Posted on 06/30/2006 7:35:59 AM PDT by mware
Scientists who carry out embryonic stem cell research and politicians who pass laws permitting the practice will be excommunicated, the Vatican said yesterday.
"Destroying human embryos is equivalent to an abortion. It is the same thing," said Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, head of the Pontifical Council for the Family.
"Excommunication will be applied to the women, doctors and researchers who eliminate embryos [and to the] politicians that approve the law," he said in an interview with Famiglia Christiana, an official Vatican magazine.
Excommunication forbids Catholics from receiving communion, assisting in any Church duties, and sometimes from having a Church burial.
But the threat was shrugged off yesterday by Italy's leading expert on cloning, Prof Cesare Galli, of the Laboratory of Reproductive Technologies in Cremona, who was the first scientist to clone a horse.
Prof Galli likened the Vatican to the Taliban and added: "I can bear excommunication. I was raised as a Catholic, I share Catholic values, but I am able to make my own judgment on some issues and I do not need to be told by the Church what to do or to think.
"I will be, together with Elena Cattaneo [a scientist working in the University of Milan] the first to be affected by the excommunication and then there are two other labs that I know using imported embryonic stem cells."
The research is opposed by the Catholic Church because it involves destroying embryos. This occurs at the point when they consist of about 100 to 200 cells and the so-called inner cell mass is removed. These stem cells can grow indefinitely and turn into any of the body's 200 cell types.
Scientists believe research making use of the cells could eventually yield treatments for a range of diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and Parkinson's.
The Vatican's tough stance on the issue came as the Pope prepared to visit Valencia for the fifth annual world conference on the Catholic family. Spain passed a law permitting embryonic stem cell research two years ago to the dismay of the Church.
An Italian senator, Paola Binetti, a member of Opus Dei and a prominent campaigner for Catholic rights, also spoke against the Church's line.
"I am upset and stunned," she said. "It is a mistake to give out the idea that God is angry with Man because he is not in agreement with him."
Cardinal Trujillo said it was not just Spain which had "thrown out the fundamental laws of nature" but also Belgium, Holland, the Scandinavian countries and France. He did not mention Britain, which is at the forefront of embryonic stem cell research.Belgium's divided State.
Just like they did with pro-abortion politicians, right? How's that goin'?
If someone begs repentance for any sin, they will be forgiven and allowed back in communion.
Presumably there are no pedophiles in the ministry who say: "Pedophilia is perfectly moral and acceptable, therefore I do not apologize because I have done nothing wrong."
Such an individual would be excommunicated, since they have committed one or even two of the four sins that the Scriptures say cry out to Heaven for vengeance.
However I would think that all of those in the ministry probably admitted what they did was evil and have begged for absolution - which the Church cannot legitimately deny to someone who is penitent.
The issue here is that many people actually do say: "Upholding the legality of abortion or destroying human beings in the name of scientific research is perfectly moral and acceptable, therefore I do not apologize because I have done nothing wrong."
Such individuals, because they are impenitent and refuse to acknowledge that they have done evil will be excommunicated.
Excommunication really hinges on the attitude of the transgressor towards their own transgression. Anyone who begs forgiveness and seriously resolves to sin no more can never be permanently excommunicated.
Sorry, but the recent history of the Church is that it forgives and protects the monsters, and allows the innocent to be abused. I don't care what justification goes along with that, but when I see evil protected and forgiven, and the good and innocent pushed aside, I don't see the hand of God.
Sorry, but it requires work.
First, there are priests who are unjustly accused of abuse by people who have an agenda. Destroying the life of an unjustly accused priest must be avoided.
That takles investigation and review.
Second, pedophiles are sneaky liars who do everything possible to conceal their crimes.
The real criminals are not just going to all of a sudden come clean and admit what they did.
Yesterday would have been better.
I agree.
Dear LurkLongley,
"1. Anyone involved in an abortion is automatically excommunicated by their very involvement, and the church has been pretty tough with politicians who support abortion."
Oh yeah, when did this (the Church being tough with pro-abort Catholic politicians) start?
Outside of a few heroic bishops, frankly, the hierarchy has looked the other way with regard to pseudo-Catholic politicians.
