The Legacy of John Paul II

Remember John Paul II,

Think of Science Exploitation by Commercial STM Publishers,

Witness Open Access Messiah

"One of the most striking aspects of John Paul II's papal leadership has been his frequent and outspoken forays into science, especially the life sciences. His positions on abortion, sexuality, and contraception have alienated vast numbers of Catholics and non-Catholics. Many people had seen his tenure in the Vatican as an opportunity for progressive leadership on issues ranging from AIDS in Africa to the reproductive rights of women. They have been disappointed. But his staunch orthodoxy has had one unexpected, and some would say beneficial, consequence - a decisive opposition to the commercial exploitation of science.

In a letter to the apostolic nuncio in Poland on March 25 2002, John Paul II condemned the "overriding financial interests" that operate in biomedical and pharmaceutical research. These forces, he wrote, prompted "decisions and products which are contrary to truly human values and to the demands of justice". His particular target was "the medicine of desires", by which he meant those drugs and procedures that are "contrary to the moral good", serving as they do the pursuit of pleasure rather than the eradication of poverty. In an especially thoughtful passage, he wrote thatthe pre-eminence of the profit motive in conducting scientific research ultimately means that science is deprived of its epistemologicalcharacter, according to which its primary goal is discovery of the truth. The risk is that when research takes a utilitarian turn, its speculative dimension, which is the inner dynamic of man's intellectual journey, will be diminished or stifled..."

Source: Richard Horton, The Lancet Editor. The Dawn of McScience [Book Review: Science in the Private Interest: Has the Lure of Profits Corrupted Biomedical Research? by Sheldon Krimsky, Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 247] The New York Reviewer of Books 51 (4) (11 March 2004) [Free FullText] [FullText]

Also see: Editorial and Publisher Corruption. Science and Technology - Tenth Report, Volume II, Oral and Written Evidence. UK House of Commons Publication HC399II pp. 394-404, Ev386 (20 July 2004) [FullText] [Also available as a .PDF imprint of original submission]