News

 By Tim Waggoner

SYDNEY, July 16, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic organization, Regnum Christi, ran a workshop in Sydney over the weekend, leading up to World Youth Day, in which physician and bioethicist Father Joseph Tham predicted that, unless a dramatic change came about, in 50 years infanticide would be a normal reality.

As reported by Special Broadcasting Services, Father Tham, who did his PhD thesis on bioethics, said that there is a growing belief in society that religion has no place in science. “Because of secularization, the Church is having less and less say on these debates,” he said.

“What we are seeing is that there is a religious voice in the public square, between faith and reason – whether religious people or religious views should be private, or at the place in the public square,” he added.

The priest went on to point out the implications of the progression of secularization and nihilism, which induce society to accept the dangerous mentality that the end justifies the means.

One result of this false ethic, he said, is that, “Infanticide in more than fifty years will be coming to the forefront.”

Father Tham explained that a ‘domino effect’ has propelled this progression, with infanticide having developed from the acceptance of contraception, abortion and, now, euthanasia.

He also mentioned that bioethics is entrenched in the culture of death, evident from the fact that many bioethicists accept offences against life, such as infanticide.

“What is so scary is that this is not one person but many thinking about infanticide and accepting it. Many bioethicists think this way,” said the priest.

Father Tham said that even theologians in the Catholic Church have been affected by the tide of moral relativism.

“What has happened in the last few years is a creation of a new type of morality amongst theologians that negated the existence of objective knowledge forms…There is no objective truth about ideas.”

Father Tham concluded by calling for a renewal in the Church so Catholics can prepare themselves to enter into the many bioethical debates.

“They’re [Catholics] not attending wider secular circle. We don’t have a voice in secular society because we don’t seem certain,” he said.

“Catholic thinkers have to engage the secular world.”