Print Issue: March 6, 2003

Parish Hosts Program On Stem Cells, Cloning

By PRISCILLA GREEAR

STONE MOUNTAIN-A talk on human cloning and stem cell research and the Catholic Church's position will be held Wednesday, March 26 at 7 p.m. at Corpus Christi Church.

The talk sponsored by the parish will educate the public and Catholics in particular about the moral, medical and scientific implications of these issues and explain how the Catholic Church is addressing the controversy. It will address topics like what illnesses stem cells can be used to cure, their uses today, the difference between an ethical and unethical source, the difference between reproductive and therapeutic cloning and the morality of stem cell research. It precedes archdiocesan participation the following weekend March 29-30 in a nationwide Catholic campaign to support a ban on all human cloning directed at the U.S. Senate.

Speakers are Father John Shramko, parochial vicar at St. Pius X Church, Conyers, David Collart, Ph.D., associate professor of biological sciences at Clark Atlanta University, and Gerry Sotomayor, M.D., founder of Babies for Life Foundation, which facilitates storage of umbilical cord blood for stem cell transplants and research.

Collart, a Catholic who holds a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology, will speak about the science that underlies stem cell research, the different types of stem cells and the science of cloning in order to lead to the relevant theological questions.

Father Shramko will speak about the church's understanding of the dignity of the human person and how that teaching applies to the creation of life and to the transmission of life. He will address whether an embryo is a human person and why embryonic stem cell research (as opposed to adult stem cell research) destroys life. He will address whether it is morally acceptable to produce a human embryo for research through in vitro fertilization or to clone a human embryo solely for research, so-called therapeutic cloning. He will also talk about whether it is morally acceptable to use existing embryonic stem cell lines for research and speak of the church's position in light of the human and emotional appeals made by those with debilitating illnesses.

Sotomayor will address practical applications of being an apostle and how to establish stem cell collection in communities. Babies for Life, a Catholic organization, is considered to be the only organization in existence today specifically focused on stem cell education. They offer a free service to pregnant mothers who wish to donate their baby's umbilical cord blood for ethical purposes and to save lives. Its primary message is to save lives through ethical stem cell sources, fulfilling the pope's call to evangelization. Specifically addressing bio-ethical issues in the world today, the pope has stressed that "not only the goals, but also the methods and means of research, must always be respectful of the dignity of every human being, at whatever stage of their development and in every phase of experimentation."

Barb Kennedy, parish nurse at Corpus Christi, said both adults and teens are encouraged to attend and learn more about such a major moral issue.

"Lack of respect for life is insidious. I started in nursing in labor and delivery 35 years ago. The question then was (permitting) abortion before 13 weeks (of gestation). Then it moved to late-term abortion, then euthanasia, now creating life to kill it in stem cell research and cloning. I believe this talk is mandatory for all ages, but especially for our teens and young adults as this will be one of the huge moral decisions for their lives," she said. "The presentation . . . clearly shows where and when life begins and offers an alternative way to obtain stem cells (cord blood) for research and for treatment and equally important it fully explains the church's position on stem cell research and cloning in an understandable way."

Babies for Life will have a table with information on the issues, and the parish pro-life committee will have information on a nationwide Catholic effort to ban human cloning directed at the U.S. Senate and being organized by the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment, the public policy arm of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Pro-Life Secretariat. Dioceses in 15 states are asked to launch a postcard campaign directed at one or both of their senators, while dioceses in the other 35 states are asked to distribute an educational flier. Georgia is distributing educational flyers through the archdiocesan Pro-Life Office, which can be reached at (404) 888-7821.

For information on the Corpus Christi talk call Barb Kennedy at (770) 469-0395, ext. 16. The church is located at 600 Mountain View Drive, Stone Mountain. Call the church to reserve childcare.