The silence is deafening

[Beaver]

The silence is deafening. If the UN had just voted to allow for
so-called therapeutic cloning (cloning for human experimentation and death) it would have been front page in the New York Times and the Washington Post. Even the Washington Times is silent; this after its UN reporter Betsy Pisik incorrectly yet confidently predicted defeat of the ban on Friday.

We report today that political leaders are emboldened by the UN ban on all forms of human cloning.

US Senators Hopeful UN Declaration on Cloning will Help with US Ban

A United Nations declaration calling on nations to ban all forms of human cloning was praised by conservative political leaders and some insiders see it as a positive step in the ongoing efforts to pass a comprehensive ban on cloning in the US.

The declaration, passed by the UN’s legal committee on Friday, calls on member states “to prohibit all forms of human cloning inasmuch as they are incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life.” The vote was 71 in favor of the declaration; 35 opposed; and 43 abstentions. It came after three years of deadlock between a group of countries, led by
Costa Rica, which wanted to end all cloning, and a group led by Belgium, that wanted to permit human clones to be created for the purpose of destroying them in research. Both factions had originally proposed competing cloning conventions, which are legally binding. They later decided to debate a cloning declaration which is not binding on member states.

A coalition of pro-life, non-governmental organizations said the declaration “represents a significant step forward in advancing respect for human life.” US Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) who has led the Congressional effort to get a national ban on all cloning, said, “I am extremely encouraged that the international community has made such a strong statement today in support of protecting innocent human life and human dignity. Human cloning is the deliberate creation of a human life for utilitarian purposes. That life is created simply for research or for the benefit of another. Any time in history when we have subjected one class of human beings to enslavement by another class has been wrong. This
time is no different.”

US Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania) agreed; “I am pleased that a UN committee recently recognized the dignity of human life and recommended that member states enact a comprehensive ban on human cloning. . . . I will continue working with my colleagues in the US Senate to pass legislation that will ban human cloning in the US and continue to protect the sanctity of life.”

Brownback plans to reintroduce legislation to ban cloning in the Senate in the coming weeks. The bill has been approved in the House of Representatives twice and has the support of President Bush but it has stalled both times it reached the Senate. Supporters of the cloning ban hope that the UN declaration will serve as an extra rhetorical weapon when
the bill is debated again. They will likely to cite the declaration as proof that it is those who oppose a total cloning ban who are out of touch with the international community.

They will also emphasize that many developing countries, especially those of Africa, were the strongest voices in opposition to cloning. This is because if cloning were to be pursued for research purposes millions of eggs would be necessary. Leaders of the developing countries expect that
it would be their female citizens who would be exploited by having their bodies turned into egg farms. The process of stimulating numerous egg production in a woman is painful and dangerous.

Culture of Life Foundation
1413 K Street, NW, Suite 1000
Washington DC 20005
Phone: (202) 289-2500 Fax: (202) 289-2502

 

[Michael_C]

The news doesn’t make their headlines, only the news they want you to hear makes their headlines.

 

[Matt25]

I thought the UN was considered a “Bad Thing” by American Conservatives.

 

[geezerbob]

Matt25:

I thought the UN was considered a “Bad Thing” by American Conservatives.

As bad as they are, they occasionally do something right.

 

[Michael_C]

Matt25:

I thought the UN was considered a “Bad Thing” by American Conservatives.

Not by american conservatives, but by people that can see the UN as the corrupt organization it is.

 

[Matt25]

Michael C:

Not by american conservatives, but by people that can see the UN as the corrupt organization it is.

The encyclical Pacem in Terris says this papalencyclicals.net/John23/j23pacem.htm

1. As is known, the United Nations Organization (U.N.O.) was established on June 26, 1945, and to it there were subsequently added specialized agencies consisting of members designated by the public authority of the various countries with important international tasks in the economic, social, cultural, educational and health fields. The United Nations Organization had as its essential purpose the maintenance and consolidation of peace between peoples, fostering between them friendly relations, based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, and varied forms of cooperation in every sector of human endeavor.
2. An act of the highest importance performed by the United Nations Organization was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, approved in the General Assembly of December 10, 1948. In the preamble of that Declaration, the recognition and respect of those rights and respective liberties is proclaimed as a goal to be achieved by all peoples and all countries.
3. We are fully aware that some objections and reservations were raised regarding certain points in the Declaration, and rightly so. There is no doubt, however, that the document represents an important step on the path towards the juridical-political organization of all the peoples of the world. For in it, in most solemn form, the dignity of a human person is acknowledged to all human beings; and as a consequence there is proclaimed, as a fundamental right, the right of every man freely to investigate the truth and to follow the norms of moral good and justice, and also the right to a life worthy of man’s dignity, while other rights connected with those mentioned are likewise proclaimed.
4. It is therefore our ardent desire that the United Nations Organization – in its structure and in its means – may become ever more equal to the magnitude and nobility of its tasks, and may the time come as quickly as possible when every human being will find therein an effective safeguard for the rights which derive directly from his dignity as a person, and which are therefore universal, inviolable and inalienable rights. This is all the more to be hoped for since all human beings, as they take an ever more active part in the public life of their own country, are showing an increasing interest in the affairs of all peoples, and are becoming more consciously aware that they are living members of the whole human family.
5. Once again We exhort Our children to take an active part in public life, and to contribute towards the attainment of the common good of the entire human family as well as to that of their own country. They should endeavor, therefore, in the light of the Faith and with the strength of love, to ensure that the various institutions – whether economic, social, cultural or political in purpose should be such as not to create obstacles, but rather to facilitate or render less arduous man’s perfectioning of himself both in the natural order as well as in the supernatural.
6. Nevertheless, in order to imbue civilization with right norms and Christian principles, it is not enough to be illumined with the gift of faith and enkindled with the desire of forwarding a good cause. For this end it is necessary to take an active part in the various organizations and influence them from within.

 

[Matt25]

cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=24771

Pope renews his support for UN

 	 		New York,  		 			 			Sep. 17, 2003 			 		 		 		 (CWNews.com) 		  		  -  	  	  	 		 			Pope John Paul II ([bio](http://www.cwnews.com/news/biosgloss/definition.cfm?bioID=8) - [news](http://www.cwnews.com/search/processor.cfm?searchfrombio=8)) has reiterated his strong support for the United Nations.

In a telegraphed message, read at an ecumenical service marking the opening of the 58th General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, the Pope said that the need for international cooperation “regarding the complex questions of global security, international justice, and human development has never been more apparent.”

The papal message was read by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican’s permanent observer at the UN. New York’s Cardinal Edward Egan also participated in the ecumenical ceremony.

http://www.holyseemission.org/30sept2004.html

      	The Holy See is honoured to take part in the general debate of the General  	Assembly of the United Nations for the first time since the Resolution of  	last 1 July which formalized and specified the rights and prerogatives of  	its *status* as a Permanent Observer, a status which the Holy See has  	enjoyed since 1964.  It is therefore,  my pleasant duty to express sincere  	gratitude to all the member States.  In approving the aforesaid Resolution,  	they signalled once again the **particular bond of cooperation between the  	Apostolic See and the United Nations**, already underlined by Pope John  	Paul II on his first visit to this assembly, exactly 25 years ago.  It is a  	bond which, in some sense, is connatural to them: both the Holy See and the  	United Nations have a universal vocation; no nation on earth is foreign to  	them.  Both the Holy See and the United Nations have an overriding objective  	of peace: in fact peace, this supreme good, is written into the founding  	Charter of the United Nations, and it lies at the heart of the Gospel  	message which the Holy See is responsible for proclaiming to all nations.

Among the fundamental rights, or rather foremost among them, as the Universal Declaration explicitly states, is the right to life of every individual. The Holy See could say a great deal about the right to life of every individual, because the essence of its message is the “Gospel of life.” Evangelium Vitae is the title of a well-known Encyclical by Pope John Paul II, issued on 25 March 1995. The question of human cloning comes under the same broad heading. In a few weeks this General Assembly will resume its debate on human cloning. In this respect the Holy See is pleased to reaffirm its commitment to support the advancement of medical science, conducted always in a manner that respects human dignity, because it offers healing and cure for various diseases. With this end in view, the Holy See reiterates its support for the procurement and use of adult stem cells, and believes that the way forward is to draw up and implement a clear Convention that will result in a comprehensive ban on human cloning.

Mr. President, now and in the future, the UN can always count on the Holy See to be not only an attentive Permanent Observer, but also a travelling companion, ever ready to support its complex and difficult activity in conformity with the proper nature and according to the proper possibilities of the Holy See and also to collaborate, in a spirit of freedom and friendship, with all the member States.

 

[TPJCatholic]

Matt,

The Pope likely renewed his support of the UN because he sees a rightful place for the UN–yet it does not take much to see that in recent times the UN has not stepped-up to its international responsibilites. It is easy for the UN to ban cloning, considering most nations want the same thing…let’s see the UN do something difficult.

 

[Matt25]

TPJCatholic:

Matt,

The Pope likely renewed his support of the UN because he sees a rightful place for the UN–yet it does not take much to see that in recent times the UN has not stepped-up to its international responsibilites. It is easy for the UN to ban cloning, considering most nations want the same thing.…let’s see the UN do something difficult.

The UN is most nations. It is not a separate state. It is an organisation that unites the nations of the world. That is why it is acalled the United Nation Organisation.

Opponents of the UN tend to run several different things together and call them the UN.

The secretariat, or bureaucracy of the UN based in New York is like every other bureaucracy in the world with all the strengths and weaknesses that that implies.

The security council and the general assembly are places where debate and discussion take place. That process is always slow. Dictatorships are quicker. I prefer debate. Sometimes the outcome is something you disagree with. Thats tough but heck some of us are strong enough to put up with that.

I ask you to consider, in all humility, is it not at least theoretically possible that sometimes the Federal Government of the USA may be wrong and the rest of the world right>

 

[HagiaSophia]

As bad as they are, they occasionally do something right.

Actually not often enough to count and far more expensively than it ought to be.