| Introduction
The education in contemporary biomedical ethics 1 (i.e. bioethics) refers to a widespread and complicated phenomenon, which has accompanied the rise and development of bioethics since its earliest stages. The bioethics, which emerged in sixties and seventies of the previous century as a kind of self-established "interdisciplinary discipline", and as a social movement and advocacy. Soon it has claimed to itself the competence and mission to deal with some of the most crucial ethical quandaries the mankind is faced with, when making its way forward to and within the challenges of the scientific and technical/technological progress in medicine, biology and other life sciences of the past and the present century &endash; and millennium.2
The bioethics institutes, centres, various commissions, boards, working groups, publications, journals, etc., mushroomed world-wide, as the challenges posed by the developments in medicine, biology and other life sciences, and by the necessary, sometimes far-reaching decisions to be taken, found the (post) modern mankind unprepared, fragile, unsafe, confused and sometimes anxious. The fragmentation and decomposition of the traditional tenets of "academic" ethics and popular morals, including the marginalisation and near expulsion of religion/faith-inspired positions from the academic and public spheres and debates, helped a little so far to solve the man's "life and/or death" bio-ethical questions of today or tomorrow. In this confusing and sometimes even dangerous situation, the ever renewed mission and responsibility of the Catholic Church, and of all her devoted and knowledgeable members, is to bring to their fellow men and women in this world the healing power and freeing light of the Word; the "good news": the message of hope, redemption and openness to fraternal and friendly contemporaneity &endash; and to heavenly good, safe and joyful eternity.
The Church and Christians cannot just "stand by" the flow of rushing bioethics challenges and efforts underway in search for meaning of life and shaping its destiny; as they are exercised by the contemporary mankind at the unprecedent crossroads of its history. She and they are to develop a sound and comprehensive standing on bioethical issues; and offer their contributions with modesty, but persuasive scholarship and devotion. In these efforts the bioethics education inspired and informed by the catholic faith framework should form an integral and necessary part.
In this paper, some thoughts are offered on the contemporary challenges and possible future perspectives of such bioethics education. Those it is facing at present, or those it perhaps will or would be confronted with in the near future. They are offered in a hope they may be useful for stimulating the discussion and common exchange of ideas, experience, and even of some concrete educational models and programmes, which could make the "bioethics education in the catholic tradition", or the "catholic bioethics education" a competitive, successful and important enterprise stemming from and flourishing within the "New Evangelisation" of the Church for the years and decades to come. 1. Contemporary challenges in bioethics in the pluralistic world
The Challenges
What are the main challenges we have to bear in mind when thinking about the contemporary "bioethics education in the catholic tradition"? I believe, some of the most important could be listed as follows:
• increasing importance of bioethical issues for the present and future fate of the human civilisation (decisions to be taken on the use of new technologies and other scientific discoveries, going into the very fundaments of human life and existence);
• growing influence of bioethics upon the everday's life of the society (general opinion, life-style, family life, legislation, culture & arts, etc.);
• missing answers to many of the bioethics questions emerging at a great pace as the progress in medicine and life sciences rushes ahead;
• un-awareness of the general public, and also of the catholic individuals, "experts" and communities, of bioethical issues and the potentially serious consequences of decisions taken on them;
• availability for analysis of some serious mid- or long-term results and sequelae of the decisions taken, choices made, and policies implemented on some medical, health care and health-social issues with strong ethical contexts in the sixties of the previous century and beyond (e.g. introduction of the pill and other contraceptives, development and use of the in vitro fertilisation techniques, implementation of the population control programs, experiments in some countries with a relaxation of the legislation on addictive drugs, euthanasia problem in the Netherlands and beyond, permissive approaches to the "sexual ethics" and considerable shifts of the morals worldwide &endash; "the sexual revolution", development of the legislation for the "same-sex" unions, etc.);
• "post-modernity" and pluralism in the field of general morals, and also in moral philosophy (ethics) and even in moral theology; nearly complete secularisation of the bioethics field 3;
• pluralism of opinion on moral issues within the "Christian world" (serious differences in moral matters between the standpoints of different Christian churches);
• intensive work of the opponents of the catholic faith within the academia, media, culture & arts &endash; profound changes of the general opinion towards the "acceptance of un-acceptable";
• lack or deficit of representation of the catholic faith &endash; inspired views on bioethical matters at the opinion-giving and decision-making posts or panels (parliaments, governments, national and international commissions and panels, etc.);
• availability of "up-to-date", high quality bioethics information in the catholic tradition, provided by the continuous research and study of catholic scholars and bioethics institutions, as well as by the works of the Magisterium;
• deficiencies of information/instruction in the catholic faith &endash; inspired bioethics available to the "catholic professionals";
• new catholic faith &endash; inspired initiatives in the field of contemporary bioethics.
