.- Earlier this week, Msgr. Francesco Follo, Head of the Vatican Delegation to the 33rd general UNESCO conference, meeting in Paris, told participants that in light of recent scientific and medical advances, treating human beings as simple research material puts the entire species in grave moral danger.
The Monsignor spoke to the assembly on October 10th on issues of bioethics, education, freedom and justice.
"Today," he said, "we find ourselves in a new situation in which mankind, faced with the temptation to treat human beings as simple research material, could place the whole future of the species in danger."
Therefore, he stressed, "the main reason for which bioethics must exist is itself ethical."
He added that goals of education must be to form individuals to be "free and responsible, especially in their affective and social behavior."
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is meeting this week to discuss cultural challenges facing the world of science today.