Hajja Salesjana

Photo by Joanthan Borba on Unsplash.com Pope Francis has told a group of Catholic doctors that "playing with life" in ways like abortion and euthanasia is sinful, and he stressed that each human life, no matter the condition, is sacred. "We are living in a time of experimentation with life. But a bad experiment… (we're) playing with life," the Pope told an audience of 4,000 Catholic doctors gathered in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall on the 15th Nov. 2014. "Be careful, because this is a sin against the Creator: against God the Creator." Pope Francis offered his words in an address given to members of the Italian Catholic Doctors Association in celebration of their 70th anniversary. He recalled that many times in his years as a priest he heard people object to the Church's position on life issues, specifically asking why the Church is against abortion. After explaining to the inquirer that the Church is not against abortion because it is simply a religious or philosophical issue, he said it's also because abortion "is a scientific problem, because there is a human life and it's not lawful to take a human life to solve a problem." Regardless of the many objections he has heard saying that modern thought has evolved on the issue, the Pope stressed that "in ancient thought and in modern thought, the word 'kill' means the same!" "(And) the same goes for euthanasia," he explained, observing that as a result of "this culture of waste, a hidden euthanasia is practiced on the elderly." This, he said, is like telling God: "'at the end of life I do it, like I want.' It's a sin against God. Think well about this." The belief that abortion is helpful for women, that euthanasia is "an act of dignity," or that it's "a scientific breakthrough to 'produce' a child (who is) considered a right instead of accepted as a gift" are all part of conventional wisdom that offers a false sense of compassion, he said. And this includes "(the) use of human life as laboratory mice supposedly to save others," the Pope continued, saying that on the contrary, the Gospel provides a true image of compassion in the figure of the Good Samaritan, who sees a man suffering, has mercy on him, goes close and offers concrete help. This speech was delivered by the Pope some years back but it is just as valid today as it was then, particularly presently in Malta as abortion looms on our horizon … Pope Francis blasts abortion and euthanasia as sins against God by Elise Harris 8 Jannar-Marzu 2023 hajja