I strongly feel these challenges provide both positive opportunities for a catholic physician that should be taken seriously and "pro-actively", while, on the other hand, they also pose some risks and even threats to his/her own identity and moral integrity as a catholic, and as a professional. What are the positives and chances?
The challenging situation in contemporary "post-modern" bioethics, to my understanding, bears also some positive opportunities and chances, despite the numerous hardships and difficulties. I would emphasise the following ones:
• the possibility to offer the "bioethics in catholic tradition" as a newly re-emerged "old wisdom' more openly, while some dissatisfaction may be perceived with the mere post-modern "absolute relativism" and hopeless individualism that proved themselves finally being trapped within its own sophisms and particularities;
• the possibility of claiming a just and adequate place and space within the contemporary bioethics debate, in view of the publicly strongly held and emphasised (though not always genuinely practised) "democratic" and "pluralistic" characteristics and requirements of the contemporary bioethics debate;
• the possibility to recall a clearly overwhelming presence of the Catholic Church (and other Christian churches) in the field of charitable health care, relief services and social work all over the world (her serving to the poorest, marginalised, disadvantaged or abandoned groups and populations; bearing a considerable world share in the treatment and care for the HIV-positive and AIDS patients, etc., etc.);
• the possibility to respond to and try to sat a growing interest in a more strong, "deeper-rooted", "eternal" message and a more reliable and hopeful orientation on bioethics questions, which seems to exist in the present highly fragmented, insecure and "abandoned" world;
• the possibility to use the attractive topics of contemporary bioethics debate as a starting point for the promotion and dissemination of the Christian (catholic) views, and of the great message of Jesus Christ to our contemporaries within the efforts of "New Evangelisation" (to start with the issues that bother and interest people most);
• the possibility to get, gather, analyse, share and disseminate effectively and quickly a very recent, "hot" scientific information, as well as the results of the related philosophical (ethical) and theological reflection (including the ones developed within the catholic tradition);
• the possibility of using modern means of communication in effectively disseminating the "good news" all around the Globe;
• the possibility to interact easier among the catholic communities, institutions and bioethics institutes/centres on a world-wide scale in the quickly globalising and "shrinking" World;
• the possibilities in using the incomparable traditional information network of the Catholic Church (the dioceses, parishes, conferences of catholic bishops, catholic media, etc.), even its hierarchical organisation, for effective and speedy dissemination of information and pertinent guidance on bioethical issues, utilising and amplifying the impact of the results of work and efforts of the bioethics think-tanks working within the catholic tradition, and of the teachings of the Church Magisterium;
• the possibilities offered by better evolving communication and collaboration between the hierarchy and the laity within the church (those are still in need, however, of major improvements and continuous attention, as well as of a lot of good will and understanding at/from both sides);
• the possibility of intensified collaboration in ecumenical spirit with scholars of other Christian backgrounds (and even with scholars of other religious traditions and the "people of the good will'), finding at least the bioethics issues with a shared views upon, which could then be more vigorously and effectively fought for in the public arenas, and even at a political and international stages (e.g. at the global UNO conferences, various international opinion-giving or decision-making commissions or panels, etc.). What are the negatives and dangers?
