Re: Observer/ Vatican theologians say 'prudent yes' to GM foods
George Murphy ("gmurphy@raex.com"@raex.com)
Fri, 03 Dec 1999 22:35:54 -0500
Tom Pearson wrote:
>
> Folks,
>
> I received this news story this morning, and thought I would pass it along
> to the list for your information and edification. I find all of this
> interest in genetically modified (GM) foods fascinating, not only because
> it is related to my own research, but because it reflects the awkwardness
> that ensues when the churches try to sort out issues in social ethics,
> particularly when those issues involve rapidly advancing technologies. For
> what it's worth, I think the Vatican's statement is prudent, wise and
> ethically appropriate. I think the Anglicans are typically lost, and
> subject to ideological manipulation. I think the Christian Ecology Link
> is, frankly, nuts, and ethically vacuous. I am left with the assumption
> (and that's all it is) that the Roman Catholic Church, with its traditional
> reliance on Natural Law theory, is able to understand the dynamics of
> nature, and what constitutes a genuine violation of nature, better than the
> rest of us.
>
> 12/03/1999 07:04:05
> The Observer/ Vatican theologians say 'prudent yes' to GM foods
> Europe Intelligence Wire via NewsEdge Corporation : The Pope has given his
> blessing to genetically modified food in a move which will reignite the
> controversy over the ethics of genetic engineering.
> After more than two years of discussion, the Vatican's Pontifical Academy
> for Life has decided that, while it is wrong to modify the human genetic
> code, modifying the genes of plants and animals is theologically acceptable.
I agree to a large extent concerning the Vatican statement on GM foods but the
sharp distinction implied between that & anything involving genetic modification of
humans is very questionable. It seems to continue the idea of discontinuity between
humanity and the rest of the material creation which is seen also in the qualifications
made in the recent papal statement on evolution &, to some extent, the Catechism of the
Catholic Church's statements on the status of non-human animals.
The ideological manipulation to which the Anglicans are subject is perhaps
just more blatant than that which affects Rome, the dead hand of Aristotle.
Shalom,
George
George L. Murphy
gmurphy@raex.com
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/