On June 5th, World Environment Day was celebrated for the 45th
time since its creation in 1974 at the Stockholm Conference on the ‘Human
Environment’. The event is recognized worldwide, and is used as a tool to
inform and encourage actions to preserve our beautiful Earth. Discussions
regarding overpopulation, global warming, pollution and biodiversity loss are
examples of some of the core themes raised during the day. With time, the World
Environment Day has managed to expand its network of NGOs and IGOs advocating
for their causes. Today, over 100 countries participate with initiatives,
workshops and events. An example to highlight is China, the second most
polluted country in the world after India – which organized this year’s
celebrations on the theme of air pollution.
The UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights supports this
day, as it deals with Bioethics and Human Ecology. This means that it
recognizes the fact that humans are the solution to solve environmental issues
since they are also the cause. It is an ethical duty for communities and
nations to face the problems that they have created. The UNESCO Declaration on
Bioethics and Human Rights endeavors “to underline the importance of
biodiversity and its conservation as a common concern of humankind” in order to
protect future generations. Also, the declaration deals with the “Protection of
the environment, the biosphere and biodiversity” in Article 17. It states that,
“Due regard is to be given to the interconnection between human beings and
other forms of life, to the importance of appropriate access and utilization of
biological and genetic resources, to respect for traditional knowledge and to
the role of human beings in the protection of the environment, the biosphere
and biodiversity”. It is our duty then, to respect the environment in order to
respect ourselves and our connection with all the other forms of life.
The conservation of the environment is also supported by the
Pope, who wrote an encyclical letter citing Saint Francis of Assisi’s “Laudato
Si’”. Saint Francis of Assisi sees nature as inseparable from humans, and
capable of helping us achieve interior peace. As it is cited in the encyclical
of the Pope, “the world is a joyful mystery to be contemplated with gladness
and praise”, meaning that it is a pity to interfere in the growth of nature.
God gave us the gift of natural resources, and it is a sin to spoil them to the
point of no return. The Earth is our common home and our beloved mother. For
this reason, we should be united in the process of protecting her.
On World Environment Day (WED), the Pope never misses the chance
of speaking about human ecology – connecting the issue of environmental
degradation with poverty. On WED in 2013, he invited the crowd in St. Peter’s
to reflect and ask themselves, “What does cultivating and caring for the earth
mean? Are we truly cultivating and caring for creation? Or are we exploiting
and neglecting it?”. God gave us the job of caring for one another instead of
for profit. Instead, we are living in a “culture of waste,” forgetting about
our close brothers and the Earth. He continues by reminding us how poverty and
deaths are becoming the norm, “a person dying is not news, but if the stock
markets drops ten points it is a tragedy!”. Around 7 million people in the
world die prematurely because of smog – a problem which could be solved through
decisions made by governments – entities which have almost entirely been
ignoring the impact of environmental degradation on human health.
By ignoring the safeguard of the Earth, there is the risk of
denying people their right to life as stated in the 3rd Article of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. As the UNESCO
Chair of Bioethics and Human Rights, we encourage people to collaborate in
order to work together towards the goal of ensuring everyone their right to
life and safety. Moreover, we underline the importance of nature and its close
connection to God and our achievement of interior peace. Not only on World
Environmental Day, but every day, we should be reminded of taking actions to
preserve our environment, our human rights and our health. The benefit of
saving lives will always outweigh any benefit coming from economic profit.
The conference “Global Compact on Migrants and Refugees: the Role of the Church”, hosted on the 15 of May at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, discussed the actions of the Church towards the recent migratory flows. Many speakers specialized in the field, together with migrants who shared their experience, participated and explained their point of view on the topic.
The event was opened by P. José Oyarzún
L.C., the academic vice-rector of the Athenaeum, who underlined the width of
the phenomenon, which does not only appear in Italy, but all over the world. In
this situation, the Church is responsible of acting in the light of the Gospel.
Hence, Pope Francis often speaks about this issue and highlights two important
points: the need to raise awareness throughout society and the promotion of
coordinated work with the various institutions of the church.
Alberto García, the director of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights and professor of the faculty of bioethics of the Athenaeum, was the second speaker of the introductory part of the event. As P. José Oyarzún L.C. did, he underlined the strong interest of Pope Francis towards this issue and highlighted the important role which the Church plays inside of social work, migration and in the creation of the Global Compact Agreement. Lastly, he reminded about the CivicAL project, which the UNESCO Chair is carrying out. The initiative wants to teach civic education to migrant and refugee adults to integrate them fully into the community.
