My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

Today, Mission Sunday, we are reminded of our calling to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our world. I would like to put before you a particular way in which we can respond to this calling today.

On the 31^st of this month Members of Parliament will be voting on whether or not to permit the cloning of human embryos for the purposes of research, as has been recommended by a report from the Government's Chief Medical Officer. For this vote each MP is free to make up his or her own mind. The MP's have this freedom because this is a moral rather than a political question.

This is a most important moment and I wish to draw your attention to some of the moral issues at stake. I also ask you to consider writing to your Member of Parliament, expressing your convictions about the way in which this vote should be used.

What is being proposed is that human embryos be both used and produced by cloning for the sole purpose of medical experimentation. Cloning is the deliberate copying of the unique genetic make up of one organism in another. In the process of cloning certain cells called stem cells are to be removed from an embryo and with further combination and cultivation developed into cells and tissues eventually, it is hoped, to be used in the treatment of other human beings. The original embryo from which the stem cells were removed will be destroyed in the course of this harvesting of cells. Of course the church recognises that scientific research is a proper expression of the responsibility God has given human beings over creation, and that the aim and intention of this research may be good. Never the less it is utterly clear that the means chosen involve the manipulation and destruction of human life in ways which are totally unacceptable. A good end does not justify an immoral means.

The principle at stake here is the value to be placed on human life. A new embryo is a new human life whether that embryo comes into existence by natural means or by cloning.

Some will argue, and with great passion, that human life is not to be found in the early embryo. They say that only when the embryo has developed and begun to divide can it be held that a human life has taken its definitive form. They will maintain that until that point, reached at about fourteen days, it is not clear whether there is one human life present or more. But Catholic teaching is quite clear, reasonable and logical. Human life begins at the moment the embryo comes into existence. What is present is a new being, a living, self organizing whole with a pattern of development and growth that has already started and is already distinct from every other including that of the mother and father. How else can such life be described? What is present is either a new human life or it is not. There is no such thing as pre-human life. The Archbishops of the United Kingdom have stated, "scientists can tell us, that from the moment of conception, the features which distinguish us from each of our parents - the colour of our eyes, the shape of our face, and so on - are all laid down in the genetic code that comes into existence then. Each new life is the life, not of a potential human being but of a human being with potential." (1980)

The church teaches, as a fundamental principle of morality and law, that human life, from the first moment of its existence, must be guaranteed that unconditional respect which is morally due to the human being in his or her totality and unity in body and spirit. The human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the first moment of existence.

It is not surprising then that Pope John Paul, speaking in late August this year to a conference of medical experts said that the fundamental criterion of medical science, "must be the defence and promotion of the integral good of the human person in keeping with that unique dignity which is ours by virtue of our humanity." He went on to add that scientific and technological research methods which fail to respect the dignity and value of the human person must always be avoided. He stated:

The Catholic position is, therefore, very clear. We can not agree to the generation and use of human life through cloning for the sole purpose of experimentation and the generation of new cells or organs, since this involves the direct and deliberate destruction of innocent human life. To permit such experimentation to take place within the law is to permit a form of killing which weakens the legal protection offered to the human person. It is a dangerous road to go down.

Furthermore it is not a road we need to go down, even in search of the good medical outcomes which are sought. Medical research has also developed ways of taking the same stem cells from adult humans, to name but one other source, and then using these cells for the same purpose. There is no moral objection to this research as no destruction of human life is involved. A recent report made this argument even more persuasive when it stated that adult stem cells may be far more flexible and suitable than was first thought.

I ask you, therefore to consider writing to your Member of Parliament this week, before the vote takes place. Point out the moral principles involved in the proposal to permit human cloning for experimentation: it is a grave abuse of human life in its most vulnerable form. Your Parliamentary representative must take your views into account. But he or she can do so only if you make your views known. Please do so on this occasion even if you have never written a letter to your MP before. The issue at stake here is of fundamental moral importance. The decision will set the scene for much more to follow. Far too much respect for human life has already been lost through changes made in British law. This time I hope and pray that those responsible for making this decision will heed and observe these fundamental moral principles. You can help them to do so.

Let us pray:

God our Father, we pray for those who govern this country and for those who have responsibility for its laws. Give them the gifts of wisdom and compassion. Guide their minds to know and acknowledge the truth as the foundation for all compassion. Give us the courage to bear witness to the Gospel of Life so that our society may enjoy the peace and stability for which we long. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.