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Magisterial Documents

 

The single best source in English for the magisterial sources of Catholic teaching in the area of biomedical ethics is Kevin O'Rourke, O.P., and Philip Boyle, Medical Ethics: Sources of Catholic Teaching,  4th Ed. Georgetown University Press, 2011.

 

NOTE:  All of these documents require interpretation, with special attention paid to the distinct level of authority and the context in which each was first published. See James T. Bretzke, S.J.'s  brief summary of rules for interepreting Catholic magisterial documents here.

 

Conciliar Documents

 

Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes (1965)

 

Papal Encyclicals

 

Paul VI, Populorum Progressio (1967)

 

Paul VI, Humanae Vitae (1968)

 

John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae (1995)

 

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF)

 

Letter to the Bishop of Cleveland regarding

the questions proposed on the cremation of foetuses 

and members of the human body (1967)

 

Declaration on Procured Abortion (1974)

 

Responses to Questions Concerning Sterilization

in Catholic Hospitals (1975)

 

Declaration on Euthanasia (1980)

 

Donum Vitae (1987)

 

The moral norm of Humanae Vitae and Pastoral Duty (1989)

 

Responses to Questions Posed Regarding Uterine Isolation

and other matters (1993)

 

Instruction on Prayers for Healing (2000)

 

Responses to Certain Questions of the USCCB Concerning

Artificial Nutrition and Hydration (2007)

 

Dignitas Personae (2008)

 

Clarification on Procured Abortion (2009)

 

 

Papal Addresses
 

Pope Pius XII (1939-1958)

delivered a large number of addresses on topics related to medicine and medical ethics. These were delivered primarily to various professional groups (e.g., associations of anaesthesiologists, Italian midwives, etc.). Most of these have been assembled in a large Italian-language volume: Pio XII, Discorsi ai Medici, Roma: Orrizonte Medico, 1960.

 

John Paul II, TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
ON "LIFE-SUSTAINING TREATMENTS AND VEGETATIVE STATE:
SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES AND ETHICAL DILEMMAS"
(2004)

 

 

 

Other Documents of the Roman Curia
 

Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers

 

Dolentium Hominum (1985)

 

Charter for Health Care Workers (1995)

 

 

Pontifical Academy for Life

Multiple Documents (click on link)

 

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Clicking on any of the links below will take you to the USCCB website with multiple documents related to that issue. In many cases there will also be links to Papal documents and documents of the Roman Curia.

 

Abortion

 

Assisted Suicide

 

Cloning

 

Contraception/Sterilization

 

End of Life

 

Euthanasia

 

Health Care

 

Reproductive Technology

 

Stem Cell Research

 

 

 

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