Is Mr. Kerry still receiving Holy Communion? Has Chappaquiddick Ted stopped going to Mass at Holy Trinity in Washington, DC?
Sorry, the bishops have NOT been tough on pro-abort Catholic politicians. To me, that is a scandal.
"2. All priests who have committed any substantiated case of sexual abuse (on minors or otherwise) are removed from ministry and sometimes defrocked."
At least in theory. At least today. Remember, part of the reason why the scandal blew up in the hierarchy's face is because for a long time (from the 1960s through the mid-1980s), the standard operating procedure was to keep the incidents private, to get some treatment for the offender, and send him right back into ministry.
"3. Haboring illegal aliens is not an offense against God."
Violating a just law IS an offense against God.
sitetest
Try ann Coulter, Godless. I think that's where I read it.
Well, what if an abortionist begs repentance, is forgiven and goes and commits more abortions the next day? Then when caught, gets forgiven, accepted and goes and commits abortions again. At what point does the Church get real? Here's my guess - they "get real" very quickly with abortionist, not so quickly with priests who are having sex with other men, and not quickly at all with priests who are boinking the alter boys. Really, many of us don't have all the built in excuses for this type of evil behavior... And yes, "evil" is the word.
The pedophile priest scandal was an overt attempt to bring church governance under the state and to bankrupt the institution. If it were just about protecting children the NEA would also have suffered a similar fate, but it did not.
I am cynical enough about the sexualization of everything that I call it the equivalent of the Roman empire's policy of bread and circuses. While an important area of morality sex is not the be all and end all.
They are excommunicated again by that very act.
And if they ask forgiveness again, it will not be granted until they demonstrate repentance over a long period of time.
The same applies to pedophiles.
Bishops who are doing their job properly observe this discipline.
The problem is, not all bishops do their job - and the Vatican is exercising a renewed scrutiny of these slackers.
Wow! You are delusional. Here's my story. My father's parents were Catholic - and all their family going back in time were Catholic - and my father as a young man was beautiful. He was an alter boy. And no, nothing was ever said publicly - he died before the Catholic pedophile scandals made front pages...
The outcome of someone's great "tolerance of evil"? My family was raised outside the Catholic Church. And all of us, our children and our grandchildren and soon to be great grandchildren will be raised outside the Catholic Church. I'm sure the "priest" was "forgiven"...or enabled - his evil was enabled - or as you might call it: forgiven. Depends on your point of view.
For me, I'm thankful for the current Pope - and I'm sorry the American Catholic Church comes across as the Kennedy/Boston Church of Anything Goes...
I agree completely with you. Kudos to the Vatican.
Oh, and you're right about the disagreements Evangelicals have with Roman Catholic theology as well. "Pray/talk," anathema, etc....
But again, kudos to the Vatican for doing the right thing.
"There are 300,000 cases a year of sexual abuse of children by teachers and other school personnel. There were 10,000 cases involving priests over 50 years."
Is this statistic true? I'd like to know the source.
self ping.
2nd request. Here it is. Ann Coulter, Godless. p. 167 cites Shakeshaft report for US Department of Education. correction: " between 1991 and 2000, roughly 290,000 students were subjected to physical sexual abuse by teachers or other school personnel."
I am with you. The American Bishops had better quit being wimps on this issue or they will have no Catholics left in the pews. This is a God issue because it is a life issue. God is the author of life and man doesn't have the right to tinker with God's creation. People wonder why we have wars and diseases etc. It's because we are not living up to what God intended His creation to be. I think we are running out of time to return to God's Plan for human kind.
That's approximately 300,000 cases over TEN years, not 300,000 cases in one year as you (Clairesolt) stated in post 23. Of course 30,000/year is still a lot.
Kennedy and Kerry, et.al. can claim all day long they are practicing Catholics but that doesn't make it so. Christ said that not all those who say "Lord, Lord" will be saved. So too, not all who claim to be Catholics are Catholics. Money and power will mean nothing to God on Judgement Day. The Kennedys and the Kerrys of the world just don't understand this.
Isn't there something stronger than simple excommunication? Interdicts, anathemas, etc?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.