The seminar, sponsored by the Strategic Alliance of Catholic Studies University on Sick Jubilee and Healthcare World Opportunities, sheds light on the ethical and social aspects of human vulnerability.
By Linda Bordoni
“Vulnerability is not a limitation, but it is the strength that brings us together and calls for responsibility,” is the central message of research seminars hosted by the Strategic Alliance of Catholic Research Universities.
The Australian Catholic University has been promoted and worked with Jubilee in the world of healthcare in collaboration with Jubilee for Jubilee, a seminar on the university's Rome campus on Monday saw the participation of young scholars from around the world.
The event aims to analyse the ethical and social aspects of vulnerability and encourage institutions to recognize vulnerability not as a weakness, but as an integral part of human experience and authentic care.
The Round Table marked the pinnacle of the journey that began in 2024, bringing together doctoral students from Sacru's Global Network to share their interdisciplinary research. From genetic testing to end-of-life care, inter-religious medical ethics in religious conflict zones to philosophical roots of virtue and justice, their research converges on a common theme: the possibility of transforming vulnerability.
Reconstruct the concept of vulnerability
The session was held, David Kirchhoffer, director of the Queensland Bioethics Centre and chairman of Sacru's working group on vulnerability, reflects the post-pandemic need to reconstruct the concept.
“Since the Covid-19 pandemic and the establishment of this working group, we recognize the importance of placing vulnerabilities at the heart of our reflection within the framework of research conducted as a Catholic university,” he said. “This collaboration between doctoral students is a concrete expression of this commitment.”
The seminar was designated along with the Australian Ambassador Keith Pitt of the Holy See, as well as institutional leaders and medical professionals.
Virginia Burke, president of the Australian Catholic University and chairman of the Mercy Health Australian Committee, highlighted the urgent need for ethical clarity in today's fragmented regulatory landscape, particularly in the health care and elderly care sector.
“The St. Cruu Initiative,” she noted, “contributes to a consistent ethical framework that can provide shared orientation and language and deliver concrete added value to the healthcare sector.”
Space for mutual growth
The Round Table discussions summarise the voices from seven countries and a diverse range of academic disciplines. PhD students were guided by a shared vision of care that shared insights drawn from their respective fields and embraced vulnerability as a space for mutual growth.
“For many of us, vulnerability is seen as something to overcome,” said Joana Ramos of Católica Portugusa University. “But through this dialogue we began to see it as a common ground: a space where ethics, science and human dignity intersect.”
Simona Beretta, professor of economic policy at Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore University and member of the working group, highlighted the theological and civic resonances of this rethinked concept. Students interpreted vulnerabilities as not just vulnerabilities but as responsibility towards others. Tutti. ”
Concluding the session, James Keenan, theologian and assistant expert on global engagement at Boston College Fr., provided a deep meditation on vulnerability as ethical engagement.
“Vulnerability is a robust concept of health care ethics. It identifies unstable people. Yes, but so are those who respond: nurses, doctors, caregivers: They must allow themselves to be vulnerable to those they serve.
Repeating this spirit, Sacru's Executive Director Pier Sandro Coccèlli reaffirmed the Alliance's commitment to promoting dialogue and ethical leadership through academic collaboration.
“In a global context characterized by deep inequality and growing distrust in science, this panel shows whether academic research can once again place human dignity in the centre and specifically contribute to the common good.”
