DECLARATION BY PRESS OFFICE ON POPE'S SPEECH TO PRESIDENT BUSH

VATICAN CITY, JUL 25, 2001 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls, in reference to the Holy Father's speech to President Bush on July 23, 2001 at Castelgandolfo, issued the following declaration this afternoon:

"The Holy Father has wanted to take this opportunity to repeat the ethical unacceptability of 'proposals for the creation for research purposes of human embryos, destined to destruction in the process'. On the other hand, it is important not to forget what John Paul II wrote in his well-known Encyclical 'Evangelium Vitae':

"'This moral condemnation also regards procedures that exploit living human embryos and fetuses - sometimes specifically 'produced' for this purpose by 'in vitro' fertilization - either to be used as 'biological material' or as 'providers of organs or tissue for transplants' in the treatment of certain diseases. The killing of innocent human creatures, even if carried out to help others, constitutes an absolutely unacceptable act'."

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