French stem cell research attacked by Catholic Church
For the French secular state, the attack by the
country’s Catholic hierarchy comes close to a declaration of war. But
this year, the French Catholic Church has sullied the reputation of the
initiative, calling its funding of research on embryonic stem cells
immoral.
For the French secular state, the attack by the country’s Catholic hierarchy comes close to a declaration of war.
For two decades, the country’s Muscular Dystrophy Foundation has run a wildly popular annual telethon to raise money for medical research.
Indeed, the 30-hour fund-raiser, which opens Friday night at the Trocadéro esplanade in Paris and will be shown on national television, is expected to surpass the record of more than $138 million dollars set last year.
But this year, the French Catholic Church has sullied the reputation of the initiative, calling its funding of research on embryonic stem cells immoral.
But the separation of church and state is an unshakable pillar of the French Republic, and the verbal attacks by the French Catholic hierarchy have been met with sharp resistance.
Both government officials and the leaders of the French medical establishment made clear that the church has no business interfering in matters of state, especially when they involve a practice that is legal.
“It’s not up to the church to put any pressure on families who have recourse to genetic diagnoses, and even less to make the totality of donors feel guilty,” said Manuel Valls, a deputy in Parliament and mayor of Evry, the suburb of Paris where the Muscular Dystrophy Association is located.
I wish the pillars of our own Republic were as unshakable.
Posted: Fri - December 8, 2006 at 11:20 AM