X/3 [1987] pp. 502 and 505.)

23. John Paul II, Apost. Exhort. Christifideles laici, Dec. 30, 1988, in Insegnamenti XI/4, p. 2160, n. 53.

24. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at the International Congress for Assistance to the Dying, in Oss. Rom. March 18, 1992, n. 6. "Every individual, precisely by reason of the mystery of the Word of God who was made flesh (cf. Jn 1: 14), is entrusted to the maternal care of the Church" John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 3).

25. John Paul II, To the participants at a surgery congress, Feb. 19,1987 in Insegnamenti X/1, p. 375, n. 3. "The advance of science and technology, this splendid witness of the human capacity for understanding and for perseverance, does not dispense humanity from the obligation to ask the ultimate religious questions. Rather it spurs us on to face the most painful and decisive of struggles, those of the heart and of the moral conscience" John Paul II, Encyclical Veritatis splendor, n. 1).

26. Cf. John Paul II, Motu Proprio Dolentium hominum, Feb. 11, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/1 (1985) p. 475. "Especially significant is the reawakening of an ethical reflection on issues affecting life. The emergence and ever more widespread development of bioethics is promoting more reflection and dialogue-between believers and non-believers, as well as between followers of different religions-on ethical problems, including fundamental issues pertaining to human life" (John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 27).

27. Cf. John Paul II, To the Association of Catholic health care workers, Oct. 24, 1986, in Insegnamenti IX/2, p. 1171, n. 3. "In today's cultural and social context, in which science and the practice of medicine risk losing sight of their inherent ethical dimension, health-care professionals can be strongly tempted at times to become manipulators of life, or even agents of death" John Paul II Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 89).

28. Synod of Bishops, special Assembly for Europe, Concluding Statement, in Oss. Rom. Dec. 20, 1991, n. 10. "It is illusory to claim that scientific research and its applications are morally neutral. On the other hand, guiding criteria cannot be deduced from merely technical efficacy, nor from the usefulness to some to the detriment of others, nor, worse still, from the dominant ideologies. Science and technology require, by their very inner significance, unconditional respect for the fundamental criteria of morality; they must be at the service of the human person, of his inalienable rights, of his true and integral good, in conformity with God's plan and will" Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) Introduction, 2, p. 73 (cf. CCC 2294).

29. Ethical committees, composed of specialists in the medical and moral nerds, are also established by governments, which give them consultative and supervisory roles. "The Church is aware that the issue of morality is one which deeply touches every person; it involves all people, even those who do not know Christ and his Gospel or God himself. She knows that it is precisely <on the path of the moral life that the way of salvation is open to all>" John Paul II, Encyclical Veritatis splendor, n. 3. "...No darkness of error or of sin can totally extinguish in the human person the light of God the Creator. In the depths of his heart there always remains a yearning for absolute truth and a thirst to attain full knowledge of it. This is eloquently proved by man's tireless research in all fields and in every sector. His search for the meaning of life proves it even more (ibid., n. 1). Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995. n. 4.

30. Cf. John Paul II, To the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, Feb. 9,1990, in Insegnamenti XIII/2, p. 405, n. 4.

31. John Paul II, Apost. Letter Salvifici doloris, in Insegnamenti VII/1, 254-356, n. 29.

32. Cf. To scientists and health care workers, Nov. 12, 1987, in Insegnamenti X/3 (1987) 1088: "The humanization of medicine is a duty of justice, and its implementation cannot be entirely delegated to others, since it requires the commitment of all. Its operative field is very vast: it goes from health education to the creation of greater sensitivity in those in public authority; from direct involvement in one's own workplace to forms of cooperation-local, national and international-which are made possible by the existence of so many organizations and associations which have among their purposes the call, direct or indirect, for a need to make medicine ever more human."

33. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25.1995. n. 34.

34. Ibid., n. 43.

35. John Paul II, To the World Medical Association, Oct. 29, 1983, in Insegnamenti VI/2, 921. Cf. Allocution to the participants at a congress of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 23, 1982, in Insegnamenti V/3, 895-898.

36. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) 85. Cf. John Paul II, Apost. Exhort. Christifdeles laici, Dec. 30, 1988, in Insegnamenti XI/4, pp. 2133-2135, n. 38; cf. Holy See, Charter of the Rights of the Family, Oct. 22, 1983, art. 4.

37. John Paul II, To the Union of Italian Jurists, Dec. 5, 1987, in Insegnamenti X/3, (1987) 1295. "The Church remains deeply conscious of her 'duty in every age of examining the signs of the times and interpreting them in the light of the Gospel, so that she can offer in a manner appropriate to each generation replies to the continual human questionings on the meaning of this life and the life to come and on how they are related"' (John Paul II, Encyclical Veritatis splendor, n. 2).

38. John Paul II, To the World Medical Association, Oct. 29 1983, in Insegnamenti VI/2,921-923. Cf. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) 90-92.

39. Cf. Ecum. Coun. Vatican II, Past. Constit. Gaudium et spes, n. 50; Paul VI, Encyclical Humanae vitae, in AAS 60 (1968) p. 487.

40. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 43.

41. Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Humanae vitae, in AAS 60 (1968) p. 487, n. 10.

42. Ecum. Coun. Vatican II, Past. Constit. Gaudium et spes, n. 51.

43. Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Humanae vitae, in AAS 60 (1968) p. 488, n. 12.

44. "The inner structure of the marriage act is such that, while it profoundly unites the partners, it fits them for the generation of new life, according to laws inscribed in the very being of the man and the woman" (Paul VI, Encyclical Humanae vitae, in AAS 60 [1968] pp. 488-489, n. 12).

45. Cf. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) 91.

46. Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Humanae vitae, n. 12; John Paul II, Apostol. Exhort. Familiaris consortio, in AAS 74 (1982) p. 118, n. 32. "Consequently, 'the one who wishes to understand himself thoroughly-and not just in accordance with immediate, partial, often superficial, and even illusory standards and measures of being-must with his unrest, uncertainty and even his weakness and sinfulness, with his life and death, draw near to Christ...."' (John Paul II, Encyclical Veritatis splendor, n. 8).

47. Natural methods "are diagnostic means for the fertile periods of the woman, which make it possible to refrain from sexual relations when legitimate motives of responsibility dictate the avoidance of conception" (John Paul II, To the participants at a course for teachers of natural methods, Jan. 10, 1992, in Oss. Rom. Jan. 11, 1992, n. 3).

48. Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Humanae vitae, in AAS 60 (1968) p. 488, n. 11 and p. 492, n. 16.

49. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 97.

50. Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Humanae vitae, in AAS 60 (1968) p. 489, n. 13; cf. also John Paul II, Apostol. Exhort. Familiaris consortio, in AAS 74 (1982) p. 118, n. 32.

51. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 23.

52. Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Humanae vitae, in AAS 60 (1968) p. 490, n. 14.

53. Cf. John Paul II, Apostol. Exhort. Familiaris consortio, in AAS 74 (1982) p. 118, n. 32.

54. John Paul II, To the participants at a course for teachers of natural methods, Jan. 10, 1992, in Oss. Rom. Jan. 11, 1992, n. 3.

55. Cf. John Paul II, Apostol. Exhort. Familiaris consortio, in AAS 74 (1982) p. 118, n. 32.

56. John Paul II, To the participants at two congresses on the problems of matrimony, the family and fertility, June 8, 1984, in Insegnamenti VII/1, 1664-1665. "On the innate meaning which is that of mutual, total donation by the partners, contraception imposes an objectively contradictory meaning, namely that of not giving oneself completely to the other" (Apost. Exhort. Familiaris consortio, 32).

57. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 13.

58. John Paul II, Apost. Exhort. Familiaris consortio, in AAS 74 (1982) p. 120, n. 32.

59. Cf. ibid, p. 122, n. 33.

60. Ibid, p. 125, n. 35.

61. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 14.

62. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) 76.

63. John XXIII, Encyclical Mater et Magistra, III, in AAS 53 (1961) 447. Cf. Pius XII, To the participants at a congress of the Italian Catholic Union of Obstetricians, Oct. 29, 1951, in AAS 43 (1951) 850.

64. Cf. John Paul II, General Audience, Jan. 16, 1980, in Insegnamenti III/1 (1980) 148-152.

65. Cf. Pius XII, To the participants at a congress of the Italian Catholic Union of Obstetricians, Oct. 29, 1951, in AAS 43 (1951) 850.

66. John XXIII, Encyclical Mater et Magistra, III, in AAS 53 (1961) 447.

67. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) 96.

68. Pius XII, To the participants at the IV International Congress of Catholic Doctors, Sept. 30, 1949, in AAS 41 (1949) 560.

69. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) 92.

70. "Homologous FIVET takes place outside the bodies of the partners through the actions of third parties whose competence and technical activity determine the success of the intervention; it entrusts the life and identity of the embryo to the power of doctors and biologists and gives technology dominion over the origin and destiny of the human person" (ibid., p. 93).

71. Cf. ibid., AAS 80 (1988) pp. 85-86,91-92,96-97. "The origin of a human person is really the result of a donation. The conception should be the fruit of the love of its parents. It cannot be desired nor conceived as the product of the intervention of medical or biological techniques: this would be to reduce it to becoming the object of scientific technology. No one can subject the arrival of a child into the world to conditions of technical efficiency which can be evaluated according to parameters of control and dominion" (ibid, p. 92).

72. Cf. ibid, AAS 80 (1988) pp. 91, 92-94.

73. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 22.

74. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988), p. 93.

75. Cf. ibid., p. 97. "A child is not something owed to one, but is a gift. The 'supreme gift of marriage' is a human person. A child may not be considered a piece of property, an idea to which an alleged 'right to a child' would lead. In this area, only the child possesses genuine rights: the right 'to be the fruit of the specific act of the conjugal love of his parents,' and 'the right to be respected as a person from the moment of his conception"' (CCC 2378).

76. Cf. ibid., p. 85 and 84. The "so-called 'spare embryos' are...used for research which, under the pretext of scientific or medical progress, in fact reduces human life to the level of simple 'biological material' to be freely disposed of" (John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 14).

77. Cf. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988), p. 94. "Certainly homologous FIVET is not burdened with all the ethical negativity which is to be found in extra-matrimonial procreation; the family and the marriage are still the ambient of the birth and education of the child." However, it is at variance with the dignity of human procreation, depriving it of the dignity which is proper and connatural to it.

78. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 23.

79. Cf. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988), pp. 87-89.

80. Cf. ibid, p. 88; see also John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 23.

81. Cf. ibid, p. 89.

82. Cf. ibid, pp. 92-94.

83. Cf. ibid, p. 95.

84. Cf. ibid, pp. 95-96.

85. Cf. John Paul II, To the staff of the new 'Regina Marghenta' hospital, Dec. 20, 1981, in Insegnamenti IV/2, p. 1179, n. 3.

86. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at the 35th General Assembly of the World Medical Association, Oct. 29, 1983, in Insegnamenti VI/2, 917-923, AAS 76 (1984) 390]; To the Catholic health organizations of the United States of America, Sept. 14, 1987, in Insegnamenti X/3 (1987) 500-507; To the participants at the VII Symposium of European Bishops, Oct. 17, 1989, in Insegnamenti XII/2, p. 947, n. 7.

87. Cong. Doct. Faith. Declaration on Procured Abortion, June 18, 1974, in AAS 66 (1974) 738.

88. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) 78-79.

89. Even the theory of the fourteenth day-the day when the primitive streak appears, in which the cells lose their toti-potentiality and twin divisions are no longer possible-cannot ignore and deny the fundamental and decisive biogenetic fact of the human and individual nature of the fruit of the conception.

90. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 44.

91. John Paul II, To the participants at a congress for obstetricians, Jan. 26, 1980, in Insegnamenti III/1, p. 192, n. 1.

92. Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 862/2.

93. John Paul II, To the participants at a congress for Obstetricians, Jan. 26, 1980, in Insegnamenti III/1, p. 192, n. 2. Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Veratatis splendor, n. 13.

94. Ecum. Coun. Vat. II, Past. Constit. Gaudium et spes, n. 24.

95. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) 74.

96. John Paul II, To the participants at the 35th General Assembly of the World Medical Association, Oct. 29, 1983, in Insegnamenti VI/2, 917-923, AAS 76 (1984) 393]. "The human person, created in the image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual. The biblical account expresses this reality in symbolic language when it affirms that 'then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being' (Gen 2:7). Man, whole and entire, is therefore willed by God" (CCC 362).

97. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) 74-75. "The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the 'form' of the body: i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a human, living body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature" (CCC 365).

98. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at the 35th General Assembly of the World Medical Association, Oct. 29, 1983, in Insegnamenti VI/2, 920, n. 5.

99. "The body reveals the human being, expresses the person and is the first message of God to the human being himself' (John Paul II, allocutions of Jan. 9 and Feb. 20,1980, in Insegnamenti III/1, 8895 and 428-434).

100. The moral law, in which biological meanings take shape, "cannot be seen as a merely biological norm" but as integrally human: in it is expressed "the rational order according to which the human person is called by the Creator to direct and regulate his life and his actions and, in particular, souse and dispose of his own body": Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) p. 74; Paul VI, Encyclical Humanae vitae, in AAS 60 (1968) p. 487, n. 10.

101. Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 23.

102. John Paul II, Apost. Exhort. Christifideles laici, Dec. 30, 1988, in Insegnamenti XI/4, p. 2133, n. 38.

103. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 40.

104. Cf. Pius XII, To the participants at the Congress of Italian Catholic Obstetricians, Oct. 29, 1951, in AAS 43 (1951) 838: John Paul II, To the participants at the 54th updating Course of the Catholic University, Sept. 6, 1984, in Insegnamenti VII/2, p. 333. "The human body shares in the dignity of the 'image of God': it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the Body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit" (CCC 364).

105. John Paul II, To the participants at a congress of the "Movement for Life," Oct. 12, 1985, in Insegnamenti VI/2, 933-936, n. 2. Cf To scientists and health care workers, Nov. 12, 1987, in Insegnamenti X/3 (1987) 1084-1085, n. 2. Cf. Pius XII, To the members of the First International Congress of Histopathology of the Nervous System, Sept. 14, 1952, in AAS 44 (1952) p. 782.

106. Cf. Pius XII, Discourses and Broadcasts, X, Vatican Polyglot Press, 1949, pp. 98ff; To the "San Luca" Italian Union of Medical Biology, Nov. 12, 1944, in Discourses and Broadcasts, VI cit., 191ff; John Paul II, To the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 21, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/2, p. 1081 n. 3.

107. John Paul II, To the participants at a congress for obstetricians, Jan. 26, 1980, in Insegnamenti III/1, p. 192, n. 2; To the participants at the congress of the Italian Association of Anesthesiology, Oct. 4, 1984, in Insegnamenti VII/2, p. 750, n. 4; To the Catholic health organizations of the United States of America, Sept. 14, 1987, in Insegnamenti X/3 (1987) 504.

108. John Paul II, To the participants at a congress of the "Movement for Life," Oct. 12, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/2, pp. 933-936, n. 2.

109. John Paul II, To the participants at the III Congress of the Association of Catholic Health Care Workers, Oct. 24, 1986, in Insegnamenti IX/2, p. 1172.

110. "Scientists and doctors must not think that they are lords of life, but rather its expert and generous servants" (John Paul II, To the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 21, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/2, p. 1081, n. 3.

111. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 39.

112. John Paul II, To the participants at a congress of the "Movement for Life," Dec. 4, 1982, in Insegnamenti V/3, p. 1513, n. 5, To the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 23, 1982, in Insegnamenti V/3, p. 896, n. 2; To the participants at the Colloquium of the "Nova Spes" international Foundation, Nov. 9, 1987, in Insegnamenti X/3 (1987) 1050-1051, n. 2.

113. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) 73.

114. Ecum. Coum. Vat. II, Past. Constit. Gaudium et spes, n. 15: "Our age, more than any of the past, needs such wisdom if all that man discovers is to be ennobled through human effort."

115. Cf. Pont. Coun. "CorUnum", Some ethical questions relating to the gravely in and the dying, July 27, 1981, in Enchiridion Vaticanum, 7. Documenti ufficiali della Santa Sede 1980-1981. EDB, Bologna 1985, p. 1137, n. 2.1.

116. Cf. John Paul II, To the Association of Italian Catholic Doctors, Dec. 28, 1980, in Insegnamenti III/2, p. 1007, n. 3; To a delegation of the "Food and Disarmament International" Association, Feb. 13, 1986, n. 3.

117. Cf. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) 544-545; John Paul II, To the World Medical Association, Oct. 29, 1983, in Insegnamenti VI/2, 918, n. 2; Apost. Exhort. Christifideles laici, Dec. 30, 1988, in Insegnamenti XI/4, p. 2133-2135, n. 38.

118. John Paul II, Apost. Exhort. Christifideles laici, Dec. 30, 1988, in Insegnamenti XI/4, p. 2133, n. 38. "Man is not the master of life, nor is he the master of death. In life and in death, he has to entrust himself completely to the 'good pleasure of the Most High,' to his loving plan" (John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 46).

119. "The doctor has only the power and rights over the patient which the latter gives him, either explicitly or tacitly. For his part, the patient cannot give more rights than he has" (Pius XII, To the members of the First International Congress on Histopathology of the Nervous System, Sept. 14, 1952, in AAS 44 [1952] p. 782.)

120. "The patient is bound by the immanent teleology established by nature. He has the right to use-limited by the natural finality-the faculties and powers of his human nature." (Ibid.)

121. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25,1995, n. 47.

122. Cf. Pius XII, To the members of the First International Congress on Histopathology of the Nervous System, Sept. 14, 1952 in AAS 44 (1952) p. 782.

123. John Paul II, To the participants at a surgery congress, Feb. 19, 1987, in Insegnamenti XI/1 (1987) 374, n. 2.

124. John Paul II, To the staff of the 'Regina Margherita hospital, Dec. 20, 1981, in Insegnamenti IV/2, p. 1179, n. 3.

125. Pont. Coun. "Cor Unum," Community health, in Enchiridion Vaticanum, 6. Documenti ufficiali della Santa Sede 1977-1979. EDB, Bologna 1983, p. 325, n. 1.2.

126. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 79.

127. John Paul II, Motu Proprio "Dolentium hominum," Feb. 11, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/1 (1985) pp. 473-474. "Illness and suffering have always been among the gravest problems confronted in human life. In illness man experiences his powerlessness, his limitations, and his finitude. Every illness can make us glimpse death" (CCC 1500). "The mission of Jesus, with the many healings he performed, shows God's great concern even for man's bodily life" (John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25,1995, n. 47).

128. John Paul II, Motu Proprio "Dolentium hominum," Feb. 11, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/1 (1985) pp. 473-474.

129. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 50.

130. Cf. John Paul II, during a visit to Mercy Maternity Hospital in Melbourne, Nov. 28, 1986, in Insegnamenti IX/2 (1986) 1733, n. 2. "The sick too are sent as laborers into the Lord's vineyard. The burden that tires the members of the body and shatters the serenity of the spins, far from deterring them from work in the vineyard, calls them to live out their human and Christian vocation and to share in the growth of the Kingdom of God in new ways, which are also more valuable" (John Paul II, Apost. Exhort. Christifideles laici, in Insegnamenti XI/4, p. 2160, 53).

131. John Paul II, Discourse in Lourdes, August 15, 1983, n. 4 "On the cross, Christ made his own all the weight of evil and took away the sin of the world (Jn 1, 29), of which sickness is but a consequence, By his passion and death on the cross, Christ has given new meaning to suffering: now it can configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive passion."

132. John Paul II, Apost. Exhort. Familiaris consortio, n. 75.

133. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at a congress of "Movement for Life," Dec. 4, 1982, in Insegnamenti, V/3, p. 1512, n. 4.

134. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) 79-80. With regard to the diagnostic techniques mostly used, which are echography (and amniocentesis, it can be said that the former appears to be risk-free whereas the latter contains elements of risk considered acceptable and therefore proportionate. The same cannot be said for other techniques, such as placento centesis, fetoscopy and the collecting of villi samples which have more or less high levels of risk.

135. Ibid. "Prenatal diagnosis, which presents no moral objections if carried out in order to identify the medical treatment which may be needed by the children the womb, all too often becomes an opportunity for proposing and procuring an abortion. This is eugenic abortion, justified in public opinion on the basis of a mentality...which accepts life only under certain conditions and rejects it when it is affected by any limitation, handicap or illness" (John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 14).

136. Cf. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) 79-80. "Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible. like any other human being" (CCC 2274).

137. Cf. John Paul II, Motu Proprio "Dolentium hominum," Feb. 11, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/1 (1985) pp. 473-474. "Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect. Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to lead lives as normal as possible" (CCC 2276).

138. "Every person has a primary right to what is necessary for the care of his or her health and therefore to suitable medical assistance" (John Paul II, To the World Congress of Catholic Doctors, Oct. 3, 1992, in Insegnamenti V/3, p. 673, n. 3).

139. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) p. 549.

140. "Even when it cannot cure, science can and should treat and assist the sick person" (John Paul II, To the participants at a study course on "human pre-leukemias," Nov. 15, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/2, p. 1265, n. 5. Cf. John Paul II, To two work groups set up by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 21, 1985, in Insegnamenti VII/2, p. 1082, n. 4.

141. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980 in AAS 72 (1980) pp. 549-550.

142. Cf. ibid.

143. "The principle of totality states that the part exists for the whole, and consequently that the good Of the part is subordinated to that of the whole: that the whole is determining for the part and it can dispose of it in its own interests (Pius XII, To the members of the First International Congress on Histopathology of the Nervous System, Sept. 14, 1952, in AAS 44 [1952] p. 787).

144. Pius XII, To the members of the XXVI Italian Congress of Urology, Oct. 8, 1953, in AAS 45 (1953) p. 674; cf. Pius XII, To the members of the First International Congress on Histopathology of the Nervous System, Sept. 14, 1952, in AAS 44 (1952) 782-783. The principle of totality is applied at the outbreak of the illness: there alone is verified "correctly" the relation of the part to the whole. Cf. ibid, p. 787. "Where the relationship of the part to the whole is verified, and to the extent that it is verified, the part is subordinated to the whole, which can in its own interests dispose of the part (ibid). The physical integrity of a person cannot be impaired to cure an illness of psychic or spiritual origin. Here it is not a question Of diseased or malfunctioning organs. And so their medico-surgical manipulation is an arbitrary alteration of the physical integrity of the person.

It is not lawful to sacrifice to the whole, by mutilating it, modifying it or removing it, a part which is not pathologically related to the whole. And this is why the principle of totality cannot be correctly taken as a criterion for legitimatizing anti-procreative sterilization therapeutic abortion and transsexual medicine and surgery. It is different with psychic sufferings and spiritual disorders with an organic basis, that is, which arise from a defect or physical disease: on these it is legitimate to intervene therapeutically.

145. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) 75.

146. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) p. 545.

147. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Procured Abortion, June 18, 1974, in AAS 66 (1974) 736-737.

148. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at a congress of the Italian Association of Anesthesiology, Oct. 4, 1984, in Insegnamenti VII/2, p. 749 n. 2.

149. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) 542-552, III.

150. "The Christian is bound to mortify the flesh and apply himself to interior purification.... Insofar as self-control and control of disordered tendencies cannot be acquired without the help of physical pain, this becomes a need and it must be accepted, but insofar as it is not required for this purpose, it cannot be said that there is a strict obligation for it. Hence the Christian is never obliged to desire it; he sees it as a more or less suitable means, according to the circumstances, to the end he is pursuing" (Pius XII, To an international assembly of doctors and surgeons, Feb. 24, 1957, in AAS 49 [1957] p. 135).

151. Ibid, p. 136.

152. Cf. Pont. Coun. "Cor Unum," Some Ethical Questions Relating to the Gravely Ill and the Dying, July 27, 1981, in Enchiridion Vaticanum, 7, Documenti ufficiali della Santa Sede 1980-1981. EDB, Bologna 1985, p. 1141, n. 2.3.1; John Paul II, To two work groups set up by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 21, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/2, p. 1082, n. 4.

153. John Paul II, To the participants at a congress of the Italian Association of Anesthesiology, Oct. 4, 1984, in Insegnamenti VII/2, p. 750, n. 3.

154. Cf. Pius XII, To an international assembly of doctors and surgeons, Feb. 24, 1957, in AAS 49 (1957) pp. 138-143.

155. Pius XII, To the doctors of the G. Mendel Institute, Nov. 24, 1957, in AAS 49 (1957) p. 1031.

156. "The patient cannot be the object of decisions which he will not make, or, if he is not able to do so, which he could not approve. The "person," principally responsible for his own life, should be the center of any assisting intervention: others are there to help him, not to replace him" (Pont. Coun. "Cor Unum," Some Ethical Questions Relating to the Gravely Ill and the Dying, July 27, 1981, in Enchiridion Vaticanum 7, Documenti ufficiali della Santa Sede 1980-1981. EDB, Bologna 1985, p. 1137, n. 2.1.2).

157. John Paul II, To the World Congress of Catholic Doctors, Oct. 3, 1982, in Insegnamenti V/3, p. 673, n. 4.

158. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at two congresses on medicine and surgery, Oct. 27,1980, in Insegnamenti III/2, 1008-1009, n. 5.

