The Pope has waded into the debate over patient autonomy, calling for an "authentic therapeutic alliance". In an address to surgeons in Rome, he said that the patient is an "active and responsible collaborator in the therapeutic treatment," and that his autonomy had to be respected. The foundation of medicine, he insisted, should always be "respect for human dignity. In fact, it demands the unconditional respect of every human being, born or unborn, healthy or sick, regardless of the condition in which they find themselves."

On the other hand, he said that "the professional responsibility of the doctor should bring him to propose treatments that look to the true good of the patient, aware that his specific competence generally puts him in a place to better evaluate the situation." This relationship is so important that one has to "view with suspicion any attempt to meddle in it from the outside." ~ Zenit, Oct 20