Pope Condemns Human Cloning and Arrogance of Man
Aug 22, 2004
CASTELGANDOLFO,
Italy (Reuters) - Pope John Paul on Sunday condemned human cloning as an
arrogant attempt to improve on God's creation.
"The sense of power that every technical progress inspires
in man is well known," the pope said in a message sent from his summer
residence in Castelgandolfo to a meeting of prominent Catholic cultural,
political and business leaders in the Italian city of Rimini.
"The attempt by man to appropriate the source of life by
experimenting with human cloning is example enough," he said in a message
sent at the start of the week-long event.
The comments come less than two weeks after British scientists
were given permission to clone human embryos for medical research -- believed
to be the first such license granted in Europe.
The pope said medical research should not try to
"manipulate" human beings "according to a project considered
with arrogance better than that of the Creator himself."
"The way taught by Christ is another: it is that of respect
for human beings," he said, urging ethically responsible science.
The Vatican has repeatedly condemned all attempts at human
cloning, comparing it to the experiments carried out by Nazis in World War II.
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