Saturday, April 12, 2008

Catholic leader takes embryo fight to YouTube

The leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland has turned to internet site YouTube in the latest step of his battle against "Frankenstein" embryo research.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien has recorded a five-minute speech outlining his opposition to the Government's planned Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill and posted it on the video-sharing website.

The speech has also been recorded on DVD and will be sent to every MP in the UK.

A fierce war of words has erupted over the legislation, which supporters argue will authorise the use of stem cells to find cures for conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease.

But Cardinal O'Brien's new internet speech shows him attacking the "abhorrent" plans and calling on Catholics to lobby their MPs.

In the clip he says: "What concerns us in particular is the possibility of animal - human hybrids being produced.

"This is something which causes us tremendous concern because we are dealing with life, human life, at its very beginnings and the possibility if mixing up human life and animal life at its beginnings.

"This quite simply is abhorrent to us as Catholic Christians and consequently we wanted to draw the attention of our people to this aspect of the bill at the very beginning."

The clip also shows the cardinal denying he is against scientific research and he reveals he has agreed to become an organ donor.

He adds: "Let me state very clearly, that I am not against medical science or research into aspects of seeking cures for these terrible disease which affect so many of us

"But what I am against is using human life to seek cures for these diseases.

"I am now wearing a pacemaker, I am a blood donor, I have signed a donor form so that when I die perhaps organs of mine might be useful to help the life of somebody else."

Faced with the threat of ministerial resignations over the legislation, Gordon Brown has announced that MPs will be allowed a free vote on three key issues in the Bill.

These include the mixing of human and animal cells in embryos, the use of IVF to create children who may be able to donate tissues or cells to a sick sibling and the removal of a child's need for a father when a woman applies for IVF.

But the Prime Minister expects all Labour MPs to back the Bill when it comes to the Commons vote.

Cardinal O'Brien used his Easter Sunday sermon to launch a fierce attack on the government's controversial legislation on embryo research.

He accused Gordon Brown of "an unprecedented attack on the sanctity and dignity of human life", having previously labelled the legislation as of being "monstrous Frankenstein" in nature.

A letter from the cardinal will be read out, or photocopied and distributed, to all the parishioners in his arch-diocese at this Sunday's services.

They will be urged to unseat Scottish MPs who ignore Catholic views and fail to oppose the legislation by acting with an "informed conscience" at the ballot box.

His archdiocese, which covers St Andrew's, Edinburgh, Fife and the Lothians, includes the constituencies of Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling.

The Church is to send a second letter to all 500 Scottish parishes calling for parishioners to lobby their MPs and vote against them at the next general election if they fail to listen.

Philip Tartaglia, the Bishop of Paisley, has also written to MPs in his diocese, including International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander, Jim Murphy, Minster for Europe and Scotland Office Minister David Cairns.
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