3. On the agenda for this session, as at your previous meetings, you
have given an important place to the question of the human genome, a critical
issue for the future of individuals and humanity. I appreciate the fact
that, in addressing this question, you are making every effort to offer
an analysis to our contemporaries that combines, without contradiction,
scientific findings and the integral truth about what man objectively is.
The gradual discovery of the genetic map and the increasingly detailed knowledge
of genome sequencing, research that will take several more years, are an
advance in scientific knowledge which first of all causes justifiable wonder,
particularly with regard to the reconstruction of the DNA chain, the chemical
basis of genes and chromosomes. It now seems an accepted fact that for all
living species including man, DNA is the vehicle for hereditary characteristics
and their transmission to successive generations. The multiple consequences
for man, which cannot be totally discerned yet, hold great promise. In fact,
in the not-too distant future, we can reasonably foresee that the whole
genome sequencing will open new paths of research for therapeutic purposes.
Thus the sick, to whom it was impossible to give proper treatment due to
frequently fatal hereditary pathologies, will be able to benefit from the
treatment needed to improve their condition and possibly to cure them. By
acting on the subject's unhealthy genes, it will also be possible to prevent
the recurrence of genetic diseases and their transmission.
Genome research will enable man to understand himself to an unprecedented
degree. In particular, it will be possible to perceive genetic influences
more clearly and to distinguish them from those stemming from the natural
and cultural surroundings and those associated with the individual's own
experience. In addition, by shedding light on the web of influences within
which man exercises his freedom, we will arrive at a dearer understanding
of this mysterious reality.
Some, perhaps, will be tempted to seek a purely scientific explanation of
human freedom and to consider this sufficient. Such an explanation would
negate what it seeks to explain and would dash with the personal and irrefutable
evidence that our inner self cannot be reduced to the influences to which
it may be subject, but that it ultimately remains the sole author of our
decisions.
Scientific progress such as that involving the genome is a credit to human
reason, for man is called to be lord of creation, and it honours the Creator,
source of all life, who entrusted the human race with stewardship over the
world. Discoveries of the complexity of the molecular structure can invite
members of the scientific community, and more broadly, all our contemporaries,
to wonder about the First Cause, about the One who is the origin of all
existence and who has secretly fashioned each one of us (cf. Ps 139:15;
Prv 24:12).
4. As regards interventions in the human genome sequencing, it would
be appropriate to recall certain basic moral norms. All interference in
the genome should be done in a way that absolutely respects the specific
nature of the human species, the transcendental vocation of every being
and his incomparable dignity. The genome represents the biological identity
of each subject; furthermore, it expresses a part of the human condition
of the being desired by God for his own sake through the mission entrusted
to his parents.
The ability to establish the genetic map should not lead to reducing the
subject to his genetic inheritance and to the alterations that can be made
to it. In his mystery, man goes beyond the sum of his biological characteristics.
He is a fundamental unit, in which the biological cannot be separated from
the spiritual, family and social dimensions without incurring the serious
risk of suppressing the person's very nature and making him a mere object
of analysis. By his nature and uniqueness, the human person is the norm
for all scientific research. "He is and he ought to be the beginning,
the subject and the object..." of all research (Second Vatican Council,
Gaudium et spes, n. 25).
On this subject, we rejoice that numerous researchers have refused to allow
discoveries made about the genome to be patented. Since the human body is
not an object that can be disposed of at will, the results of research should
be made available to the whole scientific community and cannot be the property
of a small group.
Ethical reflection should also focus on the use of a person's medical data,
especially information contained in the genome that could be exploited by
society to the detriment of individuals, for example, by destroying embryos
with chromosome abnormalities or by marginalizing those affected by one
or other genetic disease- nor can a person's biological privacy be violated
or investigated without his explicit consent, nor divulged for uses which
would not be of a strictly medical nature or for the therapeutic benefit
of the person concerned. Independently of the biological, cultural, social
or religious differences that distinguish human beings, each individual
has a natural right to be what he is and to have sole responsibility for
his genetic inheritance.
5. Nevertheless, we must not allow ourselves to be beguiled by the myth
of progress, as though the possibility of conducting research or of applying
a technique would immediately qualify them as morally good.
The moral goodness of all progress is measured by its genuine benefit to
man, considered in relation to his twofold corporal and spiritual dimension;
as a result, justice is done to what man is; if the good were not linked
to man, who must be its beneficiary, it might be feared that humanity were
heading for its own destruction. The scientific community is ceaselessly
called to keep the factors in order, situating scientific aspects within
the framework of an integral humanism; in this way it will take into account
the metaphysical, ethical, social and juridical questions that conscience
faces and which the principles of reason can clarify.