Guido Traversa, philosophy professor of the
European University of Rome, concluded the introductory part of the event. He
pointed out how often the spiritual need of migrants is being left out of the
picture and he mentioned Kant and Bonhoeffer to reinforce the importance of
humanitarian help. In particular, he read Bonhoeffer’s writings about the way
of looking at events, as we should view situations such as migratory flows from
the perspective of the excluded and the derided, not from our perspective.
In the first module of the conference, P.
Michael Ryan L.C., philosophy professor at the Athenaeum was in charge of doing
the moderator. The first speaker was P. Fabio Baggio, from the department for
the service of integral human development. He closely analyzed the various
phases of the creation of the 20 action points proposed by the Holy See inside
of the Global Compact on migrants and refugees. Pope Francis in 2017 had the
idea of having a section only for migrants and refugees directly guided by him,
with the goal of adopting the document in 2018. Representatives from the Church
met with ECOSOC Status organizations in order to start a common reflection on
the situation of migrations and to create the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly
and Regular Migration (GCM). The document focused on the four verbs mentioned
in the message of Pope Francis for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees:
welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating. As the document aimed to
highlight the fact that there is no difference between migrants and refugees,
since we are all humans and we are all deserving humanitarian aid, the Global
Compact was presented as a unique document which unified all of the categories.
The initiative started with 16 main points and reached 20 points by the end of
its creation. The uniqueness of these points was that they were all concrete
recommendations, guidelines that explain how to effectively tackle each issue.
The document was finalized and delivered to the UNHCR for the discussion
process. As professor P. Michael Ryan L.C. underlined, the initiative was the
first one of its kind and for this reason, it was subjected to many questions.
However, it stimulated many ambassadors and diplomats’ calls and visits to
discuss it. One of the biggest win was that even before its formalization, some
countries started to adopt it. Overall, the Global Compact on Migrants and
Refugees reached a wide support by the majority of the United Nations’ member
countries.
Following P. Michael Ryan L.C.’s address
was S.E.R. Guerino di Tora’s speech. He is the auxiliary Bishop of the northern
sector of Rome, president of the Migrantes foundation and of the CEI commission
about migrations. In his discourse, he highlighted the fact that many Italians
have been and still are migrants themselves; entire families, students or
elderly citizens are currently moving from Italy to richer countries, looking
for a better wellbeing or work opportunities. Thus, the phenomenon of migration
has a greater complexity which we tend to forget. Moreover, the welcoming of
the stranger is an important theme discussed in the Bible in multiple passages;
for example, in the Deuteronomy or in the Leviticus. Nothing differentiates the
migrants from the Israelites; they are both equal in front of the law and in front
of God, as laws belong to God. In addition to this, the auxiliary Bishop
remarked that often the problem is the wrong information circulating throughout
the media, which manipulates people’s opinions. In the end, welcoming migrants
should originate from the heart. Every human experience always starts from the intimate
of the person; first, it is accepted in its spirituality and later in the body.
It is with this reminder that S.E.R. Guerino di Tora concluded his address,
encouraging the participants to help migrants in fulfilling their spiritual
part, taking as example the churches in his area that have been given as a
place to pray for migrant Orthodox believers.
Melissa Maioni, professor of bioethics of
the Athenaeum, moderated the second part of the conference. The first speaker
was Don Francesco Soddu, director of the Italian Caritas. He underlined the
importance of a service oriented in perspective, not only in the close present.
Moreover, he encouraged legal ways to welcome migrants and public discourses
without fake news to give the right perception of the phenomenon. Caritas has
always been closely working at the borders with the Italian Navy to save migrants,
developing the “Warm Up” project. This project supplied dry clothes and thermal
blankets to migrants and saved them from the bad weathers and hypothermia. Don
Francesco Soddu denounced the scarce help from Europe and their incapacity to
organize the migratory flows. Thus, Caritas’ programs are completely financed
by the Italian Church, which has allowed the arrival of 106 family units.
