Vatican City, Feb 23, 2009 / 21:30 pm
On Saturday the Holy Father met with participants of a congress titled, “New frontiers of genetics and the dangers of eugenics." In his address, the Pontiff cautioned against the threat of eugenics and encouraged his audience to love those often rejected by society.
Speaking to a congress sponsored by the Pontifical Academy for Life on the occasion of its 25th general assembly, Pope Benedict first praised the scientific progress made in the world of health, and then discussed “genetic reductionism,” a term which refers to identifying “individuals exclusively in terms of genetic information and its interaction with the environment.”
Through the collaboration among the various branches of science, said Pope Benedict, it is possible to avoid the risk of genetic reductionism. He also stressed that man will always be greater than his genetic information and his interactions. “He has, in fact, the power of thought which always tends towards the truth about himself and the world."
"Each human being, then, is much more than an individual combination of genetic information transmitted by his or her parents,” he said. “The arrival of a new person into the world is always a new creation.”