The Fifth International Vatican Conference , entitled "Exploring the Mind, Body & Soul: How Innovation and Novel Delivery Systems Improve Human Health," took place from May 6th-8th. It was co-hosted by the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Culture, the Cura Foundation, and the Science and Faith (STOQ) Foundation to "explore the relationship between the mind, body and soul and the anthropological and cultural dimensions of being human."
The conference supposedly aspired to bring "deeper meaning of human existence and seek areas of convergence between the humanities and the natural sciences." But in actual fact it was dedicated to an uncritical examination of what the Press Release from the Pontifical Council for Culture called "the latest breakthroughs in medicine, healthcare delivery and prevention, as well as the human implications and cultural impact of technological advances."
The 2021 Conference Goals proposed to "promote a culture of collaboration by stimulating an open dialogue and encouraging an interdisciplinary approach to tackle major health care challenges around the globe." Regrettably, however, this "culture of collaboration" did not include a Catholic perspective.
Given the fact that this conference was hosted by the Vatican, it is passing strange that Christ was not remotely mentioned anywhere within the Conference site. Perhaps it was thought that the good news of a Divine Healer, Saviour and Redeemer would not appeal to the illustrious list of conference attendees, but surely that is no reason for self-censorship.
It is true that the agenda of the modern world simply does not intersect with the Catholic faith, but this hardly excuses the massive concessions made in the name of finding common ground. For example, the term "humanity" was used frequently during the conference to show the "bridge that unites us." "Humanity" is a term vague enough to appeal to those listening as well as those in attendance who were non-Christians, globalist, or science-only believers, each of whom was free to define it any way they chose.
God, Creator and Divine author of all things is hardly mentioned because in the eyes of this conference, in their attempt to unite all people, God is not the uniting commonality, but a grand figure of the past meant to step aside to make room for the common denominators of modern man that is "humanity" and "science." Sadly, it is those at the very helm of the Catholic Church that have in effect pushed Christ to the side and in doing so they have effectively de-crowned Christ and idolized the material by providing the platform for modern man's new apostles to preach on novel health innovation and how to escape the limits of man's God-given human nature.
In comments given to the National Catholic Register , Msgr. Tomasz Trafny, who heads the science and faith section at the Pontifical Council for Culture, claimed, "if we were to invite only those who fully agree with what the Church teaches, we will feel happy and no one will complain. So we invite people who think differently as it's an opportunity for them to explain what they're doing, but also for us to challenge them and ask difficult questions."
This is all well and good in theory, but in practice not a single one of the "difficult questions" challenged anyone on faith. Rather, they were related to the impact of technological advances on humans and cultures. This may have to do with the motives behind the conference's list of supporters and grantors who, using the Vatican as a platform, attempted to promote their agendas, and sell their wares.
There are a few takeaways from the conference. Those who spoke are striving to gain the trust of people globally to push for many things, including global Covid-19 vaccinations - no exceptions. Big-Tech and Big-Pharma representatives also want to unite forces to shift from in-person healthcare to virtual care, much like the shift from in-person banking to tele-banking. They see virtual care as a stepping stone to a "universal" healthcare system.
They envision that complete healthcare information for all individuals would exist on a virtual platform, thus providing fluid healthcare wherever one is in the world. It would also help pave the way for preventative measures for individuals and cures for chronic diseases. Hence their catch phrase "unite to prevent, unite to cure" and the way to do that is to bring together Big-Tech and Big-Pharma. They promise that such innovations would lead to longer lifespans.
However appealing (or not) this may sound in theory, there are many ethical and moral dilemmas that must be confronted. Add to this the immense database security challenges, such as the stealing or the selling of our information to criminal entities or, worse still, China. Aside from privacy and subsidiarity concerns, there are the larger questions. What if government entities, once in complete control of our medical information, make medical care contingent upon receiving vaccines, or even accepting chemical of surgical sterilization. It's happened before, of course, many times.
If the Vatican is going to host a conference about global healthcare initiatives to discuss "how innovation and novel delivery systems improve human health", then the Vatican should, at the very least, make a push for Catholic ethical social teaching. When will there be a Vatican conference discussing novel and ethical medical delivery systems that do not feed off or depend on the abortion industry complex? The Vatican has brought together many brilliant minds to develop preventative measures and discover cures for diseases. Why not put the same effort into improving human health in ethical ways that do not come at the cost of the most vulnerable and innocent?
They claimed to find "deeper meaning of human existence and seek areas of convergence between the humanities and the natural sciences," however it seems as this was but a cosmetic slogan to fulfill the religious requirement of the summit, given the nature of the hosts. What really took place was the advancement and almost selling of medical innovations and the "creation of new, interdisciplinary approaches and partnerships for improving health, wellbeing and understanding human uniqueness." In this, however, they omitted God and the transcendental altogether. They abandoned the idea of human nature and rejected limits of any kind.
There was a time when St. Paul at the Aerophagus tried to use sophisticated philosophical arguments to convert nonbelievers. Failing in this, he thereafter pledged to preach Christ crucified. Perhaps the Vatican could take a lesson or two from the great saint whose statue adorns the entrance to the St. Peter Basilica.
In this case, the Vatican virtually recreated the Aerophagus itself, giving space to all other creeds but its own. And the "unknown god" that St. Paul originally used as his reference point was nowhere to be found.