"DOCTORS ARE GUARDIANS AND SERVANTS OF HUMAN LIFE"

VATICAN CITY, SEP 30, 1999 (VIS) - This morning, in welcoming the participants in the Seventh Congress of the International Gynecological Cancer Society, the Holy Father reminded them that they "face the most fundamental realities of human life - birth, suffering and death," stressing that first and foremost, as doctors, they "are guardians and servants of human life."

He reiterated words from his Encyclical Letter "Evangelium Vitae," on the human significance and ethical aspect of the medical profession: "In today's cultural and social context, in which science and the practice of medicine risk losing sight of their inherent ethical dimension, health care professionals can be strongly tempted at times to become manipulators of life, or even agents of death."

The Holy Father underlined the "delicate and dramatic" situation which occurs when "the mother (to-be) is stricken by cancer ... and faces pressure from society and family to end the life within her in order to ease her own situation." However, he added, "advances in your field make it increasingly possible to safeguard both the life of the mother and the life of the child."

Urging public authorities to adequately fund cancer research, the Pope remarked that "for all the talk of rising costs of health care, particularly in the area of cancer treatment, there is a lingering sense that too little is being done and too little spent on health education and cancer prevention. Nor should there be any hesitation about pointing out clearly that cancer can be the result of people's behavior, including certain sexual behavior, as well as of the pollution of the environment and its effects on the body itself."

John Paul II repudiated assisted suicide and euthanasia - "a grave violation of the law of God." He also rejected concurring with "the intention of another person to commit suicide" and encouraging "the so-called 'self determination' of the dying person." He reminded the doctors that "nothing, not even a patient's request - which more often than not is a cry for help - can justify the taking of a life which is precious in the eyes of God."

"At its deepest level," reflected the Pope, "death is somewhat like birth: Both are critical and painful moments of passage which open on to a life which is richer than what has gone before. Death is an exodus, after which it is possible to see the face of God, .... just as a baby, once born will be able to see the face of its parents."

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