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Church in the WorldBishops? fresh appeal against embryo lawsAustralia Mark Brolly - 21 October 2006Australia's Catholic bishops have appealed beyond the Church to the "common humanity" of their countrymen and women, in an attempt to defeat legislation that would lift restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research. The bishops emphasised that the Church strongly supported research on adult stem cells and those derived from umbilical cord blood in pursuit of cures for diseases and genetic conditions. But they warned that legislation before Parliament created "a new contempt for life". "We do not argue against destructive experimentation on embryos simply because we are Catholic, but because of basic human values," the bishops said on 11 October. "As a society we cannot seek to alleviate the suffering of some people by creating then killing human life. Many Australians are afflicted by terrible suffering and we share with them the hope for a cure or effective treatment. But allowing scientists open slather [free-for-all] on human embryos is not the way forward." Federal parliamentary debate is scheduled for next month on scrapping many restrictions on embryo experimentation. |
 In this week’s issueMaking markets moral Iron and velvet Love in a Catholic climate Someone to talk to A good Lent takes planning South American surprise Can the Church support abuse victims on its own terms? Elena Curti Is the Church too slow in recognising that academies are the future for Catholic schools? Christopher Lamb Goodwin the scapegoat Elena Curti The pain of being a coeliac Catholic Sr M, guest contributor The Church's moral obligation to victims of clerical sexual abuse Speeches from this week's conference in Rome This week in Rome bishops and religious superiors met at the first Vatican-backed symposium devoted to forging a global response to the crisis of clerical sexual abuse that has disgraced ... Archbishop voices 'shame and sorrow' after priest's abuse trial Longley to visit parishes 'damaged' by Walsh Today, Tuesday 7 February, Bede Walsh, who served as a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, has been convicted by a jury, following a 10-day trial at Stoke-on-Trent ...
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