Caring for children with incurable diseases, safeguarding their dignity, and exploring the contribution that religions can make to responding to human vulnerability were at the heart of the Second Joint Colloquium between the International Center for Interreligious and Interreligious Dialogue of Kazakhstan and the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue of the Holy See, which took place at the National Museum of Astana on October 2nd and 3rd. The Holy See delegation to the Colloquium was led by Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, who met with Erlan Karin, Vice-President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Head of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.
Titled “Promoting Health, Promoting Peace: A Shared Commitment to the Care of Vulnerable Children,” the meeting brought together institutional representatives, religious leaders and communities, pediatricians, bioethics and theology experts, academics, and specialists. According to the official program, discussions focused on three main areas: the ethical foundations of childcare and interreligious solidarity; the protection of children’s rights and dignity in the context of illness; and the development of medical, scientific, and institutional cooperation. Special attention was given to the opportunities and ethical issues surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in pediatrics. At the heart of the two-day dialogue was a fundamental moral question: how to ensure that a child with an incurable disease receives not only adequate medical care, but also full respect for their human dignity and due attention to their psychological, social, family, and spiritual needs?
The dignity of the child does not diminish with illness, nor does it depend on the possibility of a full recovery. This is also the principle that guides discussions on the “Charter of the Rights of Children with Incurable Diseases,” drafted by the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital. The document places the child first as a person, and not simply as a patient or clinical case, and recalls the child’s right to be accompanied and cared for even when medicine can no longer cure them. The Bambino Gesù Charter, drafted in 2018, has become part of the broad international debate on the rights of children with incurable diseases and on pediatric palliative care. From this perspective, the duty to care does not cease when the possibility of curative treatment is exhausted. On the contrary, it includes alleviating suffering, accompanying the child and family, providing psychological support and, when requested, also paying attention to the spiritual dimension.
The dialogue in Astana, therefore, went beyond strictly medical issues. It addressed the value of human life, the meaning of care, and society’s responsibility towards the most vulnerable. It is precisely here that interreligious dialogue takes on a concrete dimension: different religious traditions, although starting from distinct theological perspectives, can unite in defending the dignity and rights of children and in building a culture of care.
A second area of discussion concerned artificial intelligence. New technologies are providing increasingly advanced tools for diagnosis, data analysis, and support for clinical decision-making. At the same time, their development raises questions regarding responsibility, protection of personal data, equity in access to healthcare, and the role of doctors. The fundamental challenge is to ensure that patients are not reduced to a collection of data: technology can assist care, but it cannot replace the human relationship that is an essential part of care. For Kazakhstan, the protection of vulnerable children is part of a broader path of cooperation with the Holy See in the field of interreligious dialogue. The country has made the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, established in Astana in 2003, one of the main international platforms for dialogue between representatives of different religious traditions.
Pope Francis personally participated in the VII Congress in September 2022, highlighting the role of religions in building peace and defending human dignity. This process led to more structured cooperation with the Holy See. The First Joint Colloquium between the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the International Center for Interreligious and Interreligious Dialogue of Kazakhstan was held in Rome in April 2024. The issue of vulnerable children became one of the concrete areas of this cooperation. In 2025, during the Eighth Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana, the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital proposed to religious and political authorities the development a “culture of care,” starting with the most vulnerable children, and signed a letter of intent with the University Medical Center of Kazakhstan. The Second Colloquium marked a step forward: from dialogue on the main issues involving peace to cooperation that seeks to address a very concrete question — how a society can care for its most vulnerable members.
From this perspective, health and care become intimately linked to peace. Protecting a sick child means recognizing that no person loses their value when they become vulnerable, dependent on others, or unable to recover. It also means calling on institutions, health professionals, families, civil society, and religious communities to contribute, each according to their respective responsibilities, to a shared culture of care, placing dialogue at the service of the person and peace.