"moral issues such as human embryo research and cloning, as well as the potential impact of cross-pollination from genetically modified crops, should dominate the political agenda" - the view of the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham, as reported in the Birmingham Post, May 10, 2001
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ELECTION 2001: WE MUST ALL ACT FOR GOOD OF PEOPLE AND THE PLANET
Helen Bruce
[biotech relevant excerpt - full article below that]
Birmingham Post May 10, 2001
The Archbishop of Birmingham yesterday attacked society's lack of respect for human life and the environment while outlining an alternative manifesto for the General Election. The Most Rev Vincent Nichols said profits were placed before the long-term good of society in the fields of medical research and biotechnology. He believed prisons were failing in their mission to reform criminals. The archbishop said moral issues such as human embryo research and cloning, as well as the potential impact of cross-pollination from genetically modified crops, should dominate the political agenda. He said: 'Scientists have a grave responsibility to think more widely. People must act for the good of the environment in their boardrooms and laboratories. 'What bothers me most is bio-ethics when scientists tell us we should put aside moral objections, for example, the manipulation of genes or the cloning of human life, because we must be at the cutting edge. That's false. 'It is because biotechnology and medical research is a highly profitable area. It is saying money is more important than human life.'
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ELECTION 2001: WE MUST ALL ACT FOR GOOD OF PEOPLE AND THE PLANET
THE ARCHBISHOP OF BIRMINGHAM, THE MOST REV VINCENT NICHOLS, TELLS RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS REPORTER HELEN BRUCE ABOUT HIS VISION FOR A MODERN SOCIETY
Helen Bruce Birmingham Post
May 10, 2001
The Archbishop of Birmingham yesterday attacked society's lack of respect for human life and the environment while outlining an alternative manifesto for the General Election. The Most Rev Vincent Nichols said profits were placed before the long-term good of society in the fields of medical research and biotechnology. He believed prisons were failing in their mission to reform criminals. The archbishop said moral issues such as human embryo research and cloning, as well as the potential impact of cross-pollination from genetically modified crops, should dominate the political agenda. He said: 'Scientists have a grave responsibility to think more widely. People must act for the good of the environment in their boardrooms and laboratories. 'What bothers me most is bio-ethics when scientists tell us we should put aside moral objections, for example, the manipulation of genes or the cloning of human life, because we must be at the cutting edge. That's false. 'It is because biotechnology and medical research is a highly profitable area. It is saying money is more important than human life.'
The archbishop also believed that respect for life should extend to crime policy-making. He cited Birmingham City Council's proposal for legalised zones of tolerance for prostitutes as an example of the needs of the victims being pushed aside in the race to clean up the streets. And he queried why there were more people imprisoned in Britain than in any other European country. 'Are we really content as a society simply to lock people away and forget about them?' he said. 'Whatever a person has done, they remain human and we should not forget that. We must not retreat to a position in which people who commit great crimes are simply dismissed as subhuman. 'We need a penal system which embraces the notion of reform. Time in prison should actively help a person, not just penalise them.'
While he hoped the family would remain central to society, the archbishop went out of his way to include the gay community in his vision of the 21st century. He said: 'There are limitations to tolerance without understanding its roots. 'Tolerance on its own can degenerate into wariness, cynicism and negative attitudes. People start to think 'Why should I put up with this?'. 'But we have to remember in our hearts that we all start from the same source of life and we have to be willing to express that in our actions and have respect for people. 'When it comes to how people express themselves and their sexuality, what I would hope for is that there would be a society in which we are able to see love and sexual love and the generation of people in stable marriage and families, while at the same time seeing that some people are not going to live in that way without me being aggressive or them being aggressive.
'We should respect them as being made in the image and likeness of God and live respectfully together, not issue public condemnation.'
The archbishop said he hoped voters within the Archdiocese of Birmingham would not be afraid to question politicians' views on the value of human life. He added: 'That will disclose an awful lot about whether people feel they can trust that person.'
GRAPHIC: Morality rethink: Archbishop challenges society's lack of respect for life The Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols