Human embryos deserve the same protection as all other human beings
Human embryos deserve the same protection as all other human beings, Pope Benedict XVI told an audience of scholars on February 27, participants in a conference on the human embryo, organized by the Pontifical Academy for Life.
"The love of God does not distinguish between the newly-conceived infant still in its mother's womb, the baby, the youth, the grown adult or the elderly, because in each of them He sees the sign of His own image and likeness."
The Vatican conference has drawn over 300 experts from around the world to discuss the status of the human embryo prior to implantation in the mother's womb. The Pope acknowledged that the topic is "fascinating but difficult," involving both scientific data and fundamental about the nature of the human person.
However, the Pope observed, the Bible gives clear guidance on the
question, pointing to "the love of God toward all human beings, even before they take form in the mother's womb." God's love, the Pontiff continued, is not conditional, nor is it based on the personal traits of the individual. Every human person, regardless of condition or state in life, bears the image of God. "Human life is a good thing, always and definitively," he insisted.
The nature of life remains a "profound and impenetrable enigma," the Pope said. Science can continue to shed more light on that mystery, he continued, and even furnish stronger grounds for belief. The Holy Father observed that "those who love truth must be aware that research into such profound themes puts us in the position of seeing and almost touching the hand of God."
"The love of God does not distinguish between the newly-conceived infant still in its mother's womb, the baby, the youth, the grown adult or the elderly, because in each of them He sees the sign of His own image and likeness."
The Vatican conference has drawn over 300 experts from around the world to discuss the status of the human embryo prior to implantation in the mother's womb. The Pope acknowledged that the topic is "fascinating but difficult," involving both scientific data and fundamental about the nature of the human person.
However, the Pope observed, the Bible gives clear guidance on the
question, pointing to "the love of God toward all human beings, even before they take form in the mother's womb." God's love, the Pontiff continued, is not conditional, nor is it based on the personal traits of the individual. Every human person, regardless of condition or state in life, bears the image of God. "Human life is a good thing, always and definitively," he insisted.
The nature of life remains a "profound and impenetrable enigma," the Pope said. Science can continue to shed more light on that mystery, he continued, and even furnish stronger grounds for belief. The Holy Father observed that "those who love truth must be aware that research into such profound themes puts us in the position of seeing and almost touching the hand of God."
posted by Editors of Pauline Books and Media at 9:30 AM
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