Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, came to Des Moines, Iowa, to receive the World Food Prize on Oct. 16. The cardinal urged groups on both sides of the divide on bio-engineered and genetically modified food to engage in conversation and dialogue. Cardinal Turkson expressed support for biotechnology when it is married to ethics, compassion, morality and prudence. “In Catholic thought, ‘nature’ is neither sacred nor divine, neither to be feared nor to be revered and left untouched,” he said. “Rather, it is a gift offered by the Creator…entrusted to the intelligence and moral responsibility of men and women.” Agricultural practices that respect human dignity and the common good would include environmental monitoring, regulations, universal access and transparency to consumers, he said. “It is hazardous—and ultimately absurd, indeed sinful—to employ biotechnology without the guidance of deeply responsible ethics,” he said. He also warned of the consequences of denying the most impoverished segments of the population access to biotechnology.
Sowing Ethics
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
In Part II of his exclusive interview with Gerard O’Connell, the rector of the soon-to-be integrated Gregorian University describes his mission to educate seminarians who are ‘open to growth.’
My recent visit to the Holy Land revealed fear and depression but also the grit and resilience of a people to whom the prophets preached and for whom Jesus wept.
The Gregorian’s American-born rector, Mark Lewis, S.J., describes how three Jesuit academic institutes in Rome will be integrated to better serve a changing church.
Speaking at a conference about the synod in Knock, County Mayo, Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the synod, said that “Fiducia Supplicans,” will not affect the forthcoming second session of the Synod on Synodality.