The Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life held an international symposium this week on medical ethics and palliative care, hosted together with the WISH initiative, a part of the Qatar Foundation. The December 11-12 conference included presentations by representatives of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism on the topic of medical ethics, palliative care, and the mental health of the elderly.
In a press conference before the event, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, discussed the importance of palliative care, which focuses on alleviating suffering and improving quality of life. This care may be offered in end-of-life situations or at any stage of an illness. It may be offered on its own, or in conjunction with efforts to treat or cure a disease or medical condition.
Paglia said that the promotion of palliative care is an area where all religions can work together. He said the symposium is part of a series of events being put on by the Pontifical Academy for Life which is focused on promoting “a culture of care in contrast to the culture of waste.” The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) co-hosted the symposium, which drew around 250 people.
WISH is an initiative of the Qatar Foundation. The Qatar Foundation was founded by then-emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser and is both privately and governmentally funded. A WISH employee, speaking with journalists on background, said it is a scientific, not religious group; but because of its connection to Qatar, its activities usually do contain a Muslim “stream.”
CEO of WISH Dr. Sultana Afdhal noted Dec. 10 that within Islam, “religious scholars from different schools do have different interpretations of what Islam teaches when it comes to palliative care or beginning of life care.” Pellegrino argued whole-patient care should take into consideration four aspects: evidence-based medicine, the patient’s best interests, the good of the patient as a human person, and the ultimate good of human life. CNA
