Papal discourse to participants Pontifical Academy for life

(Feb26 2011) Addressing the Plenary Assembly of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for life, Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI highlighted the psychic distress experienced by women who have had recourse to voluntary abortion. It was a grave offense to the moral conscience, because voluntary abortion betrayed the innate vocation of humanity to work for the good of the human being. He lamented also the attitude of husbands who sometimes left their pregnant wives alone. The Holy Father stressed the truth that the moral conscience was not something exterior nor was it a prerogative of believers but was an integral element of every human person. In moral conscience the Creator God calls all to defend life at every stage. Doctors in particular had to expose the deception of conscience by those who have recourse to abortion because of motives related to family, economic, social, problems or the health of the child. Sometimes doctors seconded abortion on the excuse of therapeutic reasons or to save the child, family and society of problems. On the contrary they as well as society in general were obliged to ensure the solidarity needed by pregnant women to solve the apparent problems that assail them. The solidarity of the Christian community above all had to be mobilised to help those in difficulty to overcome their fears. The pope went on to speak of the moral conscience of researchers who preserved umbilical cords for clinical purposes and for research, which had to be ethical and oriented towards the common good. The Holy Father praised the generosity of those who donated such umbilical cords for research purposes