Bishops' Schedules: Bishop Robert C. Morlino Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007 11:00 a.m. -- Attend meeting of Presbyteral Council, Bishop O'Connor Center, Madison 7:00 p.m. -- Attend St. Thérèse of Lisieux Lecture, Sr. Mary Prudence Allen, "The Nature and Dignity of Women," Bishop O'Connor Center, Madison Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007 1:30 p.m. -- Blessing of St. Mary's Hospital Building, Madison Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007 11:00 a.m. -- Preside and preach at Stational Mass, St. Patrick Church, Madison 4:45 p.m. -- Preside and Preach, Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Patrick Parish, Lodi Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2007 7:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach, Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Cecilia Parish, Wisconsin Dells Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007 7:00 p.m. -- Preside and Preach, Sacrament of Confirmation, All Saints Parish, Berlin Bishop William H. Bullock Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007 11:00 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at Apostolate for the Handicapped, Christmas Celebration Mass, Monroe High School, Monroe Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007 10:00 a.m. -- Preside and Preach at Sacrament of Confirmation, St. Rose of Lima and St. Patrick Parishes, at St. Rose of Lima Church, Cuba City Monday, Dec. 3, 2007 12:00 noon -- Preside and Preach at Celebration of the Eucharist, Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison

Under the Gospel Book + Bishop Robert C. Morlino There is no column by Bishop Robert C. Morlino this week.

Bishop Morlino: Lauds scientific efforts to find ethical stem cell alternatives

(printable version)

	Related articles: • Ethical breakthrough: Seen in new stem-cell studies • Sidebar -- Wisconsin conference: Reacts to the research news

MADISON -- Madison Bishop Robert C. Morlino praised the very promising breakthroughs made by the Japanese research team of Dr. Shinya Yamanaka and the University of Wisconsin-Madison team of Dr. James Thomson in the derivation of pluripotent stem cell lines from human somatic cells.

"Catholic voices in the bio-medical community have consistently claimed that ethical alternatives could be found to make the destruction of human life through embryonic stem cell research unnecessary," Bishop Morlino said.

"I continue to support the successful work being done by so many researchers using adult stem cells and I thank and congratulate those researchers and scientists who have now found a seemingly ethical way to replicate 'embryonic' or pluripotent stem cells without destroying human lives.

"Now that this breakthrough has been made and research with pluripotent stem cells can move forward in a seemingly ethical way, I reiterate my insistence that there is never a reason to sacrifice human lives for the sake of hoped-for but heretofore unrealized scientific advances.

"As chairman of the board for the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) I also commend NCBC President Dr. John Haas and so many of our bio-ethicists who have long claimed that an ethical way of reproducing such pluripotent stem cells could be found and who have promoted and conducted research to that effect," said Bishop Morlino.