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May 4th THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
For all who have despaired of life:
That the glorious hope of the Gospel of Life
Might inspire and sustain them;
We pray to the Lord:
May 11th FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
For those who have grown old and weak:
That their trust in God's strength
Might teach us, and lead us to faith;
We pray to the Lord:
May 18th FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
For women haunted by the memory of abortion:
That through confession, absolution, and trust in God's mercy
They might know the peace the world cannot give;
We pray to the Lord:
May 25th SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
For every unborn child,
And especially for those whose parents are afraid and confused:
That God might teach us how to love and protect them
We pray to the Lord:
"A particularly important area for your action today is the pastoral care of the family. One can say that in the vast majority of cases your families have stayed faithful to sound Christian traditions. However, it is essential to consider the danger that can arise in contemporary society. The fragility of couples, the ongoing emigration of young families to Western countries, the handing over of the education of the children to their grandparents, the forced separation of spouses, especially when it is the mother who leaves in search of work, the widespread practice of abortion, birth control practiced with methods that are opposed to respect for the dignity of the human person, these are just some of the burning issues that you are concerned about and have to deal with in pastoral life. We can never emphasize enough the primacy of the family in the overall work of educating the new generations".—Pope John Paul II to the Bishops of Romania, March 1, 2003
Bulletin Briefs
The complex array of today's problems branches out from here ["protection of the rights of the person"], including some never faced by past generations... Catholics, in this difficult situation, have the right and the duty to recall society to a deeper understanding of human life and to the responsibility of everyone in this regard.
"The risks of cancer, uncontrollable growth, genome instability and other hurdles make ES [embryonic stem] cells a bad investment in terms of finance as well as public health benefits. In contrast, the most widely used adult stem cells, such as bone marrow cells and cord blood cells are...more likely to generate affordable therapies that can benefit everyone. ... Scientists should stop manipulating public opinion to pro-mote research that's both morally and scientifically indefensible."
"Human cloning constitutes unethical experimentation on the cloned child-to-be. It confounds his genetic and social identity; it would threaten his sense of individuality. It represents a giant step toward turning procreation into manufacture. And it is a despotic attempt of parents to select and control the genetic make-up of their children. ... Human cloning threatens the dignity of human procreation, giving one generation unprecedented control over the next..."
"Allowing cloned human embryos to be produced for biomedical research and/or stem cell extraction is morally highly problematic. It crosses several important moral boundaries, accelerating our slide down a slippery slope (or, more accurately, jumping us off an ethical cliff) into a dehumanizing world of genetic control of offspring and the routine use of nascent human life as a mere natural resource. ... In addition to the harm done to embryos, there is a moral harm done to a society that comes to accept as normal the routinized production and use of early human life as a natural resource for our own benefit: we risk becoming desensitized, indifferent, callous; we lose our awe and respect for the mystery and wonder of emerging new human life."
Prepared by the USCCB Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities