Cardinal Lehmann chooses life before ecumenism

Cathcon translation of Kardinal Lehmann weist die Angriffe des EKD-Ratsvorsitzenden Wolfgang Huber zu embryonalen Stammzellen zurück - Cardinal Lehmann, rejects the attacks of the German Protestant Church Council chairman, Wolfgang Huber to embryonic stem cells

Essen (AP) - The Chairman of the German Catholic Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Karl Lehmann, has rejected the attacks of the Chairmen of the Council of the Protestant Church in Germany, Wolfgang Huber, in the dispute over the cut-off date for the import of embryonic stem cells. Cardinal Lehmann said in the Essen newspaper, Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ): "Given the seriousness of the matter, there must be a discussion." On the question of whether the attack by Huber has harmed the ecumenical relationship, Cardinal Lehmann replied: "The ecumenical relationship is important, but it should not disguise a fundamental truth, namely, the right to life and the necessity of protecting the embryo from the beginning." Huber had strongly attacked the Catholic Church on this issue and explained that the dispute bore traits of a "cultural struggle". Cardinal Lehmann welcomed that the vote in the Bundestag on a postponement of the deadline for the import of these stem cells was to be a free vote. "The CDU / CSU contain all opinions on this issue. The same is true for the other parties. It is good that now such a decision is now pending that compulsion has been lifted from the political groups. At the moment, there are four different group positions, an expression of this diversity. They all well know our argument. We are and will remain in dialogue," said Cardinal Lehmann. The Chairman of the Bishops' Conference rejects firmly research on embryonic stem cells. "It's not about the date, but the conditions around it. The embryonic stem cells involved can only be preserved if an embryo is killed. Given that the Catholic church, but not only us but also many scientists and ethicists say that after the union of egg and sperm cells in the embryo a human being is formed, which has human dignity and a right to life, we see no basis for moral and legal nuances in protecting life. Therefore, we already opposed the idea when in 2002, the cut-off date was first established. We were clear on this from the beginning.