c. 1996 Religion News Service
Vatican suggests”prenatal adoption”as way to save frozen embryos
(RNS) A top Vatican ethicist suggested Tuesday (July 23) that married women could volunteer to bring to term some 2,500 frozen embryos in Britain that are slated to be destroyed.
The suggestion, in an article in the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, is the latest salvo in a campaign being waged by the church against the destruction of the British embryos that began earlier this month when British newspapers reported that fertility clinics were planning to destroy 2,500 embryos unclaimed by the parents who created them.
Under British law, clinics may not preserve the embryos for more than five years.
The embryos are the result of in vitro fertilization, in which several eggs are fertilized in a test tube for implantation in a woman’s uterus one to four days later. Extra embyros are frozen in case the initial implantation is not successful or to allow time for genetic testing of the embryo.
The Roman Catholic Church, which opposes both the creation of the embryos and their destruction, called the British situation a”delicate moral problem.” The Rev. Maurizio Faggioni, a Vatican ethicist whose views are believed to mirror those of Pope John Paul II, said destruction of the embryos would be”prenatal slaughter.”In May, John Paul appealed”to stop this production and freezing of human embryos.” Faggioni said the”prenatal adoption,”in which married women would volunteer to bring the embryos to term, would be similar to giving a home to an orphan.
Faggioni said that current secular laws dealing with embryos are”based … on the denial of the embryo’s … being counted among human beings.”The ethical and juridical knot lies in recognizing the human qualities of the embryo and therefore in the persuasion that the fruit of human generation from the first moment of its existence, that is to say from the formation of the zygote, demands the unconditional respect which is morally owed to the human being in its corporal and spiritual totality,”he wrote.
Earlier this month, in a July 8 editorial, L’Osservatore Romano said that”whatever solution is adopted will clash with moral law, will be an offense to the dignity of man, and a violation of the rules of morality.”
Update: Australian court upholds euthanasia law
(RNS) An Australian provincial court, in a split 2-1 decision, has upheld one of the world’s first voluntary euthanasia laws, overriding the objections of religious and aboriginal groups.
Dr. Philip Nitschke, a supporter of the law passed earlier this year by the parliament of Australia’s Northern Territory, said he hoped the ruling would clear the way for terminally ill patients to end their lives.
But opponents of the law said they would immediately appeal to Australia’s High Court, the country’s top judicial body.”We have only run a quarter of our argument _ we believe we can win in the High Court,”Dr. Chris Wake, an anti-euthanasia spokesman told Reuters.
The Northern Territory Supreme Court in its Wednesday (July 24) ruling said the territory parliament was within its power in adopting the law. The law came into force July 1, but has not yet been used because doctors have been unwilling to approve applications in the face of ongoing legal challenges.
According to Reuters, doctors have been warned they could face murder charges if they help patients die and the law is later overturned.
The law has been condemned by Australia’s religious and political leaders, including Prime Minister John Howard. But it is overwhelmingly popular in opinion polls.
Robertson’s Family Channel will broadcast Republican convention
(RNS) Pat Robertson’s Family Channel will broadcast 11 hours of prime-time coverage of the Republican Party’s presidential nominating convention, which begins Aug. 12 in San Diego, Calif.
Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour said Wednesday (July 24) that the GOP convention committee and the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau would cover the $1.3 million cost of the Family Channel air time.
Barbour said the Republicans will also buy lesser amounts of time on two other cable networks, USA and Newstalk, at a total cost of $235,000.
He said the party had decided to purchase the air time because of concerns that the major networks could limit their coverage of the convention and to offer viewers a”true insider’s view”without media interpretation. Republican politicans will provide the commentary.
Robertson, along with his son, Timothy, holds a controlling interest in International Family Entertainment, the corporation that owns the Family Channel. Robertson also owns the Christian Broadcasting Network. He also founded the Christian Coalition, which has emerged as the religious right’s leading political organization and wields considerable influence in Republican circles.
Some of the coverage of the GOP convention will run during the prime-time hours when the Family Channel normally broadcasts reruns of Robertson’s 700 Club.
