Vatican City, Feb 14, 2010 / 17:57 pm
On Saturday Pope Benedict XVI addressed members of the Pontifical Academy for Life on the occasion of their general assembly. He emphasized to the group that human dignity must be protected as an "inalienable right" and that ethical decisions cannot be left solely to the State, which is subject to "relativistic drift."
The theme of this year's general assembly was "Bioethics and Natural Law," for which the Holy Father offered his own reflections. He spoke to the academy members in the Clementine Room in the Apostolic Palace.
When we speak of bioethics, said the Pope, the "dignity of the person" is often put at the forefront of the discussion. This is "a fundamental principle that the faith in Jesus Christ, Crucified and Risen, has always defended, especially when it is disregarded towards the simplest and most vulnerable subjects."
Benedict XVI called the right to recognition of human dignity "inalienable"and added that its establishment is not "written by the hand of man, but... by God the Creator in the heart of man."