There are, of course, several traits of the present situation, that pose some risks and inherent dangers for both the "catholic bioethics" and for the catholic physicians, health care workers, and other catholic professionals, when sailing upon the wild waters of contemporary "pragmatically" functioning and pluralistic debate of the most (post) modern societies of the day. I would mention at least a few of them here:
• loosing one's faith and courage vis-à-vis difficult contemporary questions and decisions to be taken and implemented on bioethics issues, in comparison to the prevailing popular, secular or "scientifically-based" atheistic approaches;
• subduing to the fear of being ridiculed, marginalised or "persecuted" by peers, colleagues and institutions; the fear of being not seen as a "modern", popular, people-friendly, wanted or "progressive" scholar, physician or person;
• being overwhelmed by the scholarship, rhetoric, "modernity" and "progressiveness" of the secular and dissenting "catholic" bioethics proponents;
• loosing the truly catholic perspective in bioethics from sight and abandoning the mission in the field as a catholic Christian; missing or loosing the courage to be "the salt and the light of the world" of contemporary bioethics;
• seeking of compromises with secular or "dissenting" views at any price, or giving them a "short-cutted", abrupt and superficial treatment, that way being unable to discern correctly their strong and possibly correct and innovative aspects, from the flaws, misconceptions and errors;
• acceding gradually to the widespread opinion that "there is no "absolute moral truth"", but "the truth" is to be decided according to one's actual beliefs and preferences;
• mistaking a low level of scholarship and a "blind-deaf" adherence to apparent "fundamentals" for genuine catholic stance in bioethics;
• mistaking the inability of continuing the dialogue with people of other opinions for "orthodoxy";
• mistaking the flawed positions and superficial reasoning for "modernity";
• being outdated in one's factual knowledge and argumentation;
• being unable to acknowledge one's own ignorance and limits in the knowledge and scholarship;
• being not prepared working hard, and sacrifice one's own free time and necessary private resources;
• being not prepared to share the information resources and knowledge, and to collaborate with other catholic professionals in a team: either at a parish, or at a Christian or secular institutional level;
• being unable to listen to the opponents; being tempted to expose the weakest tenets of the opposing positions first to show quickly one's own predominance or scholarship, or to reach quick and apparently persuasive "victories";
• being unable to use the language that is understandable to the people outside the catholic or Christian circles (mastering properly the secular or "scientific" language of contemporary bioethics), and mistaking this for the high level of competence or scholarship in the catholic tradition-informed bioethics;
• departing from the theoretically held moral convictions in the concrete clinical practice, policy development and implementation, and in public health area;
• becoming gradually accustomed to the "schizophrenia" between one's moral convictions and conscience &endash; and his/her private, family or professional life, and abandoning the hope these may be truly reconciled and lived on in the full moral and personal integrity. 2. The need of "bioethics education in the catholic tradition"
Why "Bioethics Education in the Catholic Tradition" is Needed?
The "bioethics education in the catholic tradition", I believe, is both timely and necessary. I think several points could be made in support of this claim and several concrete "needs" could be distinguished as being both acute and important:
• The need to grow up and educate from an early level on the new generations of catholic professionals, which will be able to understand, promote and further develop the catholic faith - inspired positions on bioethics matters within their professions, and within their working, societal, community and family lives.
• The need to inform and "enlighten" specifically the catholic physicians and other health care professionals on the plausible moral stances they should adhere to when facing the challenges posed before them by the concrete clinical/health care situations, their patients and their relatives, hospital administrations and the communities they are to serve, and also by their "liberal" or "pluralistically-oriented" colleagues at the bedside and beyond.
Though in the increasingly complex and rapidly evolving field any "prescriptive", ready-to-use, simply-to-apply sets of helpful guidelines will be increasingly difficult to offer to the catholic professionals, the ability of respectful moral reasoning and discern should always be available to them, to help them get oriented in the difficult ethical quandaries of the day. This is to help the catholic health professionals in making their own well-informed and sound moral choices. This applies also to the broad spectrum of ethical problems of biomedical research, as well as to the research in other "life sciences", conducted by the catholic professionals, or within the catholic hospitals and other health care and social care institutions.
• The importance/necessity to get acquainted with contemporary bioethics issues for the Catholics already working in various secular professions. This is to help them being able at least to appreciate those issues from an interdisciplinary perspective, knowing about the concerns and issues at stake from the catholic perspective when approaching these problems from the angle of their respective professions.
• The growing proportion of bioethics-informed decision-making that is being witnessed in the contemporary private, family and public life, up till drafting of the new "bioethics" legislation in several countries. Therefore, in addition to the education of professionals and "experts", also an appropriate information or instruction on bioethics matters offered to the broadest catholic community seems surely advisable.
It may influence considerably the quality of the morally charged decisions the individuals, families and communities will be taking in their everyday's life. This may in turn have some impact on the society, in which the catholic individuals, families and communities live. The information level achieved and appreciation of the moral problems involved, the choices made or opinions taken in their "real life" would ultimately go also into the polls and other instruments of checking (and sometimes manipulating) the public opinion. This may even have some potential to influence the politics and various decisions to be taken at the municipal or state levels.
• The members and communities of contemporary pluralistic societies &endash; being invited to understood and appreciate, or at least tolerate, each other's cultural, religious and moral traditions and actual convictions, while forming a co-operative, open, democratic and free societies pursuing the common good, happiness and meaningful life &endash; would certainly be served well by some information on bioethics standpoints of their catholic fellow citizens and neighbours, not least because of the enrichment this may bring to the overall public debate of these issues.
• The need to give a genuine, catholic faith - based content to the bioethics educational activities, the one not being flawed or distorted by the outdated, or more-less "dissenting" views.
Altogether, it should be particularly underlined here that neither Catholics, be they "intellectuals" or just manually working folks, nor any other people of the good will should dare themselves being ignorant on the contemporary bioethics issues. You cannot become and stay "tuned-in" and "up-to-date", however, without taking some kind of instruction or education on these topics. Who would need the "Bioethics Education in Catholic Tradition"?
