St. Anthony of Padua Fraternity Bulletin
Vol. 12 No. 9   October 2007

Franciscan column
by Kathy

Brothers and Sisters in Francis,

I’d like to share a couple things with you this month. First, my feelings when Herm and I went to the Poor Clare monastery in Bloomington with the candidates on August 12. I found the sisters gentle and sweet. It helped me to realize what "Perfect Joy" must be like. They were so peaceful, I almost felt like crying. Beautiful! In fact, they were smiