When he presents the heart of his redemptive mission, Jesus says: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10). In truth, he is referring to that "new" and "
The splendour of truth shines forth in all the works of the Creator and, in a special way, in man, created in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen 1:26). Truth enlightens man's i
Declaring the power of salvific suffering, the Apostle Paul says: "In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church"(1).
Health care in the United States is marked by extraordinary change. Not only is there continuing change in clinical practice due to technological advances, but the health care syst
The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator. It has always been a source of great joy to t
In modern society, in which even the fundamental values of human life are often called into question, cultural change exercises an influence upon the way of looking at suffering an
I cordially greet all of you who took part in the International Congress: "Life-Sustaining Treatments and Vegetative State: Scientific Advances and Ethical Dilemmas". I wish to ext
It is "God, who is rich in mercy" whom Jesus Christ has revealed to us as Father: it is His very Son who, in Himself, has manifested Him and made Him known to us.2 Memorable in thi
The administration of food and water even by artificial means is, in principle, an ordinary and proportionate means of preserving life. It is therefore obligatory to the extent to
Consequentialism is the name of a family of ethical theories that judge the rightness of an action, or a policy, in terms of the value of its consequences. The most familiar form of this approach is utilitarianism according to which an action is right if and only if in a given situation it is the best or equal best among those available, where ‘best’ is defined as ‘that which produces the greatest amount of happiness, or preference satisfaction’ or welfare, for the greatest number of those involved. Any version of utilitarianism is a case of consequentialism not vice versa. The views, for example that the criterion of right action is pleasing God (and of bad action offending Him); or that what is right is whatever protects the planet (and bad, whatever harms it) are both consequentialist, but non-utilitarian theories. The main criticisms of consequentialism are 1) that it takes the end to justify the means and does not allow that some courses of action are right or wrong in and of themselves wholly or partly independent of their consequences, and 2) that is unworkable because we cannot know what all the consequences of an action may be and so cannot calculate its value; and 3) that the favoured standards of good consequences are erroneous, for we can meaningfully ask whether happiness, or preference satisfaction etc is good.
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