NON-NEGOTIABLE RIGHT TO LIFE NOT BASED ON SOCIAL WHIM
On Wednesday evening, 27 February, the Pope addressed the General
Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life on the theme: The nature
and dignity of the human person as the foundation of the right to
life. Natural law and natural rights in their original meaning are
concepts based on the spiritual nature of the human person that is
broader than a merely scientific understanding of natural law. A person
using only the popular and scientific understanding of natural law finds
it impossible to understand the theological use of natural law. This
creates a problem for understanding what we mean by a natural law
ethics. The Holy Father spoke of the natural light of reason that can
discern the dignity of the person and moral value of the community and
what promotes that dignity or what harms it. "The human person,
with his reason, is capable of recognizing both this profound and
objective dignity of his own being, and the ethical requirements that
derive from it. In other words, man can discern in himself the value
and the moral requirements of his own dignity. It is a discernment
that entails a discovery open to further refinement following the
coordinates of the 'historicity' that are typical of human
knowledge". Here is a translation of the Pope's address.
1. Dear and Illustrious Members of the Pontifical Academy for Life,
once again we hold a meeting that is always for me a source of hope and
joy.
I warmly and personally greet each of you. I want to thank your
President, Juan de Dios Vial Correa for his kind words of homage on
behalf of all of you. I want to greet your Vice-President, Bishop
Sgreccia, and thank him for being the force behind the activity of your
Academy.
The nature and dignity of the human person as the foundation of the
right to life
2. This week you are participating in your eighth General Assembly
and for this reason, coming together from many countries, to address a
crucial subject, in the context of a broader reflection on the
dignity of human life: "The nature and dignity of the human
person as the foundation of the right to life. The challenges raised by
the approach of contemporary culture".
You have chosen to deal with one of the connecting links at the
foundation of any further discussion, either of ethical applications in
the field of bio-ethics or of socio-cultural thought for the promotion
of a new pro-life mentality.
For many contemporary thinkers, the concepts of "nature"
and of "natural law" appear to apply only to the physical and
biological world, or, as a way of expressing the order of the cosmos, in
scientific research and in the field of ecology. Unfortunately, in such
a view, it becomes difficult to use natural law to mean human nature in
a metaphysical sense and to use natural law for the moral
order.
What makes it more difficult to see the depth of reality is
the fact that our culture has greatly restricted the concept of
creation, a concept that refers to the entire cosmic reality, and that
takes on a particular meaning in relation to man. We see in this change
the influence of the weakening of confidence in reason, so much a part
of contemporary philosophy, as I pointed out in the Encyclical Fides
et ratio (cf. n. 61).
Recognize the distinctive character of the human being
What is needed, therefore, is a conscious effort that returns to its
original meaning, with all its force, namely, to the anthropological and
ethical meaning of natural law and of the related concept of natural
right. In fact, we are discussing if and how it is possible to
"recognize" the distinguishing characteristics of the human
being, which form the basis of the right to life in its various
historical formulations. Only on this basis, can there be a true
dialogue and authentic collaboration between believers and
non-believers.
Natural law is the light of reason discerning the spiritual component
of man
3. Daily experience reveals the existence of a fundamental reality
common to all human beings by which they can recognize each other as
such. It is necessary to refer always "to man's proper and
primordial nature, the 'nature of the human person', that is the
person himself in the unity of soul and body, in the unity of
his spiritual and biological inclinations and of all the other specific
characteristics necessary for the pursuit of his end" (Veritatis
splendor, n. 50; cf. also Gaudium et spes, n. 14).
This distinctive nature is the foundation for the rights of every
human individual, who has the dignity of personhood from the moment of
his conception. This objective dignity, that has its origin in God the
Creator, is founded on the spiritual nature that belongs to the soul,
but also extends to the corporeality that is an essential component. No
one can take human dignity away, rather all must respect it in
themselves and in others. It is this dignity that is equal for all and
that remains entire at every stage of the individual human life.
The recognition of such natural dignity is the foundation of the
social order, as Vatican II reminds us: "Furthermore, while there
are rightful differences between people, their equal dignity as persons
demands that we strive for fairer and more humane conditions" (Gaudium
et spes, n. 29).
The human person, with his reason, is capable of recognizing both
this profound and objective dignity of his own being, and the ethical
requirements that derive from it. In other words, man can discern in
himself the value and the moral requirements of his own dignity. It
is a discernment that entails a discovery open to further refinement
following the coordinates of the "historicity" that are
typical of human knowledge.
