The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, says he has not reached a decision on whether he will offer communion to the New South Wales Premier if he supports new stem cell legislation in the state parliament.The legislation allowing therapeutic cloning will be debated in the lower house this afternoon, and Premier Morris Iemma has already indicated he will support the bill.
Mr Iemma, who is a Catholic, introduced the bill allowing the therapeutic cloning into Parliament last week.
Cardinal Pell has called on all Catholic, Christian and pro-life MPs to oppose the bill.
He says he is not threatening to excommunicate members who support the bill, but they must consider the consequences.
"It is a serious moral matter," he said.
"Catholic politicians who vote for this legislation must realise that their voting has consequences for their place in the life of the church."
Cardinal Pell says he has not spoken to the Premier about the issue, but the legislation is taking the state in a perverse new direction.
New South Wales MPs will start debating the bill this afternoon.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce