An Address to Doctors by Pope Francis (15 November 2014): A Doctrinal Mistake and a Lot of Common Sense Presented with Savoir-Faire
The general reaction of the press to Pope Francis' Address to Doctors has been generally very positive. However, the address is in many ways quite puzzling. Among other things, it contains a doctrinal error in describing abortion as a scientific problem, not a philosophical problem. It also has...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
[2015]
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| In: |
Christian bioethics
Year: 2015, Volume: 21, Issue: 1, Pages: 109-129 |
| IxTheo Classification: | KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KCB Papacy KDB Roman Catholic Church NCH Medical ethics |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The general reaction of the press to Pope Francis' Address to Doctors has been generally very positive. However, the address is in many ways quite puzzling. Among other things, it contains a doctrinal error in describing abortion as a scientific problem, not a philosophical problem. It also has a strikingly secular character. In all, Pope Francis' Address is inferior in substance to Pope John Paul II's Evangelium Vitae, with which it has been compared. Pope Francis often relies on moral intuitions and secular argument, while showing again his propensity to desacralize theological discourse: the pope avoids focusing on transcendent concerns and realities. Pope Francis' Address presents the Roman Catholic community with opinions as one among others, and not as an institution called by God to preach the truth. The Address is also articulated in the terms of common language, avoiding the technical distinctions of theology and engaging unclear terms such as "playing with life." |
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| ISSN: | 1744-4195 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christian bioethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/cb/cbv001 |