I believe the need of at least some "bioethics education in the catholic tradition" runs far beyond the people or groups usually being thought of as appropriate candidates to enrol to tentative educational activities. The overview of the "candidate groups" could possibly be given as follows:
• catholic physicians, other health care and social care professionals;
• other "lay" catholic professionals (lawyers, philosophers, theologians, scientists, researchers, workers in humanities, teachers, etc.);
• pupils and students in catholic schools (basic schools, colleges, etc.), and also at the schools where catholic religious education classes can be held;
• catholic students of all professions;
• catholic communities (parishes, dioceses, initiative and interest groups, groups of young Catholics and "converts', families, etc.) and all catholic individuals in general;
• people undergoing instruction in the catholic faith (e.g. catechumens, participants in the preparation for the marriage or confirmation classes, etc.);
• clergy & "hierarchy" of the Church (at the "seminarian level", but also at the postgraduate and even more senior levels);
• catholic opinion-givers and decision-makers (e.g. politicians, administrators, media workers, etc.);
• possibly members of other Christian churches &endash; if interested (enhancing ecumenical work);
• possibly members of other religions &endash; if interested (promoting inter-religious dialogue);
• the general public.
It is clear from this list, that the bioethics education to be offered in the catholic faith &endash; inspired tradition should bear in mind all these groups it should aim to serve, as well as the broad variety of circumstances and needs it should encompass. Therefore, it should be understood as a very flexible, dynamic, differentiated, multifaceted, and interactive set of activities. It should reflect in its characteristics, forms and contents the genuine catholic faith-inspired positions vis-à-vis the increasingly complex, quickly changing and sometimes unexpectedly developing bioethics quandaries, as the rapid progress in the biomedical and biotechnological field brings them up to the attention of the scientific and professional communities, as well as &endash; via the "story-hungry" media channels &endash; to the unexpecting, fragile and vulnerable societies at large. 3. The characteristics of "catholic bioethics education"
What would be the characteristics of "bioethics education in the catholic tradition" that would be distinguishable in comparison to the other, sometimes competing, bioethics educational activities developed by secular scholars and institutions in the field? I would put those characteristics as follows:
• uncompromisingly actual and valid scientific background of understanding the medical/biological facts (keeping pace with, or even anticipate the scientific progress in various disciplines relevant for the information on bioethical matters);
• indispensable use of the results of actual philosophical and theological analysis of bioethics issues, as available from the catholic faith - inspired point of view;
• adherence to the genuine and actual teaching of the Catholic Church as developed facing the scientific progress in biomedicine and other life sciences, and new ethical problems thus arising;
• ability to present the integral and genuine "catholic position" on bioethical matters in a comprehensive and "holistic" manner, taking into account also different levels of doctrinal binding of the concrete positions (e.g. "matters of faith" promulgated "ex cathedra"; matters of traditional and actual catholic teaching; matters open to the philosophical/theological inquiry);
• understanding of the various positions present in contemporary pluralistic debate on bioethical issues, their differences in comparison to the catholic faith - inspired views, the ability to see and expose their positives and strengths, and also their flaws and weaknesses;
• the ability to continue and welcome a genuine dialogue with the proponents of opposing or different views;
• awareness of and sensitivity to the views on bioethics issues held by other Christian churches.
The "catholic bioethics education" should share with, or even outgrow the other bioethics educational activities in the didactic quality and use of the actual educational means, forms and aids, enhancing as well as promoting the active participation in the educational process. I believe, it should preferably use the problem- and practice-oriented approaches, case studies and narratives. It should be innovative and open-minded in adjusting to the various settings and to the needs of very different groups of people of all possible ages it is called to serve at present and in the future. And it should not forget about the good humour and fan. 4. The goals of "catholic bioethics education" in the pluralistic world
How could the goals of the "bioethics education in the catholic tradition" be seen vis-à-vis the challenges of the pluralistic world we live in at the beginning of this century? They would split into two groups: the goals of the "catholic bioethics education' in general, and those taking into account more specific characteristics and needs of various groups it should serve at its best.
Generally speaking, the "catholic bioethics education" should aim to contribute at least to the following important goals:
• forming by itself the part of, and contributing to the aims and ultimate success of the "New Evangelisation", thus becoming the part of the general catechesis of the Church;
• enhancing and promoting the "inculturation" of the Gospel into today's pluralistic world;
• fostering, developing and safeguarding whenever and wherever possible the "Culture of Life" instead of the "Culture of Death".
The specific goals of the "catholic bioethics education" will differ according to the needs and differences of the various groups it will approach and serve (see par. 2). These are to be taken into due consideration and made embodied into the concrete educational plans and activities to be tailored accordingly. The general aim should be to combine the teaching of theoretical fundamentals and principles of the catholic faith-inspired positions in bioethics with a thoughtful instruction on practical application of these theoretical ‚instruments' and aids in the concrete decision-making situations of the everyday's professional settings, and in the very life of the participants. The more detailed analysis of characteristics, contents and goals of various possible educational programmes aimed at different target groups goes far beyond the scope of this paper. 5. The content of "catholic bioethics education"
The content of "catholic bioethics education" should reflect its aims and goals (previous par.). It should not avoid tackling any of the important ethical quandaries in the field. I believe, in addition to the comprehensive treatment of those important issues, the ‚catholic bioethics education" must engage seriously in teaching of the "practical methodology" of ethical reasoning and discernment in various professional or "real life" settings. Especially, of course, in the field of medicine, health care and life sciences that interests us here at the first place.
It remains, however, to be established, what precisely this methodology should be, what approach would be preferable within the "catholic bioethics education" settings. The "prudential personalism"? 4 "Deontology"? "Natural law" -based reasoning? A kind of "principlism"? 5 Some "integrated approach"? I think it would be very helpful to get to some working agreement among the catholic bioethics institutions on this topic on the national and even international level.
On the other hand, the teaching of "methodology" should give an appropriate treatment also to the prevailing approaches or theories in the contemporary ethical discourse. It should help the participants to understand "whys" of different approaches applied within the concrete ethical quandaries, not only the "whats" of them. I do believe also, it is important to give the participants at least a brief account on the history of ethical reasoning, the history of the key concepts and theories development &endash; sometimes their fruits, good or bad, could already been appraised in the "mirror of the centuries" already passed since their original introduction (N.B. "Historia &endash; magistra vitae".).
I think the successful programmes or activities of the "catholic bioethics education", reflecting its goals and aims, should comprise and make concrete applications of at least the following aspects:
• valid and actual scientific background of understanding the medical/biological facts;
• clear analysis and comprehensive ("holistic") view on the bioethical issues treated from the catholic faith-inspired point of view, forming an integral and genuine "catholic position";
• genuine and actual teaching of the Catholic Church on particular bioethical matters in question, if available, together with a clear understanding of different levels of doctrinal binding of the concrete Church-held positions;
• information on different positions on the bioethical issues treated that are present in contemporary pluralistic debate, their historical development, critical evaluation and analysis of their positive - valid and erroneous aspects, actual and expected influence in the bioethical and public debates, expected influence on the medical practice and health care, including possible legislation developments, etc.;
• evaluation of the possibilities and limitations of/in the dialogue with proponents of different or contradictory views.
Altogether, I believe that besides the comprehensive "core" content of the "catholic bioethics education", it should be enriched on a continuous and timely basis by the treatment of actual bioethical problems stemming from the rushing scientific progress, or brought in by "the life" itself. 6. The means of "catholic bioethics education"
Which means should the "catholic bioethics education" use to achieve its goals, especially to reach its target groups with its distinct message delivered in a proper time and proper settings to be heard, considered and even accepted and retained in the memories, hearts and subsequent deeds of those approached. I do believe, in addition to the "classical" educational means, it should use a broader spectrum of possibilities, approaches and methods, than usually being thought of in bioethics education settings. It should also take advantage of the structures and activities already existing within the Church and her pastoral and outreach work to contribute by its "evangelium vitae" content in enriching and deepening of the Church's actual evangelisation message.
I think we could see the "catholic bioethics education" in two major settings.
The first would be the activities at the "non-institutional level" carried out by devoted catholic professionals in their usual life and professional settings, without being connected with a direct approval or supervision of the Church authorities. These might be listed as follows:
• personal apostolate by devoted Catholics, consisting mainly of "being a witness by words and deeds" in their everyday's individual, family and public life; bringing the fruits out of the catechesis the Church is offering, or should offer on a regular basis to all her members; the fruits of "seeds that have been growing in a good, fertile ground";
• the works of Catholics in various secular institutions, such as university/academia departments, institutes/centres, etc., especially within such scientific disciplines as the philosophy, theology, bioethics, law, sociology, psychology, and other humanities; thus "being a good leaven in the meal" (Lk, 13, 21);
• occasional or regular/continuous presence of Catholics, in particular the catholic professionals, in the secular media (journals, newspapers, TV, radio broadcasts, Internet, etc.).
