HKLD Rijeka: when science, the medical profession and religion speak a common language
On Thursday, May 15, 2025, an academic meeting was held at the Capuchin Monastery Žabica in Rijeka, organized by the Croatian Catholic Medical Society – Rijeka. In an atmosphere of silence and reflection, medical students, young doctors and dentists gathered to watch the documentary film “Venerable Jérôme Lejeune – To the Least of These”. The atmosphere of the meeting was dedicated and collected, almost contemplative. A sincere and open exchange of opinions took place between students, young doctors and experts until late at night. Instead of divisions, a common search for truth and dedication to serving the most vulnerable prevailed. In this atmosphere, the young doctor Matej Pedišić particularly stood out, who moderated the meeting with warmth and dignity.
The evening focused on the scientific and ethical legacy of Dr. Jérôme Lejeune – the founder of modern cytogenetics and the first scientist to describe trisomy 21, the genetic cause of Down syndrome, in 1959. The film, which depicts Lejeune’s scientific and spiritual journey, evoked strong emotions and raised questions about the limits of scientific responsibility, the role of personal beliefs and the right to informed choice in a medical context. Lejeune’s scientific contribution was revolutionary, but his deep faith and unwavering ethical convictions, especially those on the inviolability of human life from conception, brought him into a kind of conflict with part of the scientific and political community. This documentary presentation opened up space for multi-layered reflection on current challenges. The focus was on questions that still deeply characterize the practice of modern medicine driven by “-omic” technologies today: what do the dilemmas of prenatal medicine look like today, 65 years later? How to convey professional truth based on scientific knowledge, without imposing a personal stance and worldview? Can a doctor be informative, neutral, and empathetic at the same time? With what value attitudes do we enter the process of genetic counseling?
The screening was followed by a conversation with Prof. Dr. Sc. Saša Ostojić, a distinguished professor of medicine, geneticist and educator, head of the Department of Medical Biology and Genetics at the Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka. At the very beginning of his address, Professor Ostojić clearly pointed out the goal of medical genomics – as a description of biological reality, not a prescription of ethical decisions. These decisions belong to the individual and the family – guided by scientifically based information, but also by conscience and personal beliefs. The task of a doctor is not to shape the patient’s worldview, but to create a space of clarity, compassion and safety. Modern genomics enables early and extremely precise diagnosis, but precisely in the prenatal context, this same technology carries with it a great ethical responsibility. Information must not become a tool of natural selection, but a means of better medical care, support and understanding. Medicine, even at the turn of a new technological era – precise genomic medicine and the implementation of artificial intelligence in the complex process of diagnostics and treatment – must remain in the service of life. And precisely for this reason, doctors have a great responsibility – to ensure that knowledge of “our code” never becomes a power over life, but continues to be a means of caring for the most vulnerable.
A particularly moving moment of the evening was the call for concrete action – involving students in volunteer work with children and adults with rare diseases at the Fortica Rehabilitation Center in Kraljevica. “Ethical attitudes are not created in the classroom. It is only when you spend a day with a person with a severe rare disease that you realize how much life there is in what we call a “genetic disorder or syndrome” – and how much knowledge, responsibility, ethical neutrality, patience, mutual support and commitment are needed to make that life dignified and free from suffering,” emphasized Professor Ostojić.
This forum was not just an academic gathering, but an authentic dialogue between science and faith in the service of humanity – a space where judgments are not made, but rather the doors are opened to conscientious, informed and responsible decisions. Its message was not one of imposition, but of creating a space of freedom, respect and co-responsibility. Ultimately, the position of the profession remains unequivocal: the gold standard of genetic practice is one that combines scientific precision, neutral, clear and unambiguous information about the results of genetic testing, ethical consistency and deep empathy in the service of the patient and his family, without the simultaneous interference of the personal worldview of the doctor. Such practice does not contradict faith, but represents its realization in concrete action for the good of others. A dialogue based on facts, but imbued with humanity, is needed.
The meeting ended in silence – without ready-made answers, but with a profound impression: in an era of increasingly precise medicine, an even more precise sensitivity to humans is needed. Genetics may not bring final answers, but it can help us not to lose sight of the most important questions. And it is precisely here – between scientific knowledge and personal conscience – that true medicine begins.
HKLD Rijeka, May 15, 2025.
