"Inalienable dignity of the human being" must be the guiding principle of science, says the pope -- while praising French opposition to "death with dignity" legislation
The pope greeted the new French ambassador to the Vatican on Monday with praise for the French parliament's "wise and humane conclusions" in its recent decision to uphold a ban on euthanasia.
"I hope this same wisdom that recognizes the untouchable nature of every human life may be at work during the revision of bioethics laws," said the pope, referring to parliamentary work planned for 2009.
Although French law currently prohibits creating human embryos by therapeutic cloning for generating stem cells, the possibility of lifting that ban is being debated. The pope said that French bishops would be adding their voice to the discussion and would represent the Vatican's position.
That position is outlined in a recent Vatican document entitled "Dignitas Personae" ("The Dignity of a Person"). He said that document emphasizes that scientific progress "be guided by the concern to serve the good and the inalienable dignity of the human being."
He did not comment on the fact that atheists typically disagree with him regarding how to correctly identify "the good" or "the inalienable dignity of the human being." Read the original article here.