The importance of these "non-institutional" activities should not be underestimated. Sometimes, especially when involving good communication skills &endash; both at the interpersonal, as well as at the community or even a broader public level, they are unexpectedly effective in terms of reaching both the peoples" "minds and hearts", thus providing for the fruitful opinion sharing, and even for the world-view and life orientation changes to take place.
The other, perhaps more structuralised and sophisticated part of the "catholic bioethics education", could be referred to as the "institutional level activities". Those are more or less formally bound to the activities and works of the Catholic Church as an institution. They may benefit from the more or less direct Church supervision and input, and may be subjected to a more or less formal Church approval. In my understanding, their spectrum and vigour put into their promotion and use should be understood and developed in a much broader, explicit and effective ways than have mostly been the case so far. They should allow the "catholic bioethics education" activities to reach the members and future members of the Church first, to built up the awareness of and moral orientation on the bioethical issues as their importance for the personal, family, community and society life requires. Then, these activities should turn also to the people outside of the Church and to "the world" at large. The "institutional" catholic bioethics education should form an integral part of general catechesis of the Church &endash; the "New Evangelisation".
This may, as indicated, occur inside the Church first, being performed also within her "usual" pastoral and catechetic activities (e.g. using "the pulpit", the ministry of penance; the catechesis before receiving the sacraments, etc., as valuable occasions to give the participants some orientation concerning the moral dimension of the biomedical issues that are actually the most important from the pastoral point of view). Then, taking into account the ever increasing importance of bioethics issues for the everyday's life of individuals, families, communities and the society, the Church should perhaps aim to offer the bioethics content more systematically, making it the part of her overall pastoral and catechetical plans at different levels of its organisation, such as:
• parish-sponsored bioethics education (lectures, workshops, meet-the-expert parties, courses, work of small interest groups; pastoral assistance and work with catholic health and other professionals, students, youth, families; parish newsletter, etc.);
• diocesis- and/or catholic bishops conferences" - sponsored bioethics education (work of the committee on bioethics; pastoral letters, statements on actual problems and public debate; conferences, symposia, retreats, etc.; education of seminarians, continuous education of priests and pastoral workers, education of catholic professionals; use of the media &endash; Church owned and secular, including publications in the form of journal articles, books, leaflets, etc.; support of the positive initiatives of laity and catholic professionals, etc.);
• Universal Church - sponsored bioethics education (published documents of the Magisterium; international &endash; regional &endash; continental conferences, congresses; publications in all kinds of journals &endash; professional, popular, Church-owned and secular; use of all media of mass communication, especially the Internet, TV and radio broadcasting; particular attention should be paid to the recruitment and education of catholic media professionals and their orientation and education in bioethics matters).
Within her "New Evangelisation" activities, the Church should aim in reaching also to the people and settings outside the Church (outreach of the activities within the Church to people outside the Church, even to non-believers or atheists; going well-prepared and pro-actively to the "information market": internet, media, etc., as mentioned above.
The role of an utmost importance within the Church's efforts in both inner and outreach bioethics educational activities should be played by the catholic bioethics institutes/centres, as the professional "flagships" of the scientific and didactical excellence and distinguished scholarship. 7. The catholic bioethics institutes
The past three decades of the former century have seen the strong current of bioethics movement establishing itself on a global scale. Mushrooming of the secular bioethics institutes and centres all around the world marked these developments. To have a bioethics centre, or at least a distinguished bioethics programme became both fashionable and necessary issue for the secular or "secularised" universities and other academic institutions.
This has been followed by establishing of the bioethics centres, or similar institutions working in the catholic tradition in already a good number of places all around the globe. Several of those have already achieved the world-wide recognition for their distinguished scholarship, high quality and timely contributions toward the ethical analysis of the "cutting-edge" biomedical issues &endash; using wisely and building successfully upon the centuries-long tradition of ethical reasoning within the philosophy and theology field of catholic faith inspiration, and also for their invaluable scholarly publications, be those professional journals, textbooks, resource books and encyclopaedias, or insightful original papers or monographs. When located at, or affiliated with the universities or other educational institutions, these institutes/centres engaged early on in their existence in the undergraduate and postgraduate educational activities, accumulating and achieving this way a remarkable didactical experience, and being led to the production of the textbooks, working materials, slide shows, tapes, videos, and other educational aids, not seldom of a remarkable scientific merit and high didactical quality.
