The Bishop of Limburg, Franz Kamphaus, interviewed by the German Catholic press agency KNA, has expressed his views on the current debate on bioethics in Germany: “In recent times I have become sceptical about the possible utility of genetic research. I have the impression that research in this field has developed a dynamic of its own precisely as a result of the strong economic pressure brought to bear on it. Its protagonists are no longer able to consider in a critical way the conditions and limitations of their own activity. Greater social dialogue is needed in this field”. Otherwise, he continued, “our ethical conscience risks being always subordinated to technological progress”. Another issue touched on in the interview is the universal dimension of the Church. Bishop Kampaus, who served for many years as chairman of the Commission for the Universal Church of the German Bishops’ Conference, declared that “our commitment to the universal Church cannot be limited to the little that remains after we have managed our own domestic affairs”. Hence “saving on our commitment to the universal Church in order to contain resources within the parishes would be a fatal error”.
