Keys to Bioethics is an app that provides users with a virtual bioethics manual dedicated mainly to young people, and available in Italian, Spanish and English. The manual consists of questions and answers to fundamental existential questions: the development of the human being from conception, sexuality and gender, illness and death, abortion and research on stem cells, euthanasia and organ transplants. The project was carried out by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life in collaboration with the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation and presented during the WYD in Panama 2019.
Keys to Bioethics
Contact
information
Office/person in charge:Prof.ssa Gabriella Gambino
Address:
Dicastero per i Laici, la Famiglia e la Vita Palazzo San Calisto 00120 Città del Vaticano
Email address:
info@laityfamilylife.va
Website/social media:
What is it?
What is this initiative about?
How does it help?
In what way does this initiative enhance the formation of the laity?The app is intended to be a tool to help the youth seek their desire for truth. It is the start of a job that will be left up to the adults to continue in forms of catechism, at school, within family or community.
Why is it important?
Why is this initiative important for the training and advancement of the laity in your country?The main innovation is that it is a practical tool, with which young people, perhaps made curious, could discuss these now common issues that enter our homes daily – just think about artificial insemination, prenatal selection, contraception, euthanasia – in relation to which it is difficult to find one’s path, know how to discern in the light of the true good, and with respect to which there is limited ethical and Christian formation.
How did it start
How was this initiative developed?The idea of creating an app on bioethics issues was born from a previous manual in paper format, which the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation had created for the WYD in Rio de Janeiro in 2013. Hence the idea of making the revised and updated manual on a downloadable app on mobile phones to be more in tune with the digital times.
Benefits
Does it benefit the laity on a national or local level?This app tries to give comprehensible guidance in questions such as: Is the embryo just a clot of cells? Are prenatal diagnosis techniques acceptable? Who judges the value of life? Is assisted reproduction the only alternative in case of infertility? What are natural methods? What does it mean to die with dignity?
Means and funding
Who funds the initiative? What is needed to launch this initiative?The app was funded by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life and the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation.
Learn more
Where can people learn more about this initiative?
Countries involved
Does this initiative exist in other countries?
How to start?
How can this initiative be implemented in other countries?The app is available online. It can be downloaded from the Google store to all Android devices.