159. John Paul II, To the representatives of the Italian Society of Medicine and the Italian Society of General Surgery, Oct. 27, 1980, n. 3.

160. John Paul II, To the participants at a congress on cancer, April 26, 1986, in Insegnamenti IX/1, 1152-1153.

161. Cf. John Paul II, To scientists and health care workers, Nov. 12, 1987, in Insegnamenti X/3, (1987) 1086-1087, n. 4. "Some abusive interpretations of scientific research in the field of anthropology must also be mentioned. Arguing from the great variety of customs, behavior patterns and institutions present in humanity these theories conclude, if not always with the denial of universal human values, at least with a relativist conception of morality" (John Paul II, Encyclical Veritatis splendor, n. 33).

162. John Paul II, To the participants at two congresses on medicine and surgery, Oct. 27, 1980, in Insegnamenti III/2,1009, n. 5.

163. Pius XII, To the members of the First International Congress on Histopathology of the Nervous System, Sept. 14, 1952, in AAS 44 (1952) p. 788.

164. John Paul II, To a conference on pharmacy in the synod hall, Oct. 24, 1986, in Insegnamenti IX/2, p. 1183; cf. To the participants at a surgery congress, Feb. 19, 1987, in Insegnamenti X/1 (1987) 376, n. 4. "Research or experimentation on the human being cannot legitimate acts that are in themselves contrary to the dignity of persons and to the moral law. The subjects' potential consent does not justify such acts. Experimentation on human beings is not morally legitimate if it exposes the subject's life or physical and psychological integrity to disproportionate or avoidable risks" (CCC 2295).

165. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at two congresses on medicine and surgery, Oct. 27, 1980, in Insegnamenti III/2, 1008-1009, n. 5; To the participants at a study course on "human pre-leukemias," Nov. 15, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/2, p. 1265, n. 5.

166. John Paul II, To the participants at a meeting of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 23, 1982, in Insegnamenti V/3, p. 897, n. 4: "Therefore, the reduction in experiments on animals, which are progressively becoming less necessary, is in accordance with the good of all creation" (ibid ).

167. Cf. John Paul II, To a conference on pharmacy in the synod hall, Oct. 24, 1986, in Insegnamenti IX/2, p. 1183.

168. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5,1980, in AAS 72 (1980) p. 550. "It may happen, in doubtful cases, when known means have failed, that a new method, as yet insufficiently tested, offers, together with rather dangerous elements, a good probability of success. If the patient consents, the application of the procedure in question is lawful" (Pius XII, To the participants at the First International Congress on Histopathology of the Nervous System, Sept. 14, 1952, in AAS 44 (1952) p. 788).

169. John Paul II, To the participants at a study course on "human pre-leukemias," Nov. 15, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/2, p. 1265, n. 5.

170. Pius XII, To the participants at the VII Assembly of the World Medical Association, Sept. 30, 1954, in Pius XII, Discourses to Doctors, Rome, 1960, p. 358.

171. Cf John Paul II, To the participants at two congresses on medicine and surgery, Oct. 27, 1980, in Insegnamenti III/2, p. 1009, n. 5.

172. Ibid

173. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, in AAS 80 (1988) 81-83. "This evaluation of the morality of abortion is to be applied also to the recent forms of intervention on human embryos which, although carried out for purposes legitimate in themselves, inevitably involve the killing of those embryos.... The use of human embryos or fetuses as an object of experimentation constitutes a crime against their dignity as human beings who have a right to the same respect owed to a child once born, just as to every person" (John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 63).

174. Cf. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, in AAS 80 (1988) 81-83. "I condemn in a most explicit and formal way experimental manipulation of the human embryo, because it is a human being; from the moment of its conception until death it can never be instrumentalized for any reason whatsoever" (John Paul II, To the participants at a meeting of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 25, 1982, in AAS 75 (1983) 37). "Respect for the human being excludes all kinds of experimental manipulation or exploitation of the embryo" (Holy See, Charter on the Rights of the Family, 4/b, in Oss. Rom., Oct. 25, 1983).

175. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at the First International Congress on the Transplant of Organs, June 20, 1991, in Insegnamenti XIV/1 (1991) 1710.

176. Ibid, "Organ transplants are not morally acceptable if the donor or those who legitimately speak for him have not given their informed consent. Organ transplants conform with the moral law and can be meritorious if the physical and psychological dangers and risks incurred by the donor are proportionate to the good sought for the recipient. It is morally inadmissible directly to bring about the disabling mutilation or death of a human being, even in order to delay the death of other persons" (CCC 2296).

177. Cf. Pius XII, To the delegates of the Italian Association of Cornea Donors and the Italian Union for the Blind, May 14, 1956, in AAS 48 (1956) 464-465; John Paul II, To the participants at the First International Congress on the Transplant of Organs, June 20 1991, in Insegnamenti XIV/1 (1991) 1711.

178. John Paul II, To the participants at the First International Congress on the Transplant of Organs, June 20, 1991, in Insegnamenti XIV/1 (1991) 1711.

179. Ibid., n. 4.

180. Cf. Pius XII, To the delegates of the Italian Association of Cornea Donors and the Italian Union for the Blind. May 14, 1956 in AAS 48 (1956) pp. 462-464.

181. Ibid, pp. 466-467.

182. Cf. Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Declaration on the Artificial Prolongation of Life and Determining the Precise Moment of Death, Oct. 21, 1985, n. 1, 3.

183. Pius XII, To the delegates of the Italian Association of Cornea Donors and the Italian Union for the Blind, May 14, 1956, in AAS 48 (1956) pp. 462-464.

184. John Paul II, To the participants at the First International Congress on the Transplant of Organs, June 20, 1991, in Insegnamenti XIV/I (1991) 1711, n. 3.

185. Ibid; cf. Pius XII, To the delegates of the Italian Association for Cornea Donors and the Italian Union for the Blind, May 14 1956, in AAS 48 (1956) p. 465. Cf. Pius XII, Discourses to Doctors p. 467: "In advertising (for cornea donors) an intelligent reserve should be maintained to avoid serious interior and exterior conflicts. Also, is it necessary, as often happens, to refuse any compensation as a matter of principle? The question has arisen. Without doubt there can be grave abuses if recompense is demanded; but it would be an exaggeration to say that any acceptance or requirement of recompense is immoral. The case is analogous to that of blood transfusion; it is to the donor's credit if he refuses recompense, but it is not necessarily a fault to accept it."

186. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at the First international Congress on the Transplant of Organs, June 20, 1991, in Insegnamenti XIV/1 (1991) 1712.

187. Cf. ibid, 7, p. 1713, n. 5.

188. Ibid., p. 1713, n. 5: "The difficulty of the intervention, the need to act promptly, and the need for maximum concentration on the task, should not lead to the doctor's losing sight of the mystery of love contained in what he is doing."

"The different commandments of the Decalogue are really so many reflections of the one commandment about the good of the person, at the level of the many different goods which characterize his identity as a spiritual and bodily being in relationship with God, with his neighbor and with the material world" (John Paul II, Encyclical Veritatis splendor, n. 13).

189. "At the root of alcohol and drug abuse-taking into account the painful complexity of causes and situations-there is usually an existential vacuum, due to an absence of values and a lack of self-esteem, of trust in others and in life in general" (John Paul II, To the participants at the International Conference on Drugs and Alcohol, Nov. 23, 1991, in Insegnamenti XIV/2 (1991) 1249, n. 2.

190. Ibid., n. 4.

191. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at the VII World Congress of Therapeutic Communities, Sept. 7, 1984, in Insegnamenti VII/2, p. 347, n. 3.

192. Ibid, p. 350, n. 7.

193. Cf. John Paul II, Message to the International Congress in Vienna, June 4, 1987, in Insegnamenti VII/2, p. 347, n. 3.

194. John Paul II, To the participants at the VII World Congress of Therapeutic Communities, Sept. 7, 1984, in Insegnamenti VII/2, p. 347, n. 3.

195. John Paul II, To the participants at the International Conference on Drugs and Alcohol, Nov. 23, 1991, n. 4. "The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human life and health. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense. Clandestine production of and trafficking in drugs are scandalous practices. They constitute direct cooperation in evil, since they encourage people to practices gravely contrary to the moral law" (CCC 2291).

196. John Paul II, To the participants at the International Conference on Drugs and Alcohol, Nov. 23, 1991, n. 4.

197. Ibid, n. 4.

198. "The present economic conditions in society, as well as the high level of poverty and unemployment, can be contributary factors that increase in your people a sense of unrest, insecurity, frustration and social alienation, leading them on to the illusory world of alcohol as an escape from the problems of life": John Paul II, To the participants at a congress on alcoholism, in Insegnamenti VIII/1, p. 1741.

199. There are three categories of psycho-pharmaceuticals. The first is that of neuroleptics, the anti-psychotics which have made possible the closing of psychiatric hospitals, since they overcome agitation, deliria and hallucinations, and so make it useless to confine and isolate patients; in any case, these measures were non-curative. The second category is comprised of sedatives or tranquilizers and the third antidepressives.

200. John Paul II, To the participants at the International Conference on Drugs and Alcohol, Nov. 23, 1991, n. 4.

201. Ibid.

202. Cf. Pius XII, To the International Congress of Neuro-psychopharmacology, Sept. 9, 1958, in Discourses and Broadcasts Vol. XX, pp. 327-333.

203. This is confirmed by the frequency and the conviction with which patients tell the doctor: "Now that I have spoken to you I feel better." And in fact just as "there is therapeutic input which physical healing can bring to the spirit of the patient; inversely, there is a therapeutic input which can be brought to physical suffering through psychologico-spiritual comforting." Paul VI, To the III World Congress of the International College of Psychosomatic Medicine, Sept. 18 1975, in AAS 67 (1975) 544.

204. Cf. John Paul II, Motu Proprio Dolentium hominum, Feb. 11, 1988, in Insegnamenti VIII/1, p. 474.

205. "Considered in its totality, modern psychology deserves approval from the moral and religious viewpoint." (Pius XII, To the members of the XIII International Congress on Applied Psychology, April 10, 1958, in AAS 50 (1958) p. 274.

206. Ibid, p. 276.

207. Ibid, p. 281.

208. "Experience teaches that man, needing either preventative or therapeutic assistance, reveals needs that go beyond actual organic pathology. It is not only suitable treatment that he wants from the doctor-treatment which, in any case, sooner or later will fatally show itself to be insufficient-but the human support of a brother, who can share with him a life view, in which also the mystery of suffering and death will make sense. And whence can be had, if not in faith, this tranquilizing response to the supreme questions of existence?" (John Paul II, To the World Congress of Catholic Doctors, Oct. 3, 1982, in Insegnamenti V/3, p. 675, n. 6).

209. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 30.

210. "A unique light shines from the paschal mystery on the specific task which pastoral health care is called to fulfill in the great commitment of evangelization" (John Paul II, To the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, Feb. 11, 1992, in Oss. Rom. Feb. 12, 1992, n. 7). Cf. CCC 1503.

211. In the anxious and painful state in which he finds himself, the seriously ill person needs a special grace from God to keep him from losing heart. There is the danger that temptation might make his faith waver. For this very reason, Christ wished to give his sick faithful the strength and the very real support of the sacrament of Anointing" (Cong. Div. Worship, Sacrament of Anointing and Pastoral Care of the Sick, Nov. 17, 1972. Ed. Typica, Vat. Polyglot Press, 1972, p. 81, n. 5). Cf. CCC 1511.

212. Ibid, n. 6.

213. Cf. Ecum. Coun. Vatican II, Constit. on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum concilium, n. 73. Cf. CCC 1514.

214. "By the grace of this sacrament the sick person receives the strength and the gift of uniting himself more closely to Christ's Passion; in a certain way he is consecrated to bear fruit by configuration to the Savior's redemptive Passion" (CCC 1521). The sick who receive this sacrament, "by freely uniting themselves to the passion and death of Christ," "contribute to the good of the people of God" (LG 11). "By celebrating this sacrament, the Church, in the communion of saints, intercedes for the benefit of the sick person, and he, for his part, through the grace of this sacrament, contributes to the sanctification of the Church and to the good of all people for whom the Church suffers and offers herself through Christ to God the Father" (CCC 1522).

215. Cf. Cong. Div. Worship, The Sacrament of Anointing and Pastoral Care of the Sick, nn. 8-19.

216. Code of Canon Law, can. 1005; cf. can. 1004-1007.

217. Cong. Div. Worship, The Sacrament of Anointing and Pastoral Care of the Sick, n. 26. Cf. CCC 1524.

218. Ibid., n. 26.

219. "All the baptized who can receive Holy Communion are obliged to receive Viaticum. In fact all the faithful, who for any reason are in danger of death, are bound by precept to receive Holy Communion, and pastors should take care that the administration of this sacrament be not deferred, so that the faithful can benefit from it while they are still in full possession of their faculties" (Ibid, n. 27).

