On the Square Today

Rebecca Oas on the ethical use of stem cell therapies :

Solid ethical argument will be centered upon the recognition that some research methods disregard the dignity and integral good of the person while other methods uphold it. It is essential that the basis of our arguments against embryonic stem cell research be made primarily, if not exclusively, on the fact that innocent human life is taken. Evil acts must be rejected regardless of their real or potential efficacy in producing a desired effect. As Blessed John Paul II wrote in  Veritatis Splendor , “Only the act in conformity with the good can be a path that leads to life.”

Also today, Tim Kelleher on doubt and the Nicene Creed :

Recently, I directed a film for First Things that is a consideration of the Nicene Creed. The process of making it opened my eyes to how—in the words of participant Luke Timothy Johnson—“under-examined, under-appreciated and under-utilized” an instrument it is. I heard people speak candidly about their relationships to the Creed. More than a few expressed concern that they don’t always fire on all twelve cylinders; that perhaps it is dishonest to stand up on any given Sunday, and struggle to give equal emphasis to all twelve articles. We might respond to this concern with the parallel of how our bodies work.