Vatican Instruction on Bioethics Released

(13 Dec 08 - RV) Dignitas Personae, the Vatican’s new instruction on bioethics released yesterday, has been welcomed by Catholics worldwide for its guidance on issues of procreation and medical research. Centred on the fact that humans are not mere biological organisms, the document has provoked widespread debate in the international press, above all for its support of scientific research as long as that research respects the dignity of life.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien of Edinburgh, Scotland, a tireless campaigner for the right to life, spoke to Emer McCarthy.
He welcomed the document by calling for a moral and ethical renaissance in the world of scientific research.