Just a Reminder

Catholic Church Not Opposed to All Stem Cell Research

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A leading priest who monitors bioethics issues says the public has gotten the misconception that the Catholic Church opposes all types of stem cell research. As the 2006 elections heat up, pro-life candidates have faced the same criticism as attack ads fail to distinguish between embryonic stem cell research and adult. Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, director of the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, spokes about the distorted view the public has in a talk entitled "Cutting Through the Spin of Stem Cells and Cloning."

"It is incorrect to say that the Roman Catholic Church is against stem-cell research," he said, according to a Canadian Catholic News Service report. "It is only correct to say the Roman Catholic Church is against embryonic stem-cell research." "The ethical concerns differ with the source of the stem cells, because you do have to destroy an early and vulnerable human to get embryonic cells," he explained. Pacholczyk explained that the Catholic Church supports adult stem cell research, which is the only type of stem cell study that resulted in treatments for patients.

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