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Central European Katholikentag (MEKT), a ban on any type of cloning, the rejection of research on embryos and euthanasia, concerns about the Holy Land and the memory of the extermination of peasants perpetrated by Stalin in 1932-33: these were the main issues recalled by the Austrian Episcopal Conference at the end of their autumn plenary assembly on 6 November. The bishops underlined “the particular value of the pilgrimage of peoples” of 21-23 May 2004 that will conclude the MEKT, also in view of the entry of ten new member states into the EU. The president of the Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, called the MEKT an occasion for “reconciliation” and an opportunity given to the peoples of Central Europe “to go hand in hand together towards a common future”. On issues of bioethics, Schönborn pointed out that the bishops’ pronouncement on the question in the form of three declarations “is not casual”, since the Church “has an obligation towards the “Gospel of life”. The bishops oppose cloning of any type, since it represents a “grave violation of the integrity and dignity of human life” and warn against treating the person as “raw material”, also as regards the use of embryos for the production and extraction of stem cells; “the right to life they insist must be vouchsafed to the embryo right from the start”. The bishops also reaffirmed their opposition to research on stem cells from human embryos, and emphasised the “considerable scientific success” achieved in Austria by research on adult stem cells. “The disabled, the elderly and the ill must be able to live in security in Europe”, warned the bishops. The threat of euthanasia, they insist, must be countered by “a human attitude, appropriate physical and psychological assistance, spiritual accompaniment and palliative treatment”: that is “the right way to solve in a human way the problems of old age, illness and death”. The Austrian bishops also devoted particular attention to the Holy Land: “peace they said can only be created where truth, freedom, justice and love for our neighbour reign”. Lastly, the bishops remembered the millions of victims of the extermination by hunger caused by Stalin in the years 1932-33. To commemorate their death “is necessary”, first because “it shows to what extent the totalitarian regimes forgot respect for human life”, and second because it recalls “the scandal of hunger” in many countries. The right to food is one of the fundamental human rights”, the bishops affirmed: “anyone who places this right in doubt, blasphemes God”.
