There’s been this genome conference going on here in Rome, which I have to say I have ignored because I’m really not sure how the church’s views on such things really matter. This morning, however, brought news from AP, at the [Washington Post]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/20/AR2005112000804.html.1 To whit:

“Today's scientific discoveries touch the lives of families, committing them to unexpected and delicate choices that must be faced responsibly,” Benedict said.

The pontiff noted that families can lack the scientific knowledge that would enable them make moral choices.

I’ve probably got this all wrong, but just what are these moral choices open to true-believer families? You do a genome screen, and discover that an unborn child carries a genetic disease. Now what? Praise the Lord and suffer the little child. Or you discover that you and your partner both carry a recessive allele, say for cystic fibrosis. Or, here in italy, where loose broad beans carry a health warning, favism or thalassemia. Now what? Spin the wheel of fortune and take that one in four gamble? Or back to square one?


  1. 2021-11-21: Gone and unfindable. 

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