Pope Benedicts Talks Anglicans and Bioethics(FULL TEXT)

A small article here on it at Pope Defends Outreach to Anglicans

He also talked about other matters. Here is the full text that has been translated on this page. I will post in full below.



Eminent Cardinals,
Venerated brothers in the episcopate and priesthood,
Dearest lay collaborators:

It is with great joy that I meet with you on the occasion of your Plenary Assembly and to manifest my sentiments of profound recognition and sincere appreciation for the work that you carry out in service to the Successor of Peter, in his ministry to confirm his brothers in the faith (cfr Lk 22,32).

I thank Cardinal William Joseph Levada for his opening remarks, in which he summarized the topics that currently engage the Congregation, along with the new responsibilities laid on him by the Motu Proprio Ecclesiae Unitatem which unites the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei to the dicastery.

I would like to dwell briefly, Your Eminence, on some aspects that you cited. First of all, I wish to underscore how much your Congregation is part of the ministry of unity which is entrusted in a special way to the Roman Pontiff through his commitment to doctrinal fidelity. Unity is, in fact, primarily unity of faith, sustained by the sacred deposit of which the Successor of Peter is the first guardian and defender.

To confirm our brothers in the faith, keeping them united in their confession to Christ who was crucified and resurrected, constitutes for him who sits on Peter's Chair the first and fundamental task conferred by Jesus. It is an indispensable service on which the efficacy of the evangelizing action of the Church depends until the end of time.

The Bishop of Rome, in whose potestas docendi [teaching authority] your congregation participates, must constantly proclaim, 'Dominus Iesus' - Jesus is the Lord. Indeed, the potestas docendi carries with it obedience to the faith, so that the Truth that Christ is, may continue to shine forth in all its greatness and to resonate in all men in its integrity adn purity so that there may be one flock gathered together around the one Shepherd.

Arriving at a common testimonial to faith by all Christians thus constitutes the priority of the Church in every age, in order to lead all men to an encounter with God.

In this spirit, I have particular confidence in the dicastery's commitment to overcome the doctrinal problems that remain before the Fraternity of St. Pius X can return to full communion with the Church.

I also wish to express my joy for the efforts towards a full integration of groups of faithful or individuals, once belonging to Anglicanism, into the life of the Catholic Church according to the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus. The faithful adherence of these groups to the truths received from Christ and proposed by the Church Magisterium is not in an way opposed to the ecumenical movement, but rather, it shows her ultimate aim to achieve full and visible communion among the disciples of the Lord. In the valuable service that you render to the Vicar of Christ, I must also recall that in September 2006, the Congregation published the Instruction Dignitas Personae on some bioethical questions.

After the encyclical Evangelium Vitae by the Venerable Servant of God John Paul II in March 1995, this doctrinal document, centered on the theme of the dignity of the person created in Christ and for Christ, represents a new milestone in the announcement of the Gospel, in full continuity with the Instruction Donum Vitaepublished by the dicastery in February 1987.

In sensitive current issues such as those that have to do with procreation and new therapeutic options that involve manipulation of the embryo and of the human genetic patrimony, the Instruction is a reminder that "the ethical value of biomedical science can be measured with respect to its unconditional respect that is due to every human being during his entire existence, as well as with the protection of the specificity of personal acts that transmit life" (Istr. Dignitas personae, n. 10).

In this way, the Magisterium of the Church intends to offer its own contribution to the formation of consciences not only of believers, but also of all who seek the truth and are willing to listen to arguments that come from the faith as well as from reason itself. Indeed, the Church, in proposing a moral evaluation of biomedical research on human life, draws from the light of reason as well as of faith (cfr Ibid., n. 3), in its conviction that "anything human is not only welcomed and respected by the faith but is also purified, uplifted and perfected by it" (Ibid., No. 7).

In this context, this is also a response to the widespread mentality that faith is an obstacle to freedom and scientific research because it is said to be made up of an ensemble of prejudices that would undermine an objective understanding of reality.

In the face of such an attitude, which tends to replace truth with consensus - fragile and easily manipulated - the Christian faith offers a veritable contribution even in the ethical-philosophical field, not by furnishing pre-constituted solutions to concrete problems, such as biomedical research and experimentation, but by proposing reliable moral perspectives within which human reason can seek and find valid solutions.

Indeed, there are specific contents of the Christian revelation that cast light on bioethical problems: the value of human life, the relational and social dimension of the individual, the connection between the unitive and procreative aspects of sexuality, the centrality of the family based on matrimony between a man and a woman.

These contents, written in the heart of man, are rationally understandable as elements of the natural moral law which can find acceptance even by those who do not share the Christian faith. Natural moral law is not exclusively or predominantly confessional, even if Christian Revelation and the fulfillment of man in the mystery of Christ illuminates and develops the doctrine fully. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, natural law shows "the first and essential precepts which govern the moral life" (No. 1955).

Based on human nature itself and accessible to every rational creature, the natural moral law constitutes the basis for entering into dialog with all men who are searching for the truth, and more generally, with civilian and secular society.

This law, written in the heart of every man, touches one of the essential points of any reflection on the law and equally interpellates both the conscience and the responsibility of legislators. In encouraging you to proceed in your demanding and important service, I wish to express once more my spiritual nearness, imparting to all of you, in affection and gratitude, the Apostolic Blessing.