I am pleased that in the programme for your present session you are concerned,
as scientists, to put your knowledge at the service of moral truth, reflecting
on the ethical implications and legal arrangements which should be proposed
to governments and scientific teams. It is to be hoped that your authoritative
voice may contribute to formulating an international consensus in so sensitive
an area, a consensus based on the objective truth about man learned from
right reason. On this basis, we must hope that the institutions concerned
will encourage thorough reflection, so that each country may equip itself
with regulations that will protect the human person and his genetic inheritance,
while promoting basic research and research applied to the health of individuals.
6. It is not because of a specific scientific competence that the Magisterium
is concerned with the areas which are the subject of your research. The
very existence of the Academy is proof that the Church respects the autonomy
of scientific disciplines. Furthermore, "far from considering the conquests
of man's genius and courage as opposed to God's power [...] Christians ought
to be convinced that the achievements of the human race are a sign of God's
greatness and the fulfilment of his mysterious plan" (Second Vatican
Council, Gaudium et spes, n. 34). The Church intervenes only by virtue
of her Gospel mission: she has the duty to bring the light of Revelation
to human reason, to defend man and to watch over "his dignity as a
person who is endowed with a spiritual soul and with moral responsibility
and who is called to beatific communion with God" (Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith, Donum vitae, n. 1).
Since the human being is the issue, the problems go beyond the area of science,
which cannot take into account the transcendence of the subject nor lay
down moral norms deriving from the subject's central place and primordial
dignity in the universe. In this spirit, the work of ethics committees is
to be encouraged in order to help science evaluate the moral aspects of
research and to establish ethical conditions.
7. The topics you are discussing include that of alternative energy sources
for developing countries, which is a theme of great importance for humanity's
future and is being considered at a time when demographic issues are the
subject of serious debate. To foster the world's economic vitality, it is
important to take stock of realistic solutions to replace current resources,
which risk one day being depleted. The present generation more than any
other has the responsibility and the duty not to uselessly squander its
energy resources. Decisions in this area should also keep future generations
in mind. Our planet's energy resources are riches that should enable all
peoples to develop and to possess the material means for a dignified life,
by avoiding the creation of economic and ecological imbalances. These resources
must not be exploited by a small number of countries to the detriment of
others. Goods on the surface of our planet are unequally distributed. Solidarity
and sharing are indispensable for creating a fair relationship between
producer and consumer countries.
8. Together with the notion of "mathematical certainty", research
undertaken on "basic mathematical principles" has led to reconsidering
the epistemological methods mathematicians employ in order to respect the
demands of their science such as clarity, consistency, intellectual integrity
and trust in man's rational capacities. This reflection has created the
key concept of "artificial intelligence". However it should be
remembered that machines are but an instrument at man's service. Their "intelligence"
is limited, for they do not possess reason in the full sense of the term,
the reason that enables man to think like a creature to comprehend the good,
the true and the beautiful, to direct his life and to proceed towards his
end by voluntary action.
On this topic you have recalled the importance of studying the correlation
between the human brain and the electronic systems in the field of neuroscience
so that machines may compensate for a certain number of human deficiencies
and improve the quality of life for the handicapped. It is the greatness
of science to be especially at the service of our brothers and sisters who
are most in need of aid in order to lead a life that corresponds to their
nature and their incomparable dignity.
9. As we approach the 60th anniversary of the refoundation of this illustrious
institution by Pius XI, it can be asserted that it fulfils the functions
which were assigned to the scientists: appointed on the basis of their competence,
without ethnic or religious discrimination, they are called to act freely.
With concern for greater effectiveness, you have revised your internal regulations,
in order to fulfil more satisfactorily the role expressed in your statutes:
participation in scientific progress and a further development of the nature
of scientific knowledge.
At the end of our meeting, I would like to thank you for your contributions
to the Holy See on new and important issues that call for deeper knowledge.
In the tremendous progress of the contemporary world, it is the whole community's
task to be particularly careful to promote an integral humanism. At stake
is the very meaning of man. I entrust to the Most High your efforts and
your research which are always open to the demands of this humanism.
Text from
L'Osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition in English
9 November 1994
Scanning and formatting courtesy of
The Newman Center at Caltech