Family is the core value in this project, which made it possible for migrant
families to live in contact with Italian families. Don Francesco Soddu
concluded with words of hope, stating that we should not let ourselves be dominated
by the fear of migration and is happy to announce the signing of a project
founded by the Church and the S. Egidio Community to help the allocation of
communities of asylum seekers throughout Italian regions.
Don Pierpaolo Felicolo, the Director of the
Office for the Pastoral Care of Migration in the Vicariate of Rome, followed
Don Francesco Soddu’s speech. He mentioned again the significant role of
spirituality, but also of patience in this particular phenomenon. Indeed, the
process of accommodating the needs of migrants is very long. The networking of
different communities, sharing cultures and allowing multiethnic meetings, is a
core action in this situation. As Don Pierpaolo Felicolo said, “welcoming is done
together.”
The closing part of the event hosted two
migrants who shared their stories. This very touching moment reminded the
participants of the conference that in order to have a bright future effort
should be put on both sides. On one side, Italians should let go the fear of
the stranger, while on the other side, migrants should do their best in
learning the language and the culture of the place they are living in. At the
end, a multiethnic dance performance and catering took place, to embrace the
merging of cultures.
Art can present
itself through a myriad of mediums and can prove to be a very powerful and
effective tool for the advancement of human rights and bioethics. One of the
most dynamic and potent areas of artistic expression is film, which has the
capability to work as an avenue for ideas and values to be exchanged in a very
accessible way and has the capacity to reach millions of people worldwide,
regardless of limitations like illiteracy. A network called The Human Rights Film Network is working
to promote the “exchange, communication and collaboration regarding the
representation of human rights issues in moving pictures”. This network of over
40 human rights film festivals worldwide functions as a channel through which
human rights charged content can be shared via screenings and provides a forum
for further discussion and debate through panels.
According
to the official charter of the network, the aims of the Human Rights Film Network are to:
“Promote human rights
film through festivals”
“Influence a conductive
international supportive environment for human rights film makers, in
particular those at risk for their life or repressed by censorship”
To promote these goals, The Human Rights Film Network is engaged
in the following activities:
The promotion of “the knowledge of human
rights cinema, and support publications on its issues”
The advocacy of “debate
on the ethics, professional codes of conduct and other standards regarding
human rights film making”
Helping to “protect
member film festivals against interference and pressure (of political and commercial
nature)”
“Support film makers
dedicated to human rights issues and help protect film makers in danger of
human rights violations”
“Bring forward the
mission of member human rights film festivals in promoting respect for human
rights”
Some
of the most notable festivals in this network include the HUMAN International Documentary Film Festival, whose mission it is
to “engage and encourage debates about human rights and other relevant social
issues”. This film festival and forum takes place in Norway and consists of a
showing of roughly 30 documentaries per season. The collaborative effort
extends far past the physical parameters of the festival, as included are
“between 60 and 70 NGOs, universities, think tanks, newspapers, and others, who
contribute in the making of talks and debates and with their active
participation in panels”. Another notable festival is the This Human World- International Human Rights Film Festival, which
has partnered with the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights- a decentralized
agency of the European Union whose mission it is to “instill fundamental rights
culture across the EU”. A past film that has been featured at the This Human World-International Human Rights
Film Festival is called Easy Lessons: “A cinematographic exploration
questioning the meaning of belonging, home and identity across geographic,
political and social borders”. This particular film placed a strong emphasis on
identity, migration and sense of belonging: all issues at the forefront of the modern
political agenda.
The
University of Pennsylvania established the Penn
Bioethics Film Festival in 2015, a festival sponsored by the Department of
Medical Ethics & Health Policy. In addition to screenings of films
concerned with the value of life, conscience and morality, and the role of
technology in the rapidly expanding contemporary landscape, University of
Pennsylvania faculty are invited to lead thoughtful panel discussions.
Media
has played an integral role in the spread of information ever since the advent
of technology has transformed the way in which mass society forms and shapes
opinions. Thus, it is vital that endeavors which support the promotion of human
rights and bioethics via artistic expression and contemporary culture be encouraged
and endorsed.
UNESCO Chair in Bieothics and Human Rights, to support and promote human rights and bioethical principles, has organized three editions of the Bioethics Art Competition and established a Bioethics Art Group of Study – Bioestethics. The aim of the group is first to study the relation and interaction between bioethics and art and the impact of art in human behavior, second to evaluate the impact of the transformative power of arts in research and medical ethics as well as in environmental ethics, and finally to bridge the gap between academics involved and working in bioethics and the art world by carrying research activities and publications. Through these projects the Chair is applying any forms of art to bioethics and human rights to raise awareness and create forums of discussions.
