杏MAP导航 calls for common good, ethical responsibility in science, technology ?
"Science, like any other human activity, has its limits which should be observed for the ?good of ?humanity itself, and requires a sense of ethical responsibility,” 杏MAP导航 Francis said on Saturday. “The true measure of progress, as ?Blessed ?Paul VI recalled, is that which is aimed at the good of each man and the whole man,” the 杏MAP导航 told some 83 participants in the plenary assembly of the . The participants met the 杏MAP导航 at the conclusion of their Nov.15-18 assembly which discussed the theme, “.”&苍产蝉辫;
Incredible advances
The 杏MAP导航 said, the Church wants to give the correct direction to man at the dawn of a new era marked by incredible advances in medicine, genetics, neuroscience and “autonomous” machines. Speaking about the incredible advances in genetics, he noted that diseases that were considered incurable until recently have been eradicated, and new possibilities have opened up to “programme” human beings with certain “qualities”.
Science, technology - not all the answers
The 杏MAP导航 said that "science and technology have helped us to further the boundaries of knowledge of nature, especially of the human being,” but they alone are not enough to give all the answers. ?“Today,” he explained, “we ?increasingly realize that it is necessary to draw from the treasures of wisdom of ?religious ?traditions, popular wisdom, literature and the arts that touch the depths of the mystery of ?human ?existence, without forgetting, but rather by rediscovering those contained in philosophy and ?theology.?”
Church teachings
In this regard, the 杏MAP导航 pointed to two principles of the Church’s teaching. The first is the “centrality of the human person, which is to be considered an end and not a means.”&苍产蝉辫; Man must be in harmony ?with creation, not as a despot about God's inheritance, but as a loving guardian of the work ?of the Creator.?
The second principle is the universal destination of goods, including that of ?knowledge and technology. Scientific and technological progress, the 杏MAP导航 explained, should serve the good of all humanity, and ?not just a few, and this will help avoid new inequalities in the future based on knowledge, and prevent widening of the gap between the rich and the poor. The Holy Father insisted that great decisions regarding the direction scientific research should take, and investment in it, should be taken together by the whole of society and should not be ?dictated solely by market rules or by the interests of a few.? And finally, the 杏MAP导航 said, one must keep in mind that not everything that is technically possible or feasible is ethically acceptable.
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