Promote technology that serves human life
by Preetu Nair
Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president, Pontifical Academy for Life, Vatican, who was recently in Kochi to attend the Catholic Health Association of India (CHAI) national health convention talks about palliative care provided by Catholic hospitals in India that the world needs to imitate, Pontifical Academy for Life’s long-term vision and why they are against IVF.
What is the main purpose of your visit to Kochi?
“I am here to support CHAI that serves large number of people with generosity. We would like to spread their experience, above all in palliative care, around the world. Indian experience in healthcare can help us face the new challenges in a better manner. We are in a new world inspired by new technologies but at the same time we need to bring in the spirit of love, spirit of service and importance of poor people. Pope Francis believes that if we have to build a just society, then we need to take care of the poor. That’s why we want to unite technology and love and then push with a new passion and engagement to create a new society”.
“We want to have all people, cultures, traditions and religions to go ahead in this with a humanistic perspective. Otherwise, the dictatorship of the market will surely dehumanize society”.
“This institution has been renewed by Pope Francis with new acade micians. For the first time, Pope has appointed people from academics who are not Catholics. They are from different traditions and different religions and non-believers too. The goal of the academy is to enter the scientific perspective with a new spirit in order to create a bridge amongst others in a globalized situ ation. We believe that it is important that believer scientists and other scien tists should dialogue to sa ve the planet with a com mon effort”.
“The Catholic Church wants to promote technology that helps serve human life and generations. But we don’t believe that the technique can became creator of life”.
“The increasing individualistic perspective is the most dangerous of the contemporary society. We have rediscovered the communitarian and fami lial perspective”.
