Human Life International Equips Life & Family Advocates with New “Armor” Via Bioethics Training
Contact: Tom Ciesielka, TC Public Relations, 312.422.1333, tc@tcpr.net
(March 8, 2024 – Front Royal, Virginia) Around the globe, Human Life International, a Catholic educational missionary apostolate, trains local leaders to instill and uphold the dignity of human life and the sacredness of marriage and the family. Human Life International has helped design a new bioethics training curriculum for church leaders, health care and life sciences professionals, pro-life and family leaders, teachers, professors, attorneys, specialists in biomedical and biological research, and members of institutions involved in shaping public policy. The first cohort for this special program is composed of Human Life International’s own directors and affiliates.
The Global Certification Program in Health Care Ethics is a partnership with the National Catholic Bioethics Center. The program serves to proactively educate those on the front lines of the global battle for life and family with the information and skills they need to understand and advance the Catholic Church’s moral tradition.
“This new initiative, launched in 2024, will enable Human Life International leaders and other pro-life and family leaders to articulate the Catholic church’s understanding of the inherent dignity of the human person — the objective basis for the church’s moral tradition in the service of the human person and of his or her flourishing,” shared Fr. Shenan J. Boquet, Human Life International President. “It will enable leaders to develop effective and wide-ranging pro-life and family programs, help them to identify resources for the resolution of bioethical issues, and prepare leaders to train, assist and mentor other leaders. A solid education in the church’s bioethical teaching and a firm understanding of the underlying worldviews affecting human persons will enable these leaders to better advance the culture of life and identify entities, like the United Nations and the Gates Foundation, which advocate for the culture of death — having no regard for the inalienable dignity of human life.”
“There has been a demonstrated need for this increased level of dedicated study and application,” explained Dr. Brian Clowes, Director of Education and Research at Human Life International.
“This partnership between the National Catholic Bioethics Center and Human Life International has the potential to educate key Catholic leaders around the world and help them to spread the life-giving message of the dignity of the human person in health care and public policies in many societies,” declared the Center’s President, Dr. Joseph Meaney.
“Faithful Catholic education is the key solution to the challenges that secularism poses to the church and the common good,” added Father Boquet. “Anti-life and family advocacy make headway because most are unable to combat the prevailing narrative that is supported by the secular worldview. By training leaders in the understanding of the inherent dignity of the human person, they can address the false narrative, articulate the truth with clarity and conviction, boldly denounce the language and actions that undermine the incomparable value of human life, and present a path forward that begins with a proper understanding of the human person.”
Human Life International provides counseling, support, education, and other resources to expectant mothers and families around the world, as the global organization works to make abortion unthinkable, strengthen families, and impart a reverence for human life from conception through natural death.
Father Boquet explained how modern medicine has virtually eliminated avoidable maternal deaths due to pregnancy.
“When pregnancy complications arise, doctors who appreciate and respect the value of the lives of both the mother and child will first pursue medical strategies that take into account the life and health of both patients, often with the result that both mother and child safely come through the pregnancy, to the great joy and satisfaction of everyone involved.”
“It is the rare person who would eschew the blessings of modern science. Few of us would thrive as Luddites, resisting the technology that has extended our lives, improved our health, and upgraded our way of life over centuries,” observed Clowes. “There’s no doubt that science has brought many blessings to mankind. However, the innate human desire to ‘play God’ has brought into question the boundaries of what we have a right to interfere in and what we do not.”
“I can give countless stories,” said Father Boquet, “about the positive impact of a proper education in Catholic bioethics. After all, a solid formation in the moral tradition and Catholic identity grounds the Church’s institutions — i.e., colleges and universities, hospitals and nursing centers, and research centers — providing the means to create a society and culture that supports authentic human flourishing. With this certification from the National Catholic Bioethics Center, Human Life International’s global missionaries will be able to further apply the Catholic moral tradition to challenging contemporary issues in health care, such as contraception, abortion, reproductive technologies, euthanasia, assisted suicide, along with end-of-life issues, and organ donation.”
Father Boquet has long respected and affirmed the work of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, having worked with Meaney, who served Human Life International for more than two decades, most recently as Director of International Outreach and Expansion and previously as founder and director of the global life ministry’s Rome office.
There are eleven Human Life International leaders participating in the first cohort — from Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.
As the group proceeds through the training program, they will learn how to effectively articulate the Catholic Church’s understanding of the inherent dignity of the human person, apply the Church’s moral teaching as expressed in The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services to resolve complex dilemmas, and identify resources available to health care professionals and others in health care ministries which provide guidance for the resolution of bioethical issues.
Father Boquet remarked, “This is going to make a huge difference and will energize Human Life International’s life advocacy around the world. The incursion by western promotors of contraception and abortion and purveyors of the culture of death will now meet stronger, better fortified opponents, who are equipped with a higher level of bioethical understanding.”
About Human Life International
Human Life International is the only US-based authority on global life issues, including abortion, contraception, and end-of-life concerns. Human Life International is engaged in providing aid, training, and advocacy around the world and is the largest global pro-life organization, active in more than 100 countries on six continents. Human Life International provides resources and education on life issues from a Catholic perspective, while providing assistance around the globe, and prepares those training for and those active in ministry to address these matters in their vocation. For more information, visit hli.org.