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Tuesday, November 27, 2001

CARDINAL CLARIFIES REPORT QUOTING HIM ON MOSQUE IN NAZARETH


VATICAN CITY, NOV 27, 2001 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon the following communique was published by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Commission for Religious Relations with Jews, following his visit to Israel last week:

"Having learned what was reported by the Roman correspondent of the daily newspaper Ma'ariv's: 'The Vatican agrees for a mosque in Nazareth, but a small one', I desire to clarify that what was attributed to me does not correspond to the truth, as is clear from my declaration released at the conclusion of the meeting with the president of the State of Israel, Moshe Kazav: 'The construction of a mosque near the Basilica of the Annunciation does not contribute to the relations between Christians and Muslims. In case the mosque will have a big size, it will become a provocation'."

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COMMUNIQUE ON ANNOUNCED CLONING OF HUMAN EMBRYO IN U.S.


VATICAN CITY, NOV 27, 2001 (VIS) - Following is the communique released yesterday afternoon by the Holy See Press Office regarding the announcement on Sunday in the United States of the successful cloning of a human embryo:

"The original article in the magazine 'The Journal of Regenerative Medicine', that the researchers of Advanced Cell Technologies published with the date of November 26, 2001, shows in all its dramatic nature the gravity of the event that has been realized: the in vitro production of a human embryo, as a matter of fact, several embryos, that have been developed, respectively, to the stage of two, four and six cells. This event was documented with clear color images from a scansion microscope, that point out the first phases of development of these human lives, which began not through the insemination of an egg with a sperm, but by activating eggs with nuclei of somatic cells.

"The authors repeated that their intention is not to give rise to a human person. But what is it that they, as scientists, call in their article 'early embryo', an embryo in its initial stages? Here we have the bioethical question of 'when does human life begin' returning once again as a topical matter, though in all truth, this is a question that has never abated. Beyond the scientific event, in fact, this remains as the object of contention, being beyond doubt - as indicated by the researchers themselves - that here we find ourselves facing human embryos and not cells, as some would have us believe.

"The event therefore, powerfully, brings us to repeat with force that the beginning of human life cannot be fixed by convention at a certain stage of development of an embryo; it exists, in reality,at the very first instant of existence of the embryo itself. This is understood more easily in the 'human' method of insemination between egg and sperm, but we must learn to recognize it also in the face of an 'inhuman' method, such as that of the reprogramming of a somatic nucleus in an egg cell; even with this method a new life can be created - as shown unfortunately in the experiment that was announced - a life that preserves, in any case, its dignity just as that of every human life brought into existence.

"Therefore, notwithstanding the declared 'humanistic' intentions of those who announce amazing cures through this method, that will go via the cloning industry, a calm but firm evaluation is necessary that will show the moral gravity of this project and motivate its unequivocal condemnation. The principle that de facto has been introduced, in the name of health and well-being, sanctions, in fact, a true and proper discrimination among human beings based on the measure of time of their development (thus an embryo is worth less than a fetus, and a fetus less than a child, a child less than an adult), overturning the moral imperative that imposes, instead, the greatest care and maximum respect precisely of those who are not in a condition to defend themselves and to show their intrinsic dignity.
"On the other hand, stem cell research shows that other paths are available, morally licit and valid from a scientific point of view, such as the utilization of stem cells that have been taken, for example, from an adult individual (there are many in each one of us), from maternal blood or from fetuses that were aborted spontaneously. This is the path that every honest scientist must follow to the end of reserving maximum respect for man, that is, for himself."

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KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS RECEIVE 2001 CHAMPIONS OF PEACE AWARD


VATICAN CITY, NOV 27, 2001 (VIS) - During a concert last evening in New York City, Archbishop Renato Martino, Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations, presented the 2001 Champions of Peace Award to the Knights of Columbus. He also presented the 2001 Servitor Pacis Awards to Msgr. Richard Albert of Jamaica, and Fathers Mark Raper, S.J. of Australia, and Manuel Jimenez Tejerizo of Colombia and Mrs. Alexi Torres-Fleming of New York.

The awards are given annually by the Path to Peace Foundation, which was established in 1991 in collaboration with the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations. The Foundation, whose president is Archbishop Martino, serves as a vehicle to promulgate to the international community the teachings of the Holy Father and of the Universal Church on important questions of morality, development, human rights and peace.

The Knights of Columbus received the award "in recognition of its exceptional service to the good of humanity." In presenting the awards, Archbishop Martino highlighted the "consistent" support given to the Holy Father and Holy See by the Knights of Columbus as well as "their uncompromising defense of the sanctity of human life and the family." The Servitor Pacis recipients were recognized "for their personal witness to the cause of peace through their extraordinary efforts at assisting those most in need."

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ARCHBISHOP TAURAN MEETS WITH FORMER KING OF AFGHANISTAN

VATICAN CITY, NOV 27, 2001 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls, released the following declaration late yesterday afternoon:

"I can confirm that this afternoon Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, secretary for Relations with States, accompanied by Archbishop Paolo Romeo, apostolic nuncio in Italy, met with former King of Afghanistan Zaher Shah, in his Roman residence.

"The meeting permitted Archbishop Tauran to renew the Holy Father's solicitude and the Holy See's willingness to help in favor of peace and the well-being of the Afghan people.

"They discussed the necessity of a negotiated peace and international solidarity for the rebuilding of the country, convinced that arms, by themselves, cannot bring peace and security.

"The sovereign also expressed words of heartfelt gratitude for the solicitude of the Pope and the Catholic humanitarian organizations."

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HOLY SEE OBSERVER ON FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF

VATICAN CITY, NOV 27, 2001 (VIS) - Made public today was the speech given on November 24 by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva, and head of the Holy See delegation to the International Consultative Conference on School Education in relation to Freedom of Religion or Belief, Tolerance and Non-Discrimination. The conference was held in Madrid from November 23 to 25.

Archbishop Martin focussed his talk on educating young people in their faith and in respect for the faith of others. Noting that religion plays a central role in the lives of millions, he said that "religious education is a powerful instrument to help believers intensify their efforts towards the realization of the unity of the one human family, ... and a key factor in fostering understanding and tolerance among religious communities."

"Religious freedom," the archbishop affirmed, "constitutes a fundamental human right and can certainly be considered one of the cornerstones of the edifice of human rights, because it touches such an intimate sphere of human existence and personal identity, the relationship between the person and the Transcendent." This freedom, he added, also includes "the right of religious groups not to be prevented from freely demonstrating the special value of their teachings for the organization of society and the inspiration of human activity in general."

"Honestly addressing the tensions of the past," Archbishop Martin concluded, "generates a strong force for the construction of a different future and for the beginnings of a process of reconciliation and healing. The formation of future teachers should pay special attention to their ability to sensitively address divisive historical issues. Where necessary, school textbooks and curricula should be revised to remove harmful or unbalanced presentations of other religious traditions and historical events."

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, NOV 27, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy Father received today in separate audiences two prelates of the Episcopal Conference of Costa Rica, on the occasion of their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Jose Rafael Barquero Arce of Alajuela.
- Bishop Hector Morera Vega of Tilaran.

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