Catholic Teaching On The Morality Of Euthanasia

For centuries the Roman Catholic Church has been concerned with the moral implications of medical practice. Indeed, until two decades ago, Catholic moral theologians were the major source of moral guidance, scholarly reflection and teaching on a variety of medical-moral topics, particularly those bearing on human life. Many, not only those within the Catholic communion, turned to the Church for guidance as each new possibility for altering the conditions of human life posed new challenges to long held moral values. Two decades ago, the center of gravity of ethical reflection shifted sharply from theologians and Christian philosophers to more secular thinkers. A confluence of forces was responsible for this metamorphosi- an exponential rate of increase in medical technologies, expanded education of the public, the growth of participatory democracy, the entry of courts and legislation into what had previously been private matters, the trend of morality towards pluralism and individual freedom and the depreciation of church and religious doctrines generally. Most significant was the entry of professional philosophers into the debate, for the first time. It is a curious paradox that, until the mid-sixties, professional philosophers largely ignored medical ethics. Today they are the most influential shapers of public and professional opinion.

Modern medicine has unprecedented power to heal human beings of physical and mental disease, to keep them health, and even to improve the human race. This power can be used to humanize life or to dehumanize and destroy it. It can be used justly to benefit all, or it can be used to benefit the few at the expense of the many. How to use such power is a question of values and, therefore, of individual and group decisions which are not merely technical but ethical. Two reasons have induced us to add to the already extensive literature on medical-ethical and bioethical topics. First, too much of this literature focuses on a few controversial but sometimes minor topics, while neglecting the broader and major issues affecting human health and the health care professions. Second, we want to assist Christian, and especially Catholic, health care professionals and health care facilities faced with the difficult and often puzzling responsibility of giving witness to a long tradition of humanistic health care, while working with other professionals and government agencies committed to diverse value systems. -from Introduction.

A practical guide for Catholics through the controversial field of bioethics Lay people today need to be as educated as possible in catholic teaching in bioethics due to their huge civic responsibilities related to the burning issues of our time such as euthanasia, prenatal genetic diagnosis, and so forth. We read about these issues constantly in the newspapers and see them reported on TV. It can be difficult to keep up to date with developments in these areas, at the same time as staying informed about church teaching regarding them. Bioethics Matters is an essential resource for Catholics who are dealing with these medical and end-of -life issues. This succinct guide clearly sets out catholic teaching on today's most debated issues: stem cell research, reproductive technologies, euthanasia, and much more. By presenting real-life situations, this guide provides readers with examples of catholic ethical decision making in action. The purpose is to show how catholic teaching can help people today navigate their way through tough decisions and choices. The book is divided in to four parts Part 1: Bioethics from a Roman Catholic perspective Part 2: Reproductive technologies Part 3: End-of-life issues Part 4: Catholic teaching on living life until the end

Evangelium Vitae, or "The Gospel of Life," Pope John Paul II's 1995 encyclical, addresses practical and moral questions that touch on the sacredness of human life: abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide, and capital punishment. In this book, scholars from a wide range of disciplines--law, medicine, philosophy, and theology--and from various religious perspectives discuss and interpret the Pope's teachings on these complex moral issues.