A Brief History of Catholic Bioethics

2013

Every creature is good and subject to the principle of solidarity that everyone has been blessed and gifted with life by God. Therefore, we cannot have one without the other, and no man exists without an animal. Over the last several decades, our world has been confronted with many ethical problems and ethics is being more and more sought after in spheres of human conduct and profession. Man has acquired enormous power over the world and over life itself, but he has also, willingly or not, become more responsible for ‘the threats’ against his very life, as well as against the life of other creatures. Within this context a discussion on biocentrism has ensued, which should replace Christian biblical anthropocentrism. At any rate, man has encountered a challenge to expand his moral sphere because nature needs his protection, whereas he no longer needs to protect himself from nature. It is exactly this point that poses a paradox: only man can give protection to nature and the whole of ...

CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 2001

There is a long tradition of bioethical reasoning within the Roman Catholic faith, a tradition expressed in scripture, the writings of the Doctors of the Church, papal encyclical documents and reflections by contemporary Catholic theologians. Catholic bioethics is concerned with a broad range of issues, including social justice and the right to health care, the duty to preserve life and the limits of that duty, the ethics of human reproduction and end-of-life decisions. Fundamental to Catholic bioethics is a belief in the sanctity of life and a metaphysical conception of the person as a composite of body and soul. Although there is considerable consensus among Catholic thinkers, differences in philosophical approach have given rise to some diversity of opinion with respect to specific issues. Given the influential history of Catholic reflection on ethical matters, the number of people in Canada who profess to be Catholic, and the continuing presence of Catholic health care instituti...

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2021

The article aims to explicate the Christian spiritual tradition in the context of philosophical-religious and bioethical discourse. The methodological basis of the work is an interdisciplinary approach, philosophical and generally scientific methods: systemic, dialectical, historical, hermeneutics, comparative analysis, etc., the principles of objectivity, confessional unbiasedness, world outlook, and methodological pluralism inherent in modern religious studies. As a result of the research, three levels of integration ties were identified and analyzed: interdisciplinary synthesis within individual groups of sciences; between disciplines belonging to different groups of sciences (natural, humanitarian, social, technical); the tendency towards the convergence of science and various forms of extra-scientific knowledge, religion, inherent in the education of bioethics as an integrated direction of modern knowledge. It is grounded that the basis of this process should be a model of comp...

Croatian medical journal, 2013

Conatus, 2018

Bioethics evolved from traditional physician ethics and theological ethics. It has become important in contemporary discussions of Medicine and ethics. But in contemporary secular societies the foundations of bioethics are minimal in their content and often rely on procedural ethics. The bioethics of particular communities, particularly religious communities, are richer than the procedural ethics of a secular society. Religious bioethics, situated within religious communities, are richer in content in general and in the lived reality.

As in all areas of morality, bioethics is fraught with difficult situations and questions. In the philosophical and theological foundations of Pope Benedict XVI's bioethics, one can find a solid foundation from which to develop responsibilities and actions in the areas of medicine and

Too many of us, alas, are so pressed for time, and sometimes merely so restless, that we often move on after reading only the first few lines of an article, especially in the case of a book review. So to the harried reader now approaching that point, advance notice goes out: this is much more than a book about bioethics. It is a major work of philosophical, historical, and theological erudition and reflection. It is radical in its questioning, witty and engaging in its demeanor, and uncommonly powerful in its implications. Read it, or miss out on one of those rare occasions in which a philosophical book deeply challenges almost everything that the present age takes to be commonly established.