Category: Religion

Christians and civil disobedience

Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

Background Paper

John H. Redekop*

Introduction

A basic requirement for the functioning of civil society, especially in a democracy, is that citizens, generally speaking, should obey the laws of the land.  Christians and most, if not all, other religious groups accept that principle as an over-arching reality.  The logic is compelling. If citizens, in substantial numbers, would take the law into their own hands and individually decide which laws to obey and which to disobey, then anarchy might result rather quickly.  The theory is clear and essentially true but the practical situation is sometimes more complicated.

What is to be done by responsible and highly moral citizens if certain laws are inherently evil?  What should citizens do if the government of the day pressures them to violate their conscience on a fundamental principle?  What should they do if their government suddenly denies them the most basic of freedoms?  We know from history as well as from the present global situation that Christians often encounter laws which are unjust and simply wrong.  The Christian response is clear. . . [Read on]

Testimony from the gynaecological-obstetrical frontline

André O. Devos, MD*

. . .Since a fair amount of their income was the result of contraception, and surgical sterilisation, I refused to join the pool . . . According to my conscience, I could not accept any part of that income. I soon was dismissed, losing hospitalisation and surgical privileges. The letter of dismissal was signed both by our Mother Superior . . . and . . . a Reverend Canon, who at the same time was one of the secretaries of our
Bishop. [Full text]

World’s First Faculty of Bioethics Announced

News Release

Protection of Conscience Project

The world’s first faculty of bioethics will begin offering first year Bachelor, Master and Doctorate courses in October, 2001.

A two year (four semester) bachelor’s degree will offer basic interdisciplinary preparation courses and seminars in five areas: bioethics, medicine, law, philosophy and theology. The master’s degree requires two more years (four semesters) of study, concluding with a comprehensive final examination..

The Bioethics Faculty is an initiative of the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, a Catholic ecclesiastical university centre. The faculty is assisted by an international Scientific Council of 23 experts from 11 countries. Among them is Dr. John Fleming, Director of the Southern Cross Bioethics Institute, and a member of the Protection of Conscience Project Advisory Board.

Sean Murphy, Administrator of the non-denominational Protection of Conscience Project, welcomed the initiative.

“One of the criticisms of bioethics, as it is too often practised in North America, is that it is an expression of the hidden faith of secularism,” said Murphy. “The unexamined beliefs of the establishment elite are often the root of their intolerance of conscientious objectors.”

“By working explicitly within a philosophical tradition and faith perspective,” he explained, “the new faculty will illustrate that different beliefs about the nature of the human person lead to different ethical conclusions.”

“Once that becomes clear,” he concluded, “we may hope to see more meaningful and productive discourse about pluralism and freedom of conscience .”

Italian pharmacists called upon to exercise conscientious objection

Pharmacists in Italy have been called upon by the Catholic church to be conscientious objectors against the ‘morning after pill’, since it sometimes acts as an abortifacient. The president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference suggested that pharmacists should be allowed to claim conscientious objector status, a protection afforded to doctors and nurses who do not wish to participate in abortion. Governors of northern Lombardy (around Milan) and Latium (around Rome) have affirmed that the rights of pharmacists to conscientious objection would be respected, despite the government’s position that pharmacists would be breaking the law if they refused to supply the drug.

 

Morning-after-pill an abortifacient: conscientious objection by health care workers urged

In a document released by the Pontifical Academy for Life, the mechanism of the morning-after pill is described in detail. The document concludes that “it is clear that in fact the morning-after pill is nothing other than an abortion procured by chemical means,” encourages health care workers to practice “conscientious objection” against the “aggression” aimed at the “human embryo.”