This is what I pointed out in the Encyclical Veritatis splendor on
the subject of the natural moral law, that, according to the words of St
Thomas Aquinas, "is nothing else than the light of understanding
infused in us by God. As a result of it we know what must be done and
what must be avoided. God has given this light and this law to man at
creation" (n. 40, cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn.
1954-1955).
No real conflict between freedom and nature; reason should guide
freedom belonging to human nature
4. It is important to help our contemporaries understand the
positive and humanizing value of the natural moral law, clarifying
a number of misunderstandings and false interpretations.
The first misunderstanding to be eliminated is "the alleged
conflict between freedom and nature" that "has repercussions
on the interpretation of certain specific aspects of the natural law,
especially its universality and immutability (Veritatis
splendor, n. 51). In fact, freedom belongs to the rational nature of
the human being and can and should be guided by reason: "Precisely
because of this 'truth' the natural law involves universality. Inasmuch
as it is inscribed in the rational nature of the person, it makes itself
felt to all beings endowed with reason and living in history (ibid.).
Natural law is not static, but open to ever greater refinement
5. Another point to be clarified is the presumed static and fixed
connotation given to the notion of natural moral law, that is perhaps
prompted by an erroneous analogy with the concept of nature used for
physical reality. In truth, the fact of its universality and obligatory
nature is what incites and urges the person to develop. "In order
to perfect himself in his specific order, the person must do good and
avoid evil, be concerned for the transmission and preservation of life,
refine and develop the riches of the material world, cultivate social
life, seek truth, practise good and contemplate beauty" (Veritatis
splendor, n. 51; cf. St Thomas I-II, q. 94, a. 2).
In fact, the magisterium of the Church appeals to the universality
and to the dynamic and perfective character of the natural law when
referring to the transmission of life, whether it be to maintain the
fullness of the spousal union in the procreative act, and to preserve
the openness to life in the conjugal act (cf. Humanae vitae, n.
10; Instruction Donum Vitae, II. 1-8). In the same way the
magisterium speaks on the subject of the respect for innocent human
life: our thought goes to abortion, euthanasia, the suppression and
destructive experimentation on embryos and human fetuses (cf. Evangelium
vitae, nn. 52-67).
Natural right and the right to life founded on innate human dignity
not on social collectivity
6. The natural law, in so far as it regulates human social
relationships is defined as "natural rights" and as such
requires complete respect for the dignity of individuals in the
realization of the common good. An authentic conception of the natural
right, understood as the protection of the illustrious and inalienable
dignity of every human being, is the guarantee of equality and gives
real substance to those "rights of man" that serve as the
foundation of international declarations.
The rights of man, in fact, should refer to what man is by nature and
by force of his own dignity and not to the expression of the subjective
choices of those who are able to participate in social life or of those
who obtain the consensus of the majority. In the Encyclical Evangelium
vitae I warned against the serious threat that such a false
interpretation of the rights of man seen as the subjective rights of an
individual or a group, free from any reference to the truth of human
nature, can pose, leading even democratic systems of government to turn
into an effective totalitarianism (cf. nn. 19-20).
No distinction between human being and human person
Particularly, among the fundamental rights of man, the Catholic
Church claims for every human being the right to life as the primary
right. She does it in the name of the truth about man and to protect
his freedom, that cannot be sustained without respect for the right to
life. The Church affirms the right to life of every innocent human being
and at every moment of his existence. The distinction sometimes implied
in international documents between "human being" and
"human person", so as to limit the right to life and to
physical integrity to persons already born is an artificial distinction,
without any scientific or philosophical foundation: every
human being, from the moment of his conception until the moment of his
natural death, possesses an inviolable right to life and deserves all
the respect owed to the human person (cf. Donum vitae, n.
1).
7. My dear friends, in conclusion, I want to encourage your
reflection on the natural moral law and natural rights with the hope
that from your discussions will come fresh zeal for establishing the
true good of the human being and a just and peaceful social order. It is
always by returning to the deep roots of human dignity and of the true
good of the human being, and by building on the foundation of what
exists as everlasting and essential in man, that a fruitful dialogue
can take place with men of every culture in order to build a society
inspired by the values of justice and brotherhood.
With gratitude for your collaboration, I entrust the activity of the
Pontifical Academy for Life to the Mother of Jesus, Word made flesh in
her virginal womb so that she may be with you as you fulfil the mission
that the Church has entrusted to you for the defence and promotion of
the gift of life and of the dignity of every human being.
With this prayerful wish, I grant you and your loved ones my
heartfelt Blessing.
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