References:
“Charter.” Charter | Human Right Film Festival Network.
N.p., 16 Sept. 2019. Web.
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. N.p., n.d. Web.
“HUMAN International Documentary Film Festival.” HUMAN
International Documentary Film Festival | Human Right Filmfestival Network.
N.p., 25 Feb. 1970. Web.
“News.” This Human World – Filmfestival. N.p., n.d.
Web.
“Penn Bioethics Film Festival.” 2019 Penn Bioethics
Film Festival. N.p., n.d. Web.
The UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights is glad
to have supported the publication of the Journal of Disability & Religion
Special Issue (3) 2018 on ‘Navigating impasses in Bioethics: End of Life,
Disability and Mental illness’.
Fr. Gonzalo Miranda
This special issue followed the interdisciplinary research workshop “Navigating Impasses in Bioethics: End of Life, Disability, and Mental
Illness,” (freely available online until May 31, 2019) held on December 8, 2017, at the Von Hügel Institute for Critical Catholic Inquiry
(VHI) at St Edmund’s
College, University of Cambridge, that was attended also by our director
Alberto Garcia and Fr. Gonzalo Miranda, dean of the Faculty of Bioethics at
Pontifical Ateneum Regina Apostolorum in Rome.
Alberto Garcia
The core topic analyzed through the articles is
euthanasia. This is both a timely and highly debated topic in Europe and
worldwide, as it is shown by the ongoing judicial and parliamentary debate
concerning Assisted suicide in UK, the 2018-judgement of the Italian
Constitutional Court and the push towards a regulation on assisted suicide in
Italy, and the 2017-legalization of Assisted dying in Canada.
The articles included in this issue provide a
multifaceted exploration of this topic, merging both legal and ethical
reflections. They ultimately address how the legalization of euthanasia is
influenced by ethical concepts like quality of life, dignity, autonomy, agency,
consent and what practical consequences this brings forth.
The first two articles, edited by Schiltz and Campos, focuses on the practical implications of the legalization of physician-assisted suicide in the USA and Canada. Schiltz claims that the legalization of physician assisted suicide for people with disabilities amounts to a form of discrimination. More fundamentally this regulation is in stark contrast with the American disability Act in so far as it sends a clear discriminatory message towards disabled people. ‘The statement that is made by such laws is that life with a disability is not worth living; by extension, persons living with disabilities are not worthy of life’ (Schiltz, 242-243). Thana de Campos, focuses on the Canadian legislation exploring the implication of the inclusion of mental health patients. She challenges the mainstream understanding of human dignity portrayed by this legislation, claiming that it rests on a mere-homo economicus view, that is to say one that focuses on a pure quality of life understanding. She claims instead that a personalist view of dignity should be purported and hence the intrinsic value of every human being supported.
The second group of articles
further enriches the reflection providing personal stories concerning
disability. McKearny, asks the burning question of ‘how much power should someone have
over the life of the most vulnerable?’ This question arises from his personal
experience at L’ Arche, a religious community that offers support to people
with cognitive disabilities. His reflections rests on a critique of autonomy,
care and responsibility that have informed the idea of agency and the
euthanasia debate. Fistein, discusses the results of the Future Care study, an
empirical research run by the Department of Primary Care and Public Health of
the University of Cambridge. When it comes to patients with progressive
neurological diseases, whose cognitive and physical functions are often
strongly impaired, Fistein claims that it is key that the care-planning ponders
not only norms of effectiveness and quality of life, but also moral principles
of life-preservation. This is surely not a straightforward task: advantages and
disadvantages should properly evaluated in the light of the patients’ right to
treatment and their quality of life. David Jones, reflects on the tie between
assisted dying and suicide. Through a reflection on two examples of suicide by
disabled people, one unassisted and one assisted, it highlights that there are
some points of dissimilarity, but also some of similarity. The aim of his
reflection is to stress the danger of suicide, whether assisted or unassisted,
for those who would be eligible for euthanasia in the low countries or assisted
suicide in Switzerland.
