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Vatican objects
Unhealthy emphasis in manual for refugees
The Vatican has issued a sharply worded critique of a UN manual on the “reproductive health of refugees.”

In 1999, the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees issued a volume entitled “The Inter-Agency Field Manual on Reproductive Health in Refugee Situations.” On November 8, three Pontifical Councils published a response, pointing to the “worrisome” contents of the UN guide.

The Vatican document—published in collaboration by the Pontifical Councils for Migrants, Health Care, and the Family—says that the UN manual “spreads ‘anti-values’ that offend against the dignity of the poorest and most vulnerable” insofar as the UN field manual encourages the use of artificial contraception and free access to abortion.

“We are confronted with a way of thinking that might be described as utilitarian and neo-Malthusian,” the Vatican document says. The Pontifical Councils point to specific language in the UN guide encouraging the distribution of the “morning-after” pill, and the provision of sterilization services, contraceptives, and abortion. The Vatican also objects to the UN’s approach to sexual activity among unmarried young people —an approach which fails to acknowledge any link between sexual activity and reproduction.

The plight of refugees illustrates the “disequilibriums and conflicts in the contemporary world,” the Vatican document says. The document calls for an approach to refugees that would affirm their human dignity, and encourage a reverent and responsible attitude toward both sexual activity within marriage and the acceptance of children.

Back to Catholic World Report December 2001 Table of Contents