Despite several positives that can be mentioned and appreciated in connection to the establishment, development and works of the catholic bioethics institutes/centres worldwide, also several drawbacks and deficiencies have been hampering their work and blocking its even more successful outreach and effectiveness. These were, to my understanding, of both "principal" and of "technical" nature. What I would refer to as the "principal" problems of some of those institutions, would comprise their gradual or abrupt shifting towards various dissenting, "modern", and even "post-modern" views, abandoning in fact, if not formally, their mission; going in a hidden or even open way against the Church's tenets of faith and teachings of her Magisterium. I do not want to blame here the genuine truth-seeking efforts of so many devoted men and women of science and deep philosophical and theological thought; I would object here, however, to those tendencies of seeking to be "modern", popular, or even famous for any sake; to be able to win at any cost the grants or other financial favours from secular institutions and foundations; to avoid the bad media coverage or more usually no coverage at all; to be driven too much by the forces and consideration of "this world", thus forgetting and even abandoning the eternal or transcendental dimensions and meaning of one's undertakings and genuine intellectual efforts.
The "technical" problems were not contributing to the flaws in doctrine held by these institutions, but were making them less productive, hampering their effectiveness and efficacy, thus making them less competitive in the national and international intellectual and ideological "market'. I mean the deficiencies in modern information technology use, and insufficient moral and financial support from the site of the Church, especially at the diocesan, national, and even international level, due to the underestimation of the role these institutions could and should play in today's world, and of their potentially invaluable service to the Church and her mission, as mentioned in the previous paragraphs. Last, but not least, an insufficient collaboration, exchange, and networking among the catholic bioethics institutes/centres, and their under-representation on the national and especially international arena, running far behind their real possibilities and the quality of insight and potential contributions they might have been making to the present bioethics debate.
In this respect, I find extremely useful, "progressive", and encouraging some initiatives seen in the past decade or recently, i.e. several international meetings of the catholic bioethics and family institutes/centres, efforts to found an international association 6, and various initiatives of sharing and exchange of scientific and educational materials, resources, people, publications, students, etc., on a bilateral and even multilateral basis. I have to mention gratefully here also the generous intellectual and personal support given by several European and even US catholic and Christian bioethics institutions/centres (and various Christian NGOs) to the "Christian bioethics" and "pro-life" work started in the Central and East European countries after falling apart of the Cold War era's "Iron Curtain" block. This work, from its very beginning, has possessed and preserved till nowadays remarkably strong and productive ecumenical traits. 7 8 9
I think the time is ripe for the catholic bioethics institutes/centres and similar institutions, including those working for the marriage, family and population issues, to re-consider and further develop &endash; according to the challenges of present times &endash; their mission, main goals, tasks and responsibilities for the near and a more distant future. In this quickly globalising and "growing small" World, they also should consider and decide the old and new working possibilities of mutual collaboration and support on a national and international scale. They should specifically bear in mind those regions and countries of the Globe, which are as yet under-served and under-developed in terms of actual and competitive catholic message in bioethics (and beyond).
On the other hand, there should be a much stronger appreciation and a more concrete support given to these institutions from the Church herself, foremost from the national catholic bishops' conferences, as well as the one at the diocesan level. It should include also a more appropriate financial help offered to those institutions, including the provision of research and educational grants. I am strongly convinced, such investments into these institutions and into the people forming and running them with devotion and scholarship, will pay themselves both on a short, but even more on a long-term basis. These institutions should seek and attract the best catholic scholars, the most bright minds and devoted catholic spirits available in the field, and help them to grow up, develop and flourish in a good spirit of truth, wisdom and unshaken faith. The stakes are high, so the expectations and efforts put into this work must not run behind them!