The third group of articles
expands the reflection provided through philosophical and theological accounts
of life and death for people with disabilities. Ripamonti, reflects on the
concept of autonomy in dying as the concept generally behind the euthanasia
regulation. She claims this concept to be flawed because it excludes all those
who live in a condition of dependency. To be un-autonomous ultimately does not
mean to loose one’s own personal dignity. The lack of control over one’s life
circumstances does not imply the lack of value or life’s ultimate meaning. Brock,
reflects on the role of economic rationality in shaping the idea that some
lives are not worth living, like those of people with disabilities. The life of
a disabled is in a condition of ‘debt’ something that is rejected by nowadays
western societies. This perception is also in stark contrast with early
Christian ideas of human solidarity: it is an ethics of mutual support that we
should expect, rather than the legalization of euthanasia. The final article,
edited by Elliot, provides a theological account. He challenges the
anthropological idea of ‘despair’ and proposes the theological hope as a way
forward. In this view disabled patients are themselves made at the image of God:
they are the living image of Christ, bearing his sufferings but also, in hope,
His resurrection.
This special issue provides a unique account of one of the most debated
topic: euthanasia. Its uniqueness stands on the variety of contributors, from
legal, to theological, philosophical, medical, on the topic of euthanasia. It indeed
includes a wide range of timely and
thought-provoking articles that will shape the broad academic and non-academic
debate concerning end-of life issues, especially euthanasia and disability.
Encouraged by the words
that the Holy Father, in Humana Communitas,
dedicated in memory of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Pontifical Academy for
Life, also accompanied by the operative reality of Dr. Federica Ebau, we are
called again in this research session to ask ourselves how to conserve humanity
within the context of technical innovation.
Last January 25th, the Interdisciplinary
Research Group on Neurobioethics, in cooperation with the UNESCO Chair in
Bioethics and Human Rights and the Science and Faith Institute, hosted Federica
Ebau, Product Specialist of Progettiamo Autonomia Robotics SRL, in order to
reflect on the role of robotics in rehabilitation, a speech – as suggested by
Claudio Bonito during his introduction – which could be synthetically defined
as a conversation about the responsible use of robotic development. Precisely
inasmuch as it is a graft between flesh and artifice, an external habit, robotics
cannot disregard proper ethical investigations around the approximation between
thinking reality and mechanized reality. An ambivalent combination of euphoria
and fear, both settled over the uncomfortable session of the techno-scientific
paradox.
Using exactly the term
“paradox”, Pope Francis, in the letter mentioned above, presses on
the anguish experienced by peoples in the era of scientific excellence. History,
indeed the very birth of bioethics, marks the continual warning to tirelessly illuminate
the action of the human being, therefore moral action, so that it can act as an
indispensable glue between specialized studies and the true good for the
“mankind’s care,” where the fundamental rights of every member of the
human species, the dignity recognized to them and the responsibility towards
the common good are contained. Transversely the commitment of international
organizations such as the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights, which has
the specific purpose of effectively feeding the solidity of common roots, in
order to realize what the Holy Father has also recalled: a “global
bioethics”.
Clinical practices,
such as the professional experience presented by Ebau, concretize the proposed
theorization. Robotics – the preferential research field of the speaker – is
not only decisive for national and international territories, but rather a real
investment material of the contemporary era, and there are three areas in which
robotics will be massively involved: the military one, the hospital one and the
industrial one. In the rehabilitation context, the patient – generally a paraplegic
person – experiences a complex clinical process compared to able-bodied people,
but also because these patients lead a life that is mostly active, domestic, athletic
or lively working with an enormous therapeutic and rehabilitative need to
combat sedentariness. The previous testimony of Carmine had already made us
realize the importance of enormous accomplishments produced by self-esteem,
willpower and fighting spirit; in the same way Ebau confirms the positive change
in her patients and the centrality, in comparison with the machine, of adopting
the existential perspective. “A boy in a wheelchair, with no sensitivity
from the chest down, feels nothing. His perception of space is very different
from ours; he feels like a tightrope walker hanging in the middle of nowhere”:
for this reason the impact with the exoskeleton and therefore the adventure
towards a change of dimension, from the bottom to the top, is a delicate point
in the relational experience and, in this sense, has been interesting to hear
the technique put in place by the doctor, proposing to the patient his own
image through a mirror, a method of joining two images of the same person.
Once again we are
witnesses that the real conflict between artifice and human being refers to
personal identity, to the question about the self.
