Addressing participants in a Vatican conference on regenerative medicine, Pope Francis said: “It is fundamentally important that we promote greater empathy in society. We know that we cannot always find fast cures to complex illnesses, but we can be prompt in caring for these people, who often feel abandoned and ignored. We should be sensitive towards all, regardless of religious belief, social standing or culture.
“Research, whether in academia or industry, requires unwavering attention to moral issues if it is to be an instrument that safeguards human life and the dignity of the person. Formation and research, therefore, aspire to serve higher values, such as solidarity, generosity, magnanimity, sharing of knowledge, respect for human life, and fraternal and selfless love.
“In Evangelii Gaudium I highlighted the value of human progress today, citing areas such as healthcare, education and communications. I also strongly emphasised, however, the need to oppose an economy of exclusion and inequality that victimises people when the mechanism of profit prevails over the value of human life. This is why the globalisation of indifference must be countered by the globalisation of empathy.”
Migrant crisis linked to selfish culture
Mgr Duarte da Cunha, general secretary of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, said: “Only if we love and welcome the other person with love, will we receive love in return. If we are afraid and we defend ourselves, the reaction will be one of challenge and tension.
“What is happening in Europe today, the increasing closures, the mounting walls and fears, are the result of a past in which people have been taught to be consumerist, selfish and individualistic. We cannot expect a culture of values after having promoted a form of education without values for years.”
Pope Francis’s prayer intentions for May
Pope Francis’ universal intention for May is: ‘That in every country in the world, women may be honoured and respected and that their essential contribution to society may be highly esteemed.’
His intention for evangelisation is: ‘That families, communities, and groups may pray the Holy Rosary for evangelisation and peace.’
Jesuit peace activist dies
Fr Daniel Berrigan, a Jesuit activist for peace and justice and an early critic of US military intervention in Vietnam, died on April 30 aged 94.
He was one of the most controversial figures in the 20th-century US Church. Berrigan, along with his late brother, Philip, burned draft files and hammered on nuclear weapons components, in acts of resistance to US militarism. The Berrigan brothers’ acts of non-violent protest led a nation of Catholics, and millions of others, to both loath and love the brothers, who together made the cover of Time magazine in 1971 for their work in opposition to the Vietnam War. He was also sentenced to prison on several occasions.
Nichol on Polish anti-abortion campaign
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, has spoken in support of the Polish bishops’ campaign against abortion.
In his homily at a Mass marking the 1,050th anniversary of the baptism of Poland, he said: “Some argue that abortion can be a right in conscience. This cannot be so because abortion is always the destruction of innocent life.”
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)