MEETING OF ACADEMY FOR LIFE TO FOCUS ON "EVANGELIUM VITAE"

VATICAN CITY, FEB 2, 2000 (VIS) - The Pontifical Academy for Life will hold its sixth general assembly from February 11 to 13 on the theme "'Evangelium Vitae': Five Years of Encounter with Society." The encyclical's fifth anniversary will be marked on February 14 by a celebration which has been organized by the academy and by the Pontifical Councils for the Family and for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers.

The Pontifical Academy for Life was established by Pope John Paul II on February 11, 1994 with the Motu Proprio "Vitae Mysterium." Just over a year later, on March 25, 1995, he issued the Encyclical "Evangelium Vitae."

The opening speech by Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, secretary for Relations with States, is entitled "The Defense of Life in the Context of International Policies and Norms." More than 30 talks are scheduled to be given over the three-day meeting. They will highlight some of the social and legislative problems regarding the defense of life in modern society throughout the world, including artificial procreation, euthanasia and the liberalization of new systems of intervention in the first phases of human life.

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