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AIDS report faulted
Church leaders seek moral approach
The Vatican mission to the United Nations joined with Muslim nations in opposition to some proposed details of a proposed UN campaign against AIDS, complaining that the approach would offer legitimacy to homosexual activist groups. The Vatican—which has “permanent observer” status at the UN—eventually dropped its opposition to a compromise document that eliminated the most controversial aspects of the earlier proposal.
Representatives of the Holy See found themselves in an unlikely alliance with countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Syria, and Libya in opposition to some proposals contained in an AIDS-prevention plan. That plan had been sponsored by delegates from Australia, Western Europe, and North America. The proposed UN policy, which had the backing of Secretary General Kofi Annan, would have committed the international body to spend over $9 billion annually in programs to fight AIDS, with a heavy emphasis on the distribution of condoms.
Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragan, speaking for the Vatican delegation, explained the Church’s position: “The debate is not simply a question of Yes or No regarding condoms. There are more complex reasons at stake: the moral principles that our world has lost, the sense of life as sacred, the sense of sexuality itself as sacred.”
In a strongly worded message to Kofi Annan, Pope John Paul II insisted that international efforts to combat the spread of AIDS must include efforts to restore moral principles. “The fearsome spread of AIDS is inscribed in a social world marked by a serious crisis of values,” the Pope wrote. The international community “cannot ignore its moral responsibility” to fight the disease effectively, he said.
Recognizing that the spread of AIDS “undoubtedly represents one of the greatest catastrophes of our time, in particular for Africa,” the Holy Father stressed that the solution to the disease must include “a constructive vision of the dignity of man.” He said that educational efforts, aimed to help young people attain “responsible emotional maturity,” would be the most effective method of preventing the spread of the disease.
At the special UN discussion on the subject in New York, Archbishop Lozano Barragan offered some alternatives to the draft proposals. The Vatican representative introduced his remarks by pointing out that 25 percent of the people caring for AIDS victims around the world today are affiliated with the Catholic Church. Thus the Church can rightly claim both expertise and standing, having demonstrated her commitment to the cause of fighting AIDS. He also stressed the seriousness of the epidemic, which has already killed 22 million people and now infects at least 100 million more.
The archbishop observed that the struggle against AIDS requires both prevention and treatment. While both are important, he continued, “it is better to prevent than to cure.” And in the prevention of AIDS, “the most effective form is education in the true principles of life, love, and sex.”
“It cannot have escaped anyone that sexual liberty increases the risk of infection,” Archbishop Lozano noted. The first step, therefore, should be an effort to encourage marital chastity.
Papal thanks to Cardinal Ratzinger
Prelate praised on 50th anniversary
Pope John Paul II offered a message of public thanks to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger for his “humility and self-denial” in service to the Church. The statement was issued as the German-born cardinal prepared to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination on June 29.
Cardinal Ratzinger has served for 20 years as one of the Pope’s closest collaborators, in his office as prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It is an open secret in Rome that Cardinal Ratzinger has offered his resignation, only to have the Pope ask him to continue in his current capacity.
Pope John Paul became acquainted with the German prelate in 1977, at a meeting of the Bishops’ Synod. The two men —both recognized as theologians of the first rank—quickly became friends and collaborators. In 1981 the Holy Father called Ratzinger from Munich to lead the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In that capacity he supervised the production of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and meets weekly with the Pontiff to discuss theological concerns.
The Pope’s message commented on the characteristics that have made Cardinal Ratzinger so effective in serving the Holy See: “a personal holiness driven to the ultimate sacrifice, a missionary thrust linked with the constant concern for unity, and the necessary integration between spiritual charism and institutional ministry.”
Obstetricians must uphold conscience
Pope sees danger of discrimination
In an address to a group of Catholic gynecologists and obstetricians, Pope John Paul II deplored the fact that many medical professionals are put under pressure to violate their consciences, particularly on matters such as abortion and artificial fertilization.
The Pope made his remarks to participants in a congress organized by the Pontifical Council for Health Care, on the future of obstetrics and gynecology. The 140 doctors who gathered in Rome for the meeting, coming from 40 different countries, had reported a troubling trend toward discrimination against Christian doctors. The meeting had also heard that—probably as a result of that discrimination—the number of Catholic doctors in the field has been shrinking.
“You are reflecting on your future in the light of the fundamental right to medical training and practice according to conscience,” the Holy Father told the group. He observed that in the past, Christian doctors were guided by professional standards that recognized Christian moral law. “But this has now changed profoundly,” he said.
The Pope said that doctors must adhere to their own moral code, and protect human life and human dignity regardless of the pressures that are placed upon them. When they are put under unacceptable pressures, he continued, they should refuse to cooperate in immoral acts. The solution, he said, could be “the path of conscientious objection, which ought to be respected by all, especially legislators.”
