Saturday, April 12, 2008

Is anyone listening?


One of the maxims of the Church's moral teaching is that with rights come responsibilities. This truth appears at times to be lost on those who argue for the defense of human rights on behalf of so many who are disenfranchised in so many ways, especially in a climate which promotes the value of individualism as an absolute.

Against the culture of me-ism, a voice which calls for the recognition and acceptance of responsibility might seem to be out of place, but this voice must be heard.

In recent years, science continues to make major advances. One of the areas where progress seems to be coming at us at a torential pace is embrionics. Only a few years ago, the human genome was finally decoded (not a small feat) and since that time, experiments at trying to understand and alter it have continued. Evidence the creation of Dolly, the scientifically cloned sheep who lived but a short while on a farm in rural England. This is but one such experiment which managed to make it to the public stage.

One of the next steps in the so-called advancements is at the level of human-animal hybrids. This practice is apparently much more advanced than some of us may understand. According to an article published today in ZENIT, His Eminence, Keith Cardinal O'Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinbuuogh is using modern technology to provide some teaching about the creation of human-animal hybrids.
Cardinal O'Brien, the President of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland has actually created a video uplink of his teaching in order to reach out to Catholics in the light of The Human Fertilization and Embryology Bill that is being considered in the parliament of Scotland.

Who said the Church wasn't aware of and able to use modern technology to speak its message? The real question is whether or not anyone's listening.

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