(CNS/Vatican News): “Persons with Down syndrome are more than a diagnosis, more than a condition, and certainly more than the limits others may imagine. All of them, like all of us, possess the same inherent dignity and sacred value, intentionally and lovingly imprinted by the Creator from the very first moment of conception,” said Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, apostolic nuncio and permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organisations in Geneva.
“Discriminatory and eugenic practices linked to prenatal screening and the selective termination of pregnancies targeting babies diagnosed with Down syndrome,” he said, “must be firmly rejected.”
Archbishop Balestrero gave this reminder at a side event hosted by the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation on the Thursday before World Down Syndrome Day 2026, observed on March 21.
In his remarks, Archbishop Balestrero stressed that people with Down syndrome, “like everyone else, hold the same fundamental rights.”
The theme for this year’s World Down Syndrome Day was “From Loneliness to Inclusion: Valuing Human Genetic Diversity to Enable the Effective Realisation of Rights for Persons with Down Syndrome.”
The apostolic nuncio called on people “to promote and defend the inherent dignity, fundamental rights, and transcendent value of all persons at every stage of life,” as he renewed an impassioned appeal.
Inclusion, he explained, is not “merely a matter of providing services or accommodations,” but a matter of “recognising persons with Down syndrome as full members of our communities.”
Archbishop Balestrero also acknowledged and thanked the many professionals and institutions around the world that are committed to the continuing care for persons with Down syndrome and their families.
With this sentiment, the archbishop reaffirmed the importance of love, humanity, and heartfelt concern.
“A system of care and support may be operationally perfect, but if it is heartless, it becomes cold and impersonal,” he said, emphasising that the value of a person’s life should not be measured by utility or performance, but by the simple and profound fact of being human.
“May our collective efforts continue to build a culture of life and humanity where every person with Down syndrome is recognised as unique and unrepeatable, and welcomed with equal dignity and respect,” he said.
