Peter Garrett, who is probably the leading Christian expert on human cloning in this country spoke to us in mid September. It is no surprise to any of us that the Church is opposed to human cloning. Perhaps sometimes, however, it is useful to remember why we are opposed to these things. Peter spoke of the "Seamless Garment of life". We were asked to question how it is that the state has agreed to legalise Human Cloning and what difference there is between so called therapeutic cloning and full blown human cloning. The answer is, of course, only that full pregnancy cloning is that which is allowed to develop to term in a surrogate womb, while therapeutic cloning involves the destruction of an embryo after a defined time period. "The Church does not need to affirm the personhood of a new embryo; we must simply be cautious to protect the life that is before us," said Mr Garrett. -
From a theological point of view we see at the conception of Our Lord that Mary "felt the power of the spirit coming upon her". We see one sublime moment where God the creator entered into his mother. This, said Mr Garret, was a model of the creation of all of us. There was thus no two step movement in the creation of Christ. A few days later, of course, St John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb when he first met his Lord. Elizabeth greeted "the mother of my Lord".
Although the 1990 Human Embryology Act says that the human embryo has a very special moral status, it was pointed out that the was no context in the Act to define what that meant. During the passage of the human cloning legislation, we heard the extraordinary statement that "notions of right and wrong should not be allowed to influence scientific progress".
Peter Garrett’s response to this was that "the sanctity of life is a seamless garment". We must therefore have a full vision of the sanctity of life, a vision which has in recent times been shared by Pope John Paul II, Mother Theresa and Padre Pio.
Peter was (and remains) very concerned that pushing cloning through Parliament was done to enable a multibillion dollar industry to settle in this country. There was clear evidence that the government was working hard to push legislation through parliament, despite requests for a pause for thought from Lord Alton and others.
Adult stem cells can be used for all of the purposes for which cloned cells are hypothesised as being used. Indeed, so far they have shown more promise and do not turn into tumours. [Of course since this talk we have heard more of unpredicted disease in Dolly the sheep and other countries have rejected cloning].
Peter implored us to respect "the seamless garment of life", seeing the life of all people in our care as sacred and unique, and to continue to do so. He recommended that we all read the Gospel of Life and that we ask Our Lady give us the grace to defend life in all that we do.
It was a very good talk enjoyed by all, with very positive feedback.
The Billings Ovulation Method is now a government approved method in China. All engaged couples must receive information about it. It is being taught in health centres all over the country. In at least one of the health centres, 50% of the couples are choosing the Billings Method over all other methods. A 100 percent effectiveness is being achieved among Chinese couple users. [BOMA-USA (usa@msn,.com)]
(PRESSURE WORKS !) 155 million doses of smallpox vaccine for US citizens are being made using animal cell lines rather than aborted foetal tissue. A previous batch of 54 million doses is being produced using the MRC-5 foetal cell line. The Children of God for Life organisation says that pressure from pro-life activists caused Acambis Corporation, the producers of both batches of vaccine, to consider an ethical alternative. [LifeSite, 3 December]
The founder of the modern hospice movement has been honoured with a $1 million humanitarian award. Dame Cicely Saunders accepted the prize in New York on Friday from the Conrad H Hilton Foundation on behalf of St Christopher s Hospice, London. Dame Cicely, an Anglican, described how she had been inspired by seeing Catholic nuns giving terminal care. [Catholic News Service, 3 December]
A teenage girl was hurt, and four homes destroyed, in the latest air strike by the Sudanese government on villages and refugee camps in the southern part of the country, Officials of the Diocese of Torit reported.