Catholics are being urged to support New Zealand’s under-funded hospices and palliative care services. Donating, volunteering in hospice shops and asking members of Parliament and the Government to make palliative care a priority are some options. NZ Catholic Bishops Conference Secretary, Bishop Stephen Lowe, says hospices provide a free service to 20,000 palliative care patients Read more
There is speculation an encyclical focused on contraception, assisted procreation and palliative care from Pope Francis is imminent. The speculation comes from a late-2021 three-day seminar convened at the Vatican by the Pontifical Academy for Life. An essay titled “Rileggere l’etica teologica della vita” (“Re-reading the theological ethics of life”) was published on June 30 Read more
After scientists successfully grew mouse embryos in an artificial uterus, ethicists are warning against any future extension of the human embryo experiments. On March 17, scientists reported that they had taken fertilized eggs of mice and grew mouse embryos in an artificial uterus for 11 to 12 days. This was longer than had ever been Read more
In a written statement covering a range of ethical concerns, the French bishops permanent council urges Catholics to express their opposition to changes to France’s bioethics laws. The proposed reforms have just passed the National Assembly on first reading and should be passed into law by early next year. They will allow assisted procreation to Read more
France’s Catholic bishops are planning to open their plenary assembly to lay participation. They made the decision following the passage of a controversial bioethics law despite mass church-backed opposition. Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort who is the French Catholic Bishops’ Conference president, “wants to change how our plenaries function and highlight themes common to both church Read more
Professor Olaf Diegel is a New Zealander who returned this year to take up a new role as head of the Creative Design and Additive Manufacturing Laboratory at the University of Auckland. The purpose of the lab – a $10 million joint venture between the University and government – is to get New Zealand industry using 3D Read more
Proposals to offer fertility treatment to lesbian couples and single women would harm society by removing fatherhood from the lives of children say French bishops. France’s highest bioethics body, the National Consultative Ethics Committee (CCNE), sees the issue differently. Under the current law, technologies such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and artificial insemination are restricted Read more
Psychiatrists who go against the liberal interpretation of Belgium’s euthanasia laws are being derided as inhumane and lacking empathy for those facing unbearable suffering. Dr Willem Lemmens, who is a bioethicist, spoke out last weekend after a symposium which looked at the ethics surrounding suicide and euthanasia, psychiatry and mental health care. “In just a few Read more
Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster has warned Catholic teachers not to let gender ideology confuse their students. Nichols says children will find their “greatest joy” by accepting their biological sex rather than selecting a gender of their choice. They are not “single, self-determining individuals,” Nichols told the teachers. “At a time of great confusion about Read more
The international line-up of new Pontifical Academy of Life appointments include clergy and lay advisors from countries as diverse as Australia, Ukraine, Congo, Japan and Sweden. The 45 mainly male appointees include several former members as well as new ones. Experts chosen by Pope Francis for the Academy (which is his bioethics advisory board) include: Read more