Some of the issues for the future consideration and development concerning the catholic bioethics institutes/centres and similar institutions could perhaps be given as follows:
• collaboration, networking and exchange on the national and international basis;
• establishing and development of the international communication network and of an international association;
• continuous "internationalisation" of the scope, views and operations in the research and education; development, steady improvement and exchange of bioethics teaching programmes and aids (slide shows, textbooks, video documents, web-based materials, etc.), including those with an international scope and appeal (e.g. international "summer schools" of bioethics, workshops, seminars and conferences);
• establishing a formal university education in bioethics in the catholic tradition on both undergraduate and postgraduate level 10 (M.A., PhD., tenures, etc.) and winning to it the official academic, state and international recognition 11;
• more vigorous publication efforts (improving the quality and accessibility of the own scholarly periodicals, incl. overcoming the language barriers; contributing frequently to the secular professional journals world-wide);
• continuous, systematic, free and open-minded contact, interaction, and mutual exchange and collaboration with the Magisterium of the Church, and also with the local Church at the diocesan, regional, national and continental levels;
• continuous, vigorous and competitive contribution to the development and shaping of the "world bioethics", hopefully bringing into it the deeds and inspiration of the Good Spirit of hope, truth and everlasting life. 8. The role and mission of a catholic physician within the "Catholic Bioethics Education"
How could the place and mission of a catholic physician be seen within the "catholic bioethics education" efforts? What should be the expectations and his/her tasks when facing the challenges and opportunities of the medical profession, and of the health care and social work at the beginning of this century? I believe his/her tasks and opportunities are numerous and unique: he/she cannot be fully replaced in performing them by any other professional. He/she should be prepared, however, to contribute by sharing his/her unique professional expertise and "real-life" experience towards, and engage actively into, the inter-disciplinary exchange and teamwork efforts in the bioethics field, in a much more extensive manner than it used to be the case before. He/she cannot "privatise" or even "monopolise" the bioethics field for himself/herself, or claiming the sole competence in it anymore. The catholic physician's tasks and expectations posed unto him/her in connection with the "catholic bioethics education" might possibly be listed as follows:
• continuous self-education in bioethics as a pre-requisite of all his/her other activities in the field;
• personal witness "by words and deeds" (thoughtful application of the catholic faith-inspired moral/ethical principles and standpoints in his/her everyday's practice of medicine and in his/her social and public work);
• participation in an informal or formal education of his/her colleagues and co-workers;
• contributing to the informal education of patients and their relatives (within provision of the professional information on a particular medical problem or situation);
• membership and active participation in the work of ethics committees or similar bodies (those reviewing "clinical ethics" cases, as well as those reviewing research projects and clinical trials protocols);
• active participation in the professional or scientific societies and associations, including their governing bodies and leadership structures;
• well-informed and skilful personal participation in the local (regional, international) professional and public debate;
• participation in the various public opinion-producing and health policy developing panels and committees; participation in the "health politics" at the municipal level and beyond, if necessary and feasible;
• participation in the Church-sponsored educational activities and ministries at the local parish level and beyond. 9. The future perspectives
How could the future perspectives of the "catholic bioethics education" be outlined in the view of present and new challenges to expect, and numerous tasks and novel possibilities to meet, as have been outlined briefly and perhaps incompletely within the previous paragraphs? I do believe these are to be marked by its growing importance and presence in the academia and "real life" settings, as well as by its increased recognition and more specific and effective support from the side of the Church herself. Some features or trends of the possible future developments might be, according to my belief and hope, listed as follows:
• substantial increase in networking, exchange and collaboration among the catholic bioethics institutes/centres and similar institutions on a national and international scale;
• timely development of the catholic doctrine on the new bioethical issues, those just arising or those anticipated in the near future;
• closer contacts and collaboration between the catholic bioethics, family and pro-life institutes/centres and similar institutions with the Magisterium and support of several activities and institutions established so far (e.g. Pontifical Academy for Life, Pontifical Academy of Sciences, etc.);
• increased and enhanced interdisciplinary collaboration and exchange within the research and educational activities of the scholars and teachers working in the catholic tradition;
• strong and systematic efforts in preservation and further development of the top quality scholarship at the catholic bioethics, family and pro-life institutes/centres and similar institutions;
• more explicit and effective support (moral and also financial) of the catholic bioethics, family and pro-life institutes/centres and similar institutions from the Church hierarchical structures;
• increased and more effective presence of the catholic scholars at the secular bioethics institutes/centres and their educational activities;
• work and activities of the catholic physicians and other health professionals within secular health care facilities, and social work institutions;
• more comprehensive education of the catholic professionals in relevant bioethical issues &endash; interdisciplinary education (physicians, nurses, health professionals and administrators, lawyers, sociologists, philosophers, theologians, molecular biologists, geneticists, etc.);
• increased and more effective participation of Catholics in the opinion-giving and decision-making professional and public panels and committees;
• more profound and effective integration of the catholic moral teachings into the practice of catholic health care professionals and institutions (hospitals, faculties of medicine, law, humanities, nursing schools, moral or ethics committees, etc.);
• making the presence of the catholic faith-inspired views in media and public debate more prominent and visible;
• increasing and mutually enriching ecumenical work and collaboration;
• inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue and collaboration. In conclusion,
I would like to underline my strong belief that the scope and activities of the "catholic biomedical ethics education" should be understood, performed and supported &endash; by the catholic professionals, including the catholic physicians and health care workers, the catholic bioethics institutes/centres and similar institutions, and by the hierarchical structures of the Church from a parish level up to the top &endash; in a much broader, systematic, and pro-active sense and manner, than it has been the case so far. This way it could and should become an important, indispensable part of the general and specific catechesis of the Church, meeting her "New Evangelisation" mission at the beginning of this century and millennium. |
