VATICAN CITY, OCT. 29, 2002 (Zenit.org).- In the face of troubling uses of technology, the Vatican appealed for a defense of human life in its annual message to Hindus.
The message was published today for the occasion of Diwali, the feast of lights that most Hindus celebrate Nov. 4. The feast represents the victory of truth over lies, and light over darkness, and marks the start of a new year.
Cardinal Francis Arinze, the then president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue who was recently appointed prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, made the pro-life appeal in the message.
In the message, the cardinal asks Hindus worldwide: «Are not religious festivals also expressions of the desire of human beings to conquer darkness by light, evil by good, untruth by truth, and death by life?»
«The mystery of life, from the moment of conception onwards, through the stages after the birth of a child, is attended by prayers and ritual actions in the Hindu tradition,» the message reads.
«We Christians attribute particular value to human life because the Bible teaches us that the human person is created in the image and likeness of God,» the cardinal says. «This gift of God is sealed by Christ’s blood, which is shed out of his love for every human being. Thus, every individual is precious in the eyes of God.»
«Technology has made progress in our days,» the message continues. «Life has, perhaps, become safer, easier and longer. But what answers can we give to the following questions: Has technology helped better the quality of human life? Does technology help us to value human life?»
«With the progress of technology, life, paradoxically, seems to be more threatened than ever,» the cardinal responds.
«Modern genetic science has become a tool in the hands of man,» he adds. «He can use it or abuse it. Tempted at times to become a manipulator of life, or even an agent of death, man needs to rediscover his fundamental place in creation, namely, that he is created by God and that God is the sole Creator of all that exists.»
Cardinal Arinze refers in his message to world religious leaders’ Day of Prayer for Peace, which John Paul II called in Assisi last Jan. 24, during which participants heard the testimony of the Hindu representative, who described the meeting as «a sign of the unity of the human family under the Fatherhood of God (‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’).»
At the end of that Day of Prayer, Cardinal Arinze recalls, the religious leaders who attended the event «made a common commitment in favor of promoting each single life and the whole of life.»
The cardinal concludes his message by laying the bases for the success of his proposal: «Only to the degree that ethical and religious considerations will prevail in the whole of society can we hope that the principle of respect for life will be enshrined in society’s attitudes and laws.»