220. Cf. ibid, n. 29.

221. John Paul II, To the participants at the International Congress of the "Omnia Hominis" Association, Aug. 25, 1990, in Insegnamenti XIII/2, p. 328. "Such a situation can threaten the already fragile equilibrium of an individual's personal and family life, with the result that, on the one hand, the sick person, despite the help of increasingly effective medical and social assistance risks feeling overwhelmed by his or her own frailty; and on the other hand, those close to the sick person can be moved by an understandable even if misplaced compassion" (John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 15).

222. Cf. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5 1980. in AAS 72 (1980) p. 551.

223. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at the International Congress on Assistance to the Dying, in Oss. Rom. March 18, 1992 n. 5.

224. "It is only a human presence, discreet and caring, which allows the patient to express himself and to find a human and spiritual comfort, that will have a tranquilizing effect" (Pont. Coun. "Cor Unum," Some Ethical Questions Relating to the Gravely Ill and the Dying, July 27, 1981, in Enchiridion Vaticanum 7, Documenti ufficiali della Santa Sede 1980-1981. EDB, Bologna 1985, p. 1151, n. 4.3).

225. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at the International Congress on Assistance to the Dying, in Oss. Rom. March 18, 1992, n. 5.

226. Ibid, n. 1. "'It is in regard to death that man's condition is most shrouded in doubt' (GS, 18). In a sense bodily death is natural, but for faith it is in fact 'the wages of sin' (Rm. 6:23). For those who die in Christ's grace it is a participation in the death of the Lord, so that they can also share his Resurrection" (CCC 1006; cf. also CCC 1009).

227. John Paul II, To two work groups set up by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 21, 1985, in Insegnamenti, VIII/2, p. 1083, n. 6; cf. To the participants at the International Congress on Assistance to the Dying, in Oss. Rom. March 18, 1992, n. 5.

228. John Paul II, To two work groups set up by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 21, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/2, p. 1083, n. 6. Cf. CCC 1010. "Death itself is anything but an event without hope. It is the door which opens wide on eternity and, for those who live in Christ, an experience of participation in the mystery of his death and resurrection" (John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 97).

229. Cf Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) p. 549.

230. Ibid.

231. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at the International Congress on Assistance to the Dying, in Oss. Rom March 18, 1992, n. 4. Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 65.

232. John Paul II, To two work groups set up by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 21, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/2, p. 1082, n. 5.

233. "From this point of view, the use of therapeutic means can sometimes raise problems": Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) p. 549.

234. Cf. John Paul II, To two work groups set up by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 21, 1985, in Insegnamenti>VIII/2, p. 1082. n.5.

235. Cong. Doc. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) p. 551. Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 65.

236. Cf. Pont. Coun. "Cor Unum," Some Ethical Questions Relating to the Gravely Ill and the Dying, July 27, 1981, in Enchiridion Vaticanum, 7, Documenti ufficiali della Santa Sede 1980-1981. EDB, Bologna 1985, p. 1165, n. 7.2; ibid., p. 1143, n. 2.4.1: "Earthly life is a fundamental but not absolute good. Hence the limits of the obligation to keep a person alive must be specified. The distinction-already outlined-between 'proportionate' means, which must never be renounced so as not to anticipate or cause death, and 'disproportionate' means, which can be and, so as not to fall into therapeutic tyranny, must be renounced, is a decisive ethical criterion for specifying these limits.

Here the health care worker finds a meaningful and reassuring guideline for the solution of the complex cases entrusted to his responsibility. We are thinking in particular of states of permanent and irreversible coma, of tumorous pathologies with unhappy prognosis, of the aged in grave and terminal states of life."

237. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at the congress of the Italian Association of Anesthesiology, Oct. 4, 1984, in Insegnamenti VII/2, p. 749, n. 2; To two work groups set up by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 21, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/2, p. 1082, n. 4.

238. For the believer "pain, especially that of the final moments of life, assumes a special meaning in God's salvific plan," as "a participation in the passion" and "union with the redemptive sacrifice" of Christ. For this reason the Christian can be freely induced to accept pain without alleviation or to moderate the use of painkillers: cf. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) p. 547.

239. Cf. Pius XII, To an international assembly of doctors and surgeons, Feb. 24, 1957, in AAS 49 (1957) p. 147; To the participants at a congress on neuro-psychopharmacology, Sept. 9, 1958, in AAS 50 (1958) p. 694; Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) p. 547.

240. Cf. John Paul II, To two work groups set up by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 21, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/2, p. 1082, n. 4.

241. Cf. Pius XII, To an international assembly of doctors and surgeons, Feb. 24, 1957, in AAS 49 (1957) p. 144.

242. Cf. Cong. Doct Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980. in AAS 72 (1980) pp. 547-548.

243. Cf. Pius XII, To the participants at a congress on neuro-psychopharmacology, Sept. 9, 1958, in AAS 50 (1958) p. 694.

244. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) p. 548. Cf. Pius XII, To an international assembly of doctors and surgeons, Feb. 24, 1957, in AAS 49 (1957) p. 146; To the participants at a congress on neuro-psychopharmacology, Sept. 9, 1958, "BME 329." Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 65.

245. Cf. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) p. 548.

246. Pius XII, To an international assembly of doctors and surgeons, Feb. 24, 1957, in AAS 49 (1957) pp. 144-145.

247. Cf Pont. Coun. "Cor Unum," Some Ethical Questions Relating to the Gravely Ill and to the Dying, July 27, 1981, in Enchiridion Vaticanum 7, Documenti ufficiali della Santa Sede 1980-1981. EDB, Bologna 1985, p. 1153, n. 4.4.

248. Cf. Pius XII, To an international assembly of doctors and surgeons, Feb. 24, 1957, in AAS 49 (1957) 145.

249. Cf. Pius XII, To an international assembly of doctors and surgeons, Feb. 24, 1957, in AAS 49 (1957) p. 143-146; Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) p. 548. "If the patient obstinately refuses and persists in asking for the narcosis, the doctor may agree to it without thereby becoming guilty of formal cooperation in the fault committed. This, in fact, does not depend on the narcosis, but on the immoral will of the patient; whether the analgesic it given to him or not, his behavior will be identical: he will not do his duty." (Pius XII, To an international assembly of doctors and surgeons, Feb. 24, 1957, in AAS 49 [1957] p. 146).

