Below you will find links to Cardinal Justin Rigali’s statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) regarding President Obama's Executive Order, as well as links on Church teaching about stem cell research and alternatives to embryonic stem cell research suggested by the USCCB.
In light of the signing of an executive order by President Obama which lifts the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research we believe it is an appropriate time to recall the Church’s teaching on the dignity of each and every human life including that of the human embryo.
First and foremost when the Church considers life issues we look to the command, thou shalt not kill. In addition to this Christ offered clarity to us when he replied to a question about which of the commands was the greatest. Christ stated, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these (Mk. 12:30-31, NIV).”
When we look at these statements and commands carefully we see that a true and genuine love of God and neighbor can only lead us back to the command, thou shalt not kill. More than this, however, we, as faithful Christians, acknowledge that the call to love is also a call to action. In the expression of love of neighbor one finds that the defense of our neighbor’s life and dignity follows in a natural order. This defense must be an unbiased one, one that is willing to be blind to whatever form that life presents itself in. The more fragile that life is the more Christian charity requires our most ardent efforts.
John Paul II, in Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) tells us exactly how we should evaluate the morality of embryonic stem cell research. Stating that:
[The] evaluation of the morality of abortion is to be applied also to the recent forms of intervention on human embryos which, although carried out for purposes legitimate in themselves, inevitably involve the killing of those embryos. This is the case with experimentation on embryos, which is becoming increasingly widespread in the field of biomedical research and is legally permitted in some countries. Although "one must uphold as licit procedures carried out on the human embryo which respect the life and integrity of the embryo and do not involve disproportionate risks for it, but rather are directed to its healing, the improvement of its condition of health, or its individual survival", it must nonetheless be stated that the use of human embryos or fetuses as an object of experimentation constitutes a crime against their dignity as human beings who have a right to the same respect owed to a child once born, just as to every person. This moral condemnation also regards procedures that exploit living human embryos and fetuses--sometimes specifically "produced" for this purpose by in vitro fertilization--either to be used as "biological material" or as providers of organs or tissue for transplants in the treatment of certain diseases. The killing of innocent human creatures, even if carried out to help others, constitutes an absolutely unacceptable act. - Evangelium Vitae, 63
Cardinal Justin Rigali’s Statement
Additional Resources
Church Teaching
Lucas Pollice, M.T.S.
Resource Page (1)
Resource Page (2)
Note: The following documents are in PDF format. If you are unable to open these files
you will need to download Adobe Reader.
Contact