Within our parish community are many people who have talents and areas of expertise which can be of benefit to others.  So it is a real blessing when they offer to share these with fellow parishioners.  Long-time parishioner Dr. Al Gregory has offered to speak about the complex moral issues relating to the beginning of life, drawing on his personal research on the teachings of the Church, and on his experience as both a scientist and a medical practitioner.  We hope you will join us for his presentation.

Beginning of Life Moral Issues, Thursday February 16 at 7:00

There are a number of complicated moral issues around the beginning and end of life.  The Church teaches that human life must be respected because it is sacred. With the rapid pace of developments in science and technology, there is a constant need to re-evaluate what is morally permissible. This discussion will cover issues such as:

• the various types of reproduction, fertilization in vivo and in vitro
• stem cells
• distinguishing the difference between direct and indirect abortion

The presentation will be followed by a short period of questions from participants.

Dr. Gregory provided a list of documents which might be helpful to consult, including:

• Donum Vitae  Instruction on Respect for Human Life in the Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation (Feb. 22nd, 1987).
• Declaration On Procured Abortion Nov. 18th, 1974.
• Veritatis splendor  Pope John Paul II Aug. 6th, 1993. Fundamental Questions of the Church’s Moral Teaching.
• Evangelium Vitae Pope John Paul II March 25th 1995. It expresses the position of the Catholic Church regarding the value and inviolability of human life.
• Dignitas Personae On Certain Bioethical Questions by Pope Benedict XVI Sept. 8th, 2008.
• Caritas In Veritate Pope Benedict XVI, June 29th, 2009.