(20 Oct 08 - RV) Pope Benedict XVI spoke to a group of Italian surgeons on Monday
about the dignity of their patients. We have this report...
VATICAN CITY,
20 OCT 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, the Pope received participants in the national
congress of the Italian Surgical Society, who are meeting to consider the theme: "Towards
a Surgery that Respects the Sick". After highlighting how, in the past, it was
possible only to alleviate the suffering of the sick, whereas today, thanks to the
advances of science and technology, it is possible to cure them, the Holy Father called
attention to the risk of "abandoning patients at the moment in which it is felt impossible
to obtain appreciable results". Although it may no longer be possible to hope for
a cure, "that person's suffering can be relieved", because patients "have a dignity
which must be honoured, and which constitutes the necessary foundation of all medical
activity. Respect for human dignity, in fact, requires unconditional respect for each
individual human being, born or unborn, healthy or sick, whatever their condition
may be". The Pope referred to the importance of doctors discovering "the most appropriate
means to communicate with each patient. Such means of communication, while respecting
the truth of the facts, will aim to sustain hope which is an essential element of
therapy. ... Patients want to be listened to, not just subjected to sophisticated
diagnoses". "On the one hand, it is undeniable that the will of the patient must
be respected, without forgetting, however, that the individualistic exaltation of
autonomy leads to an unrealistic, and certainly impoverished, reading of human reality.
On the other hand, the professional responsibility of doctors must bring them to suggest
treatments that aim at the true good of patients, with an awareness that their specific
competencies generally make them better capable of evaluating the situation than the
patients themselves". Benedict XVI concluded by stressing the need "to promote
a sense of responsibility among family members towards their sick relative. This is
an important factor in order to avoid increasing the sense of alienation that a person
inevitably suffers if entrusted to a form of medical care that is highly technological
but lacks sufficient human sentiment". AC/HUMAN DIGNITY ILLNESS/... VIS 081020
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