The Family Channel is the 11th largest cable network in the nation, with about 64 million subscribers.
Catholic bishops oppose legalizing same-sex marriages
(RNS) Two top leaders of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops reaffirmed the church’s opposition to same-sex marriages Wednesday (July 24), and called on secular authorities to oppose efforts to grant homosexual unions the legal status of marriage.
In a statement issued by Bishop Joseph L. Charron of Des Moines, Iowa, chair of the bishops’ committee on marriage and family life, and Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., chair of the U.S. Catholic Conference domestic policy committee, the hierarchy also rejected charges that opposing same-sex marriages represent”unjust discrimination or animosity”toward homosexuals.”In fact, the Catholic Church teaches emphatically that individuals and society must respect the basic human dignity of all persons, including those with a homosexual orientation,”the statement said.
Church teaching insists homosexuals”have a right to and deserve our respect, compassion, understanding, and defense against bigotry, attacks and abuse,”the bishops said in their statement.
But, they added,”at a time when family life is under significant stress, the principled defense of marriage is an urgent necessity for the well-being of children and families, and for the common good of society.” The statement reaffirms traditional church teaching that marriage is”a faithful, exclusive, and lifelong union between one man and one woman”which was”established by God with its own proper laws.”
Congress sends Clinton gambling commission bill
(RNS) The House on Monday (July 22) passed legislation to create a nine-member commission to study gambling’s effects on society and sent the bill to the White House for President Clinton’s signature.
The commission has long been sought by religious and other groups opposed to gambling.
Under terms of the legislation, the president, the house speaker and the senate majority leader each would name three members of the commission.
It will have subpoena power to investigate alleged relationships between gambling and crime as well as gambling’s impact on families and the national economy. The commission is to file its report within two years.
Church World Service renews Rwanda appeal
(RNS) Church World Service (CWS), the relief arm of the National Council of Churches, renewed its appeal Wednesday (July 24) for aid in shoring up the fragile peace in Rwanda but warned violence could break out at any moment.”Extremists are growing more powerful and there is growing evidence that Hutu forces are re-arming themselves in Zaire for an invasion,”the agency said in a statement.
According to CWS, Rwanda is now the poorest nation in the world, with a per capita income of $80 a year.”Poverty, particularly for women, remains a dire problem.” In December 1994, CWS issued a $2 million appeal for a variety of projects for refugee assistance, health care programs and peace and reconciliation projects. To date, denominational and public contributions have amounted to $441,511 and it has spent a little more than $670,000.
Ronald Mathies takes helm at Mennonite Central Committee
(RNS) Ronald J.R. Mathies of Elmira, Ont., has begun work as the new executive director of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), the international relief and development agency of the Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in North America.
Mathies, 56, replaces John A. Lapp, who has held the position since 1985. Lapp announced his intention to retire two years ago.
As the chief executive of MCC, Mathies heads the organization that reached out to help his parents in Russia during the famine years of the early 1920s following the Bolshevik Revolution. The MCC also aided the family of Mathies’ wife in 1949 when they were refugees in post-war Germany.
Before assuming the new post, Mathies was director of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel College in Waterloo, Ont. He also chaired the the MCC executive committee between 1989 and 1995.
Founded in 1920 in response to the famine in Russia, MCC currently has about 900 people working in 50 countries around the world.
Quote of the day: President Clinton on Archbishop Iakovos’ retirement.
(RNS) On Monday (July 29), Archbishop Iakovos, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of North and South America will celebrate his 85th birthday and retire after 37 years as leader of America’s Greek Orthodox community. On Sunday (July 28), Iakovos, the dean of American church leaders, will preside at his last official ceremony in New York City. To mark the occasion, the archdiocese released a statement by President Clinton lauding the archbishop:”Archbishop Iakovos has led the church in the Western Hemisphere through times of great challenges and change. For almost four decades, his dedicated service and visionary leadership have enlightened and strengthened the lives of Greek Orthodox Christians in our nation, creating a powerful legacy of faith. Throughout his ministry he has served God, our nation, and his fellow human beings with a devotion that is a lasting inspiration to us all.”
MJP END RNS
