There is a fundamental clash in contemporary society between, on the one
hand, an orthodox Christian understanding of human dignity and of what is
required of us if we are to respect and honour the dignity of every human being
and, on the other hand, a secularist vision of human existence.
In his great Encyclical Evangelium Vitae, 'The Gospel of Life', Pope
John Paul II identified as the practical expression of this clash the conflict
between what he called the 'culture of life' and the 'culture of death'. The
present volume explores the roots of the two cultures, contemporary
manifestations of the culture of death and the culture of life, and the
requirements for building a culture of life. There are contributions from
historians, legal and political theorists, medical practitioners, pastors,
philosophers and theologians.
Contents
Introduction - Luke Gormally
Opening Address - Cardinal Thomas J Winning
The Culture of Death
Secularism, the root of the culture of death - John Finnis
De-christianising England: Newman, Mill and the Stationary State - Dermot
Fenlon
The political theory of the culture of death - Robert P George
Population control: the global contours of the culture of death - Kateryna
Fedoryka Cuddeback
The Culture of Life
1. Theology and the Culture of Life
Faith in the Incarnation, Death and Resurrection of Jesus and the
culture of life - Livio Melina
What does it mean for a Christian to be "against the world but
for the world"? - Carlo Lorenzo Rossetti
The Church as a community of hope in face of the culture of death
- Bishop Donal Murray
2. Promoting the Culture of Life
The role of the Bishop in promoting the Gospel of Life - Archbishop
George Pell
The role of the priest in promoting the culture of life - Richard M
Hogan
The role of the family in promoting a culture of life - Laura L Garcia
3. Politics and the Culture of Life
Some problems of conscience in bio-lawmaking - Anthony Fisher OP
Some recent treatments of the private defence of innocent human
life - J L A Garcia
4. Medicine, the Developing World and the Culture of Life
A preferential option for poor mothers - R L Walley
Combating the spread of AIDS - Sr Miriam Duggan
Supplementary Papers
Eugenic genetic engineering as a manifestation of the culture of
death in human genetics - Thomasz Kraj
Wojtylan insight into love and friendship: shared consciousness
and the breakdown of solidarity - Scott FitzGibbon
The science and politics of stem cell research - Richard M Doerflinger
Countering the contraceptive mentality - Helen Davies
The culture of life and the quality of life ethic: an either/or?
- Christopher Kaczor
Challenging a consensus: why Evangelium Vitae does not permit
legislators to vote for `imperfect legislation' - Colin Harte
Reviews
"The discussions are comprehensive, including abortion,
euthanasia, biomedical research, different ideas of human dignity, and the moral
responsibilities of politicians. A book that will be welcomed by students of the
many facets of the pro-life cause."
First Things December 2003
"important papers ... on contemporary challenges in the
fields of ethics and bioethics, where Christian principles conflict with
the values of the prevailing secular society."
"The conference highlighted the clash of cultures in contemporary society,
and showed why it remains important to understand and fight for the principles
on which a civilised society was created, and on which its future existence
depends."
- Peter Westmore,
News Weekly 25 Jan 2003
"Altogether Culture of Life-Culture of Death
is thoroughly to be recommended; but if you are a mere clinical practitioner
you have some hard work ahead of you."
- Margaret
Sealy
Ethics and Medicine 2004 20 (1)
"At the beginning of the twenty-first century,
many Catholics are concerned about the increasing immorality of ...
secularised healthcare in Britain and elsewhere."
"Many issues and
perspectives are involved, and all the contributions have their value."
"The whole book is a kind of duel, intellectual
and practical, between the cultures of life and death. It really is the case
that there is hardly a truth of Christian ethics which does not oppose in some
way the presence of evil."
"This is a book full of rigour and inspiration,
especially for those prone to neglect the element of struggle in Christian
discipleship."
