Divine Mercy: The Heart of the Gospel

144 Divine Mercy: The Heart Of The Gospel and a Holy Hour, if you can, in your parishes. It is an opportunity for an outreach to healthcare professionals. The Charter was meant to reflect professional ethics in medicine and Christian morality. And it was decided that it would be written to appeal to the humanity o f the care giver and to call forth the highest motives and ideals of care givers in dedicating themselves to assistance to the suffering: love for neighbour, human solidarity, availability, Christian faith, readiness, justice, and the benevolence which transcends justice-wh ich is mercy. This document was first issued in October o f 1994, then amplified and revised to reflect later papal teaching. On March 25th, 1995, the Holy Father published his encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, The Gospel o f Life, which was successor to his earlier work, Veritatis Splendor, The Splendour o f the Truth. The Gospel o f Life is meant to be an analytical and reflective commentary on what the Pope sees as the twentieth century’s culture of death, and depersonalization — the exact opposite of mercy. This culture of death is characterized by moral relativism. In the third chapter o f the docu­ ment the Pope condemns the taking o f innocent human life: abortion and euthanasia. The language o f his condemnations approaches the language which is used in infallible documents, but the Pope did not make dogmatic pronouncements, per se. However, each o f his pro­ nouncements is framed in an appeal to natural law, to Scripture, to Sacred Tradition, and to the ordinary and universal magisterium, before its final statement in virtue o f the Petrine office and authority exercised in common and in communion with the Church’s bishops. Accordingly, he discusses at some length in that encyclical the relationship between morality and law and lays down clear guidance with regal'd to coopera­ tion and conscientious objection and the moral responsibilities of elected officials. The encyclical concludes with a fourth chapter dedicated to the build­ ing up o f a new culture, a new civilization, in which all members o f the Church are called to participate. After this encyclical was issued, the Charter was revised and updated to include quotations from it. So, you see, this Charter is meant to be an ongoing progressive document - which is very important. It is meant to be an updated and current ethics guide. The Charter begins with the healthcare worker, himself or her­ self, who is called to be a minister of human life; in a vocation of ser­ vice that is motivated by dedication and love. This is a relationship of