250. Cf Pont. Coun. "Cor Unum," Some Ethical Questions Relating to the Gravely Ill and the Dying, in Enchiridion Vaticanum 7, Documenti ufficiali della Santa Sede 1980-1981. EDB, Bologna 1985, p. 1159, n. 6.1.1. "Death is the end of man's earthly pilgrimage, of the time of grace and mercy which God offers him so as to work out his earthly life in keeping with the divine plan, and to decide his ultimate destiny" (CCC 1013).

251. Pont. Coun. "Cor Unum," Some Ethical Questions Relating to the Gravely Ill and the Dying>, in Enchiridion Vaticanum 7 Documenti ufficiali della Santa Sede> 1980-1981. EDB, Bologna 1985, p. 1159, n. 6.1.2.

252. Cf. Ecum. Coun. Vatican II, Past. Constit. Gaudium et spes, n. 18; John Paul II, Apost. Letter Salvifici doloris, in Insegnamenti VII 11, 333-335, n. 15; To the participants at the Meeting of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on "Determining the Moment of Death," Dec. 14, 1989, in Insegnamenti XII/2, p. 1527, n. 4.

253. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at the Meeting of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on "Determining the Moment of Death," Dec. 14, 1989, in Insegnamenti XII/2, 1523-1529, n. 4.

254. Cf. ibid.

255. Pius XII, To a group of doctors, Nov. 24, 1957, "BME 432, 434."

256. John Paul II, To the participants at the meeting of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on "Determining the Moment of Death," Dec. 14, 1989, in Insegnamenti XII/2. 1523-1529. n. 6.

257. Cf. Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Declaration on the Artificial Prolongation of Life and Determining Exactly the Moment of Death, n. 1.

258. Cong. Doct. Faith, Instruct. Donum vitae, Feb. 22, 1987, in AAS 80 (1988) 75-76; cf. John Paul II, To the participants at the Third General Assembly of the World Medical Association, Oct. 29, 1983, n. 2.

259. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at a meeting of the "Movement for Life," Oct. 12, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/2, 933-936 n. 2.

260. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) p. 544. Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Veritatis splendor, n. 13.

261. Cf Pius XII, To the congress of the Italian Catholic Union of Obstetricians, Oct. 29, 1951, in AAS 43 (1951) p. 838. "Scripture specifies the prohibition contained in the fifth commandment: "Do not slay the innocent and the righteous" (Ex. 23:7). The deliberate murder of an innocent person is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human being, to the golden rule, and to the holiness of the Creator. The law forbidding it is universally valid: it obliges each and everyone, always and everywhere" (CCC 2261).

262. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) 544-545. "It is unjustified to discriminate between the different life stages. The right to life is still intact in an old person, even if he or she is very debilitated; an incurably ill person does not lose it. It is no less legitimate in the newborn child than in the mature person" Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Procured Abortion, June 18, 1974, in AAS 66 (1974) 737-738.

263. John Paul II, To the Association of Italian Catholic Doctors, Dec. 28, 1978, in Insegnamenti 1, p. 438.

264. John Paul II, To the World Congress of Catholic Doctors, Oct. 3,1982, in Insegnamenti V/3 671.

265. Cf Cong. Doct Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) p. 545: "Everyone has the obligation of living in conformity with God's plan. Voluntary death, that is suicide...is a refusal on man's part to accept God's will and his loving purpose. Besides, suicide is often a denial of love for oneself, a rejection of the natural aspiration for life, a renouncement of one's duties of justice and charity to one's neighbor, to the various communities and to society at large, although at times there may be-as we know-psychological factors which attenuate or, indeed, take away responsibility. A clear distinction should be made, however, between suicide and sacrifice made for a higher motive-such as God's glory, the salvation of souls, service to one's neighbor-by which one gives one's life or puts it in danger" (ibid.).

266. Holy See, Charter on the Rights of the Family, art. 4 la.

267. Ecum. Coun. Vatican II, Past. Constit., Gaudium et spes, n. 51. Cf. Paul VI, To the participants at the XXIII National Congress of the Union of Italian Catholic Jurists, in AAS 64 (1972) pp. 776-779.

268. Cf. John Paul II, To the representatives of the "Movement for life," Jan. 25, 1986, in Insegnamenti IX/1, 190-192, n. 3.

269. Cf. John Paul II, To two international groups of scholars, Nov. 3, 1979, in Insegnamenti II/2, pp. 1034-10335.

270. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, March 25, 1995, n. 4.

271. Cf. John Paul II, To the Association of Italian Catholic Doctors, Dec. 28, 1978, in Insegnamenti I p. 438 Cong. Doct. Faith Declaration on Procured Abortion, June 18,1971, in AAS 66 (1974) 744, n. 24. "Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law. 'You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish' (Didache 2, 2)" [CCC 2271].

272. Cf. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Procured Abortion, June 18, 1974, in AAS 66 (1974) 739.

273. CF Pius XII To "Face of the Family" and the "Associations of Large Families," Nov. 27, 1951, in AAS 43 (1951) p. 859.

274. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at a meeting for obstetricians, Jan. 26, 1980, in Insegnamenti III/1, p. 194, n. 3.

275. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Procured Abortion, June 18, 1974. in AAS 66 (1974) 744. n. 22.

276. Ibid, n. 24.

277. Code of Canon Law, can. 1398. Latae sententiae means that the excommunication need not be pronounced by authority in every single case. It is incurred by anyone who procures an abortion by the simple fact of having voluntarily procured it while aware of the excommunication.

278. Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 871.

279. John Paul II, To the participants at the 54th Updating Course of the Catholic University, Sept. 6, 1984, in Insegnamenti VII/2, 333-334.

280. Ibid., p. 334, n. 3. "Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable" (CCC 2277).

281. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) pp. 545-546.

282. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at the III World Congress of the "International College of Psychosomatic Medicine," Sept. 18, 1975. in AAS 67 (1975) 545.

283. Cong. Doct. Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia, May 5, 1980, in AAS 72 (1980) p. 546. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at the International Congress on Assistance to the Dying, in Oss. Rom. March 18, 1992, nn. 3, 5.

284. Cf. John Paul II, To two work groups set up by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 21, 1985, n. 3.

285. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at a study course on "human preleukoemias," Nov. 15, 1985, in Insegnamenti VIII/2, p. 1265, n. 5.

286. Cf. John Paul II, To the participants at the 54th Updating Course of the Catholic University, Sept. 6, 1984, in Insegnamenti VII/2, p. 334, n. 4.