• Address to Participants in the Conference “Yes to Life”
• Pope Francis

Your Eminences,

Dear Brother Bishops and Priests,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Good morning and welcome. I greet Cardinal Farrell and I thank him for his words of introduction. My greeting also goes to all taking part in this international Conference, “Yes to Life! Taking Care of the Precious Gift of Life in its Frailty,” organized by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, and by the Foundation Il Cuore in una Goccia, one of the groups that work daily in our world to welcome children born in conditions of extreme frailty. These are children that the throw-away culture sometimes describes as being “unfit for life,” and thus condemned to death.

No human being can ever be unfit for life, whether due to age, state of health or quality of existence. Every child who appears in a woman’s womb is a gift that changes a family’s history, the life of fathers and mothers, grandparents and of brothers and sisters. That child needs to be welcomed, loved and nurtured. Always! Even when they are crying, like that baby over there … [applause]. [End Page 502] Some people might think: “But, the baby is crying … they should leave.” No, this is music that all of us need to hear. (I think the baby heard that applause and thought it was for him!) We need to hear the sound always, even when the baby is a little annoying: Also in church: let children cry in church! They are praising God. Never, never chase a child out because he or she is crying. Thank you for your witness.

When a woman discovers that she is expecting a child, she immediately feels within her a deep sense of mystery. A woman who becomes a mother knows this. She is aware of a presence growing within her, one that pervades her whole being. Now she is not only a woman but also a mother. From the very beginning, an intense, interactive dialogue takes place between her and the child. Scientists call this “cross-talk.” It is a real and intense relationship between two human beings communicating with one another from the very first moments of conception, and it leads to a mutual adjustment as the child grows and develops. This ability to communicate is not only on the part of the woman; even more, the child, as an individual, finds ways to communicate his or her presence and needs to the mother. Thus, this new human being immediately becomes a son or daughter, and this moves the woman to connect with her child with all her being.

Nowadays, from the very first weeks, modern prenatal diagnosis techniques can detect the presence of malformations and illness that may at times seriously endanger the life of the child and the mother’s peace of mind. Even the suspicion of an illness, and especially the certainty of a disease, changes the experience of pregnancy and causes deep distress to women and couples. A sense of isolation, helplessness and concern about the eventual suffering of the child and the whole family—all this is like a silent cry, a call for help in the darkness, when faced with an illness whose outcome cannot be foreseen with certainty. Every illness takes its own course, nor can physicians can always know how it will affect each individual.

Yet, there is one thing that medicine knows well, and that is that unborn children with pathological conditions are little patients who can often be treated with sophisticated pharmacological, surgical and support interventions. It is now possible to reduce the frightening gap between diagnoses and therapeutic options. For years, that has been one of the reasons for elective abortion and abandonment of care at the birth of many children with serious medical conditions. Foetal therapies on the one hand, and perinatal hospices on the other, achieve surprising results in terms of clinical care, and they provide essential support to families who embrace the birth of a sick child.

These possibilities and information need to be made available to all, in order to expand a scientific and pastoral approach of competent care. For this...

• 在“生命是”会议上向与会者致辞
• 方济各

阁下，

亲爱的兄弟主教和牧师，

亲爱的兄弟姐妹们，

早上好，欢迎光临。我向法雷尔红衣主教致意，并感谢他的介绍。我还要向参加这次国际会议的所有人致以诚挚的问候！由Lacast，Laty，Family和Life的Dicastery以及una Goccia的Il Cuore基金会组织的“照顾脆弱的生命的珍贵礼物”，这是我们世界上每天工作的一个小组，欢迎有条件的孩子出生极其虚弱。这些孩子有时被扔掉的文化描述为“不适合生活”，因此被判处死刑。

无论是由于年龄，健康状况还是生存质量，任何人都不可能过上不适合生活的生活。每个出现在妇女子宫中的孩子都是一份礼物，它改变了家庭的历史，父亲和母亲，祖父母以及兄弟姐妹的生活。这个孩子需要受到欢迎，爱护和抚育。总是！即使他们在哭，也像那边的那个婴儿一样……[掌声]。[完页502]有人可能会想：“但是，婴儿在哭……他们应该离开。” 不，这是我们所有人都需要听的音乐。（我认为婴儿听到了掌声，以为是他的掌声！）即使婴儿有点烦，我们也必须始终听到声音：在教堂里：让孩子在教堂里哭泣！他们在赞美上帝。永远不要因为孩子哭泣而把孩子赶出去。谢谢您的见证。

当一个女人发现自己正在怀上一个孩子时，她立即感到内心深处的神秘感。成为母亲的女人知道这一点。她意识到自己内在的一种成长，一种遍及整个她的存在。现在她不仅是一个女人，而且还是一个母亲。从一开始，她和孩子之间就进行了激烈的互动对话。科学家称之为“串扰”。这是两个人类从受孕之初就开始相互交流的一种真实而密切的关系，随着孩子的成长和发展，它导致了相互的适应。这种交流的能力不仅是女性的一部分。甚至，孩子作为一个个体，找到了与母亲沟通自己的存在和需求的方法。从而，

如今，从最初的几周开始，现代的产前诊断技术就可以检测出畸形和疾病的存在，这些畸形和疾病有时可能严重危害孩子的生命和母亲的内心平静。即使是对疾病的怀疑，尤其是对疾病的确定性，也改变了怀孕的经历，并给妇女和夫妇带来深深的困扰。孤独感，无助感和对孩子以及整个家庭最终痛苦的担忧-当面对无法确定的后果的疾病时，这就像是无声的哭泣，在黑暗中寻求帮助。每种疾病都有其自己的病程，医生也永远无法知道它将如何影响每个人。

然而，医学知道的是一件事，那就是患有病理状况的未出生婴儿很少，可以通过复杂的药理，手术和支持干预措施进行治疗。现在有可能缩小诊断和治疗选择之间的可怕差距。多年来，这一直是许多患有严重疾病的儿童分娩时选择性流产和放弃照料的原因之一。一方面，胎儿疗法，另一方面，围产期收容所，在临床护理方面取得了令人惊讶的结果，并且为拥抱生病孩子的家庭提供了必要的支持。

必须扩大所有人的这些可能性和信息，以扩大主管护理的科学和牧民方法。为了这...