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California's Proposition 71 is expensive, misleading—and
deadly
Human cloning seems a remote possibility to most Americans
yet a ballot proposition before California voters would infuse $3 billion
into human embryonic research and human cloning. Opponents predict almost
all the money from the proposed state constitutional amendment and general
obligation bond would go toward human cloning.
If it passes, this massive infusion of cash into U.S. research–in
a country which has no federal laws against human cloning–may well
make any debate over embryonic stem cell research moot.
California Proposition 71 would make funding for human
cloning and embryonic stem cell research a constitutionally protected
state right and distribute $3 billion over ten years. The money would
come from general obligation bonds at a time the state of California is
in the middle of a fiscal crisis that resulted in the downgrading of the
state’s credit to near junk bond status.
Nevertheless, on October 18th, Republican Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed Proposition 71 and a host of Hollywood
glitterati and politicians support the initiative. Against the proposition
are groups who rarely if ever share the same point in the political spectrum:
the Catholic Church, pro-choice feminists and scientists, the Green Party
and the Peace and Justice Party as well as a number of other enraged grassroots
activists. Some of the groups opposing Proposition 71 are the ProChoice
Alliance Against Proposition 71, Doctors,
Patients, & Taxpayers for Fiscal Responsibility, and Scientists
Against Proposition 71. A major supporter of the Proposition is the
California
Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative.
Polls show the proposition’s passage is a toss up
and that the vote will probably be very close.
Ignatius Insight spoke with and interviewed two activists
who are closely following this issue:
• Dolores Meehan, spokesperson for the Catholic action group,
Catholics for the Common Good. <Read
interview here>
• Jennifer Lahl, founder and national director of the Center
for Bioethics and Culture. <Read
interview here>
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G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) was one of the finest Christian authors and apologists
of the past two hundred years. Raised as an agnostic, he embraced Christianity as a young man, ultimately entering the Catholic Church
in 1922. He wrote hundreds of essays, as well as novels, short stories, poetry, apologetics, literary
criticism, and nearly everything else imaginable. Dale Ahlquist, president and co-founder of the American
Chesterton Society and author of
G.K Chesterton: Apostle of Common Sense, writes, "Chesterton was equally at ease with literary and social criticism,
history, politics, economics, philosophy, and theology. His style is unmistakable, always marked
by humility, consistency, paradox, wit, and wonder. His writing remains as timely and as timeless
today as when it first appeared, even though much of it was published in throw away paper." Read more
about the life and work of this remarkable thinker, author, and apologist.
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Nothing To Hide: Secrecy, Communication and Communion in the Catholic Church
by Russell Shaw
Shaw, the former communications director for the U.S. Bishops, discusses the abuse of secrecy in the Church, the scandals it has caused and the serious
problem of mistrust that exists in the credibility of the Church. He is not concerned with the legitimate secrecy that is necessary to protect confidentiality and people's reputations, but
with the stifling, deadening misuse of secrecy that has done immense harm to communion and community in the Church in America. Shaw raises such questions as: What kind of Church do we want our Church to be, open or closed? What kind of Church should it be? And how much secrecy is compatible with having
such a Church? As Pope Benedict XVI has stated, "The consequence is clear: we cannot communicate with the Lord if we do not communicate with one another." The Church is a communion, not a political
democracy, and thus openness and accountability are even more crucial for the life of the Church than they are in a democracy. In a talk he gave many years before he became the current Pope,
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had this to say about the reality of ecclesial communion: "Fellowship in the Body of Christ and receiving the Body of Christ means fellowship with one another. This
of its very nature includes mutual acceptance, giving and receiving on both sides, and readiness to share one's goods ... In this sense, the social question is given quite a central place
in the theological heart of the concept of communion." This is a beautiful vision of the Church. Shaw's aim in his book is to make a contribution to realizing this vision in the concrete circumstances
of the present day, by helping to end the culture of secrecy, especially within American Catholicism, and replacing the destructive culture with an open, accountable community of faith.
Read more about Nothing to Hide.
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