The Pontifical Council for Health Care had convened the doctors to discuss a problem which, organizers pointed out, has been growing for 40 years, since the introduction of artificial contraceptives. The trend toward artificial fertilization, accompanied by the legalization of abortion in many countries, has exacerbated the ethical problems that Catholic doctors face, the Council observed.
Lay groups must foster unity
Caution against “clericalization”
As he presided at the opening Mass for a meeting of leaders of lay movements, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos urged the members of those movements to commit themselves to unity—between each other and with the hierarchy of the Church.
The prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy was speaking to the 10th annual meeting of lay movements, organized by the Focolare movement, and concentrating this year on the role played by those movements in the “new evangelization.”
Only if they work in union with the Church, Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos said, can the newly emerging lay movements be effective in “defending the principles on which man’s future depends.” This unity must be “practical rather than merely emotional,” he added, and it must recognize the role of the Pope as a focus of Church unity.
The Colombian-born prelate also emphasized the need for proper spiritual formation of laymen. And he asked for lay leadership in the struggle to preserve the dignity of human life. He pointed to the “greater and greater danger” that looms over the value of life because of “a utilitarian culture steeped in a mania of efficiency, under the pretext of a false conception of freedom.”
The meeting—which brought over 1,000 participants to Castelgandalfo, just outside Rome—also heard addresses by Cardinal James F. Stafford, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity; and Cardinal François Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. And in his own message to the conference, Pope John Paul II cautioned against the “clericalization” of lay initiatives.
In his message, released by the Pontifical Council for the Laity on June 27, the Holy Father said that priests are naturally attracted by the charisms and vigor of new lay movements, and should help the lay participants to “mature in a fervent Christian life and especially in a true sensus ecclesiae.” However, he warned, “it would be a grave loss if we were to move toward a ‘clericalization’ of movements.” He explained that the lay initiatives should retain their own distinctive characters, guided by a lay mentality, rather than being swallowed up in the clerical culture.
Another year in the black
Footnote: no salary for the Pope
During the financial year 2000, the Holy See showed a budget surplus for the eighth consecutive year.
Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani, the president of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs of the Holy See, briefed reporters on July 6 regarding the annual budget figures. He pointed to a $8.5 million overall surplus—a figure 70 percent higher than the surplus for the 1999 fiscal year.
The expenses of the Holy See were up markedly in 2000 because of special expenses associated with the Jubilee year. There were 70 new employees hired for the Jubilee activities, and net costs were up by $26.4 million. But receipts were also much higher—by $30.8 million—and favorable economic conditions also helped to keep the Vatican in black ink, by producing healthy returns on investments.
Profitable investments offset the budget deficits of the Roman Curia, and the Vatican’s organs of communications—which, by their nature, always operate at a loss. Cardinal Sebastiani pointed out that the communications activities of the Holy See performed at far above their usual rate during the Jubilee; Vatican Radio, for example, broadcast 24,000 hours of programming in 60 different languages.
Because of the complicated financial arrangements of the Vatican, the figures for the Holy See do not include all expenses or receipts. The Vatican city-state maintains its own financial accounts, which also showed a surplus for the year. The budget of the city-state showed some relief from the previous year, since many building and renovation projects associated with the Jubilee were entered into the budget for 1999. Also, the Peter’s Pence collection brought in $63.6 million in contributions. These funds are used at the discretion of the Pope to help people or dioceses in particular need, because of natural disasters or other emergencies.
A strange footnote on the Vatican budget emerged when a reporter asked Cardinal Sebastiani how much Pope John Paul II draws in personal salary. Obviously taken off guard by the question, the cardinal said that he did not know the answer, but assumed that the Pope must be paid, “just like everyone else.”
But in a comment to the press on July 7, papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said: “John Paul II is not aware of—and never has been aware of—any provisions for payment.” He explained that “the relevant agencies of the Holy See provide for the daily needs and activities of the Pope.” Navarro-Valls added that money donated to the Pope is “devoted to the needs of the Church, respectful of the intentions of the donors.”
Globalization vs. globalism
Distinction between a process and an ideology
The “new economy” poses unique challenges for Catholic social teaching to which the Church must respond, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace argues.
Cardinal François Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân offered his thoughts in an essay published by the Lateran University, and reprinted in abridged form by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano. He defined his subject by saying that the “new economy” refers to “the stage of economic development at which new information technologies play a fundamental role,” and form a new and flexible system of enterprise which almost “eliminates the notions of time and space.”
The new global economy offers enormous opportunities, the cardinal noted. But it also has produced, in practice, “the multiplication of situations of unemployment, marginalization, and extreme insecurity in the workplace.” Moreover, the exploitation of information technology can allow people to “make their living through financial speculation, breaking the traditional tie between work and wealth.” And the isolation of individuals at their computer screens has detracted from the social interaction of the marketplace.
All these changes, Cardinal Nguyên said, pose a challenge to the Church, and call for a new response that will entail a new development of Catholic social teachings. The fundamental principles of Church teaching will not change, he emphasized. The new challenge is to explain how the “new economy” can serve mankind, rather than having man serve the economy.
The Vietnamese-born prelate went on to distinguish between the globalization of the economy, which is a natural development, and “globalism, which is an ideology, and which can be reduced to speculation and profit.” The distinction, he contended, is similar to the distinction made by Pope John Paul II, in Centesimus Annus, between capitalism as a marketplace system and capitalism as an ideology.
A key challenge of the new global economy, the cardinal said, is to convince wealthy nations, corporations, and individuals that they should use their resources to help the poor, and cooperate in promoting the common good. In particular he stressed the need for wealthy nations to “transfer knowledge and technology to the poor countries, to address their real needs.”
Orthodox delegates join in celebration
Annual exchange for patronal feast
On Friday, June 29, Pope John Paul II formally welcomed a delegation from the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople, which had come to participate in the celebration of the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul.
The Orthodox delegation was led by Metropolitan Jeremias of France and Archbishop Dimitrios of the United States. Orthodox prelates now participate annually in the Vatican celebration of this feast day, while the Holy See sends a similar delegation to Constantinople for the feast of St. Andrew, the patron of that see.
The Pope, in his welcoming remarks to the Orthodox leaders, stressed the common mission of the Church in East and West, and asked for an “intensification” of theological discussions aimed at “clarifying the issues that remain contentious” for Catholics and Orthodox.
Cautious support for new research
Animal-human transplants raise new ethical questions
Pope John Paul II has given a cautious and conditional green light to research on the possible transplantation of organs from animals to humans.
The Pope delivered a message to a conference on the subject of animal-to-human transplants, organized by the Pontifical Academy for Life. He encouraged research on that possibility, pointing out that such transplants could possibly “solve the problem of the serious lack of human organs for transplants.” Many people die while awaiting an organ transplant, he pointed out, and if the use of animal organs could help them, that would be a useful medical breakthrough.
In the past the Holy Father has been supportive of organ transplants, while he has been careful to emphasize that the transplants must be accomplished by ethical means. In practice, the most important ethical questions raised by transplants have been the need to ensure that the donor is treated with dignity and to discourage commercialization of the traffic in human organs.
However, the Pontiff cautioned that “giving animal organs and tissues to man through transplants involves serious new problems,” both medical and ethical. To date, efforts at such transplants have proven unavailing, and the research suggests a real danger of viral infection if transplants are attempted.
The Pope said that the scientific research in this field should always be motivated by concern for the common good. He added that the Church always favors pure research, and that the alliance between science and ethics should enrich both fields.
Tourism, good and bad
“Aberrant” forms involve exploitation
In his official message for the 22nd World Day of Tourism, released by the Vatican in June, Pope John Paul II condemned “aberrant” forms of tourism such as sexual tourism and “sophisticated exoticism.”
The World Day of Tourism, an observance begun by the World Tourism Organization, is observed on September 27. Pope John Paul had sent an annual telegram to the United Nations on the day of the observance, until last year, when—in honor of the Jubilee—he issued a longer message. This year he followed up with another substantial statement, released well in advance of the date.
The Pope suggested that his message could be used as “an invitation to reflect upon the contribution that tourism can make to the dialogue between civilizations.” This purpose is served, he said, when the tourism is “authentic” and respectful of both the travelers and those whose society they visit. When tourism conforms to that model, he said, it is a great service to the cause of world peace, advancing mutual understanding and recognizing human dignity.
However, tourism can also be deformed in various ways, the Pope pointed out. The experience becomes unhealthy when the traveler sees his trip as an occasion for a “vacation from principles.” It is also wrong when religious rituals or the rites of primitive civilizations are viewed as commercial opportunities. And some communities deliberately cut themselves off from society in order to achieve that “superficial exoticism” that appeals to some tourists seeking a new thrill. Under any such circumstances, the Pope wrote, “mass tourism has produced a kind of subculture that degrades both the tourists and the host community.”
Vatican paper marks 140th anniversary
Special edition recalls journalistic history
The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano published a special edition on July 1 to mark its 140th anniversary.
Established at the prompting of Pope Pius IX in 1861, at a time of political ferment in Italy, L’Osservatore Romano was first edited outside the Vatican, and connected with the papacy only in its editorial sympathies. In 1885 Pope Leo XIII acquired the paper, making it “the voice of the Pope.” In a congratulatory message printed in the July 1 issue, Pope John Paul II writes of the paper’s “long path of service to the cause of the Gospel and of the Holy See.”
The special commemorative issue, printed in color on oversized stock, provides a 30-page history of L’Osservatore Romano, illustrating some of the high points of the paper’s history with reproductions of the front pages from the historic dates in question.
Back to Catholic World Report August/September 2001 Table of Contents