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Letters to the Editor
The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Dear Sir:

The Cardinal Archbishop of Philadelphiia, His Eminence Anthony Cardinal
Bevilacqua, made the mistake most apologists for doctrine make when they
attempt to rebut the case made for stem cell research, foetal transplants or
other potential therapies involving the human reproductive system. They
ignore the context in which Christ performed the miracles ascribed to Him.

Citing just one example, Matthew, 4:24, "... and they brought unto him ...
and those that had the palsy; and he healed them." Ordinary, everday
illnesses were not cured, those which the passage of time would cure.
Intractable conditions were. The other factor which should be born in mind
is that compassion and love were Christ's motivating factors. William
Temple, the great modern Archbishop of Canterbury said :"It is a mistake to
suppose that God is only, or even chiefly, concerned with religon." I take
Temple's statement to mean that God is concerned with humanity, not with how
we organize ourselvesto relate to Him.

Stem cell research is not a cure for any disease or condition; it is a
promising field of investigation which should be pursued. Willa Cather, in
her novel, "Death Comes for the Archbishop", defines miracles in the
following way:"The miracles of the Church seem to me not to rest not so much
upon faces or voices or healing power coming sudenly near to us from afar
off, but upon our perceptions being made finer , so that for a moment our
eyes may see and our ears may hear what is there about us always." God's
revelation to us is continous, occurring today as well as in Biblical times

Yours truly,

Willliam A. Harshaw