Ad hoc recommendation

adminonDecember 22, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

According to the German Ethics Council, Germany should work toward an international ban on cloning. Technically, this possibility is apparently getting closer. The Ethics Council has now submitted a recommendation to legislators on this ie.

In the statement of the German Ethics Council published on Monday, the expert panel also reaffirms the importance of the ban on this so-called reproductive cloning of humans. For Germany, the Council sees no immediate need for legislative action on the cloning ban. However, in connection with two possible areas of application of new stem cell technologies, it recommends that ethical and legal questions be clarified.

New challenge in the cloning ban

New developments in stem cell research enable the production of artificial germ cells and embryos. In the statement, the Council discusses the extent to which these entities are covered by the relevant laws in Germany. For the "prevailing opinion," this is the case with the Embryo Protection Act. The focus is on possible new challenges for the cloning ban and ethical questions that arise in connection with artificial germ cells.

On the one hand, the cloning of humans by cell nucleus transfer or using "induced pluripotent stem cells" (iPS cells) is concerned. Against the background of current research results, the probability is increasing "that human cloning for reproductive purposes will also become at least technically possible in the future," the statement says.

Where is stem cell research headed??

Also at ie is the use of germ cells derived from iPS cells. "It cannot be ruled out that in the future attempts will be made to use this technique for reproductive purposes in humans as well, even in constellations in which reproduction is not possible by natural means," according to the expertise. This would allow same-sex couples to try to produce genetically related children with both parents. According to the Ethics Council, even the union of artificially produced male and female germ cells from one and the same individual would be conceivable.

Meaning of naturalness and artificiality

The Council first advocates more precise and uniform legal provisions in the relevant laws, especially for the terms embryo and totipotency (note.d.Red.: ability to form the whole). Furthermore, according to the panel, the ethical questions resulting from the new technical possibilities for germ cell production should be discussed.

The Ethics Council not only has concerns about medical safety and possible effects on offspring, but also calls for a public discussion on the relationship between generations and the meaning of naturalness and artificiality at the beginning of human life. In the process, it should also be clarified what it would mean "if, in the context of procreation, both the mode of different sexes and the descent of two persons were abandoned".

Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki © Harald Oppitz (KNA)

Polish city of Poznan aims to promote gender equality. The chairman of the Polish Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, protested against this. He said he was deeply concerned about the “promotion of gender ideology”.

The president of the Polish Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, protests against a “promotion of gender ideology” by his episcopal city of Poznan (Posen). He was “deeply concerned” by the Poznan City Council's adoption of the “European Charter for Equality between Women and Men at Local Level,” according to a statement released there and in Warsaw (Friday).

It is to be read in churches across the archdiocese this Sunday.

Fundamental role of the family being questioned, he said

The charter, according to many families, organizations and experts, severely interferes with parents' constitutional right to raise their children according to their beliefs, Gadecki said. It calls into question the fundamental role of the family for society and affects human sexuality, for example.

“This document, apart from its commendable sensitivity to the problem of inequality between women and men in public life, practically creates the occasion for the promotion of gender ideology,” writes the bishops' conference president. Pope Francis criticized this ideology as “one of the main manifestations of evil in the modern world”.

On Tuesday, two-thirds of the municipal councils of the 540.000-inhabitant city voted by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions. The council drafted it in 2005-06 with national partners to eliminate discrimination based primarily on gender.

Already 1.800 municipalities have signed

Discrimination based on race, religion and sexual orientation is also to be combated. According to the charter, local and regional policy must ensure the elimination of stereotypes and obstacles that contribute to the unequal treatment of women. The charter also mentions gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting.

In Poland, only two provincial cities have adopted the charter so far. Across Europe, they have already signed since 2007 nearly 1.800 municipalities and counties from 35 countries. In Germany, more than 50 municipal parliaments, including those in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne, have adopted the charter.

The list of accusations against Bishop Zanchetta is long, in addition to sexual abuse, he must also answer for fraud and embezzlement. Just last Monday, the judiciary sentenced clergymen for abuse.

The suspended Argentine Curia Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta, who is under investigation in his homeland for embezzlement and allegations of sexual abuse, will face a first hearing tomorrow, Wednesday, by the competent judiciary in the Argentine province of Salta. This was said by his Spanish lawyer Javier Belda Iniesta, according to the daily newspaper "Pagina 12".

Zanchetta, who was appointed bishop of Oran by Pope Francis in 2013, has most recently faced allegations of sexual abuse from two seminary students. Other seminary students accuse their former bishop of assaultive behavior. Only two weeks ago, the offices of the diocese of Oran in northern Argentina were searched by the police. Zanchetta faces charges of fraud and embezzlement from 2013 to 2017.

Pope brought Zanchetta to Rome

In 2017, the bishop had offered his resignation to the pope, reportedly for health reasons. Some time later, Francis, who had friendly relations with Zanchetta when he was archbishop in Argentina, brought him to Rome to a post at the Vatican's asset management agency APSA.

According to the U.S. church portal "Crux," proceedings have been underway since the beginning of the year in the Vatican against Zanchetta, who has been relieved of his duties until further notice. However, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is in charge of the trial, will wait for the results of the prosecutorial investigation in Argentina before making its judgment.

In his home country, Zanchetta is accused of embezzling around 250.000 U.S. dollars (converted according to the exchange rate at the time) accused of fraud. The money from the provincial government was requested for the restoration of a rectory and a series of lectures at the local seminary, both of which never took place.

Long prison sentences for Argentine clergy for abuse

The judiciary in Argentina last Monday sentenced two Catholic clergymen to prison terms of 42 and 45 years for serious sexual abuse of disabled children. Another employee of the children's home in the province of Mendoza was sentenced to 18 years in prison. In total, the judges charged the three convicts with 25 cases of serious abuse at the Antonio Provolo Institute.

Investigations by investigative authorities began after a former student at the special school, now 19, made serious allegations against one of the two clergymen in 2016. The latter is said to have sexually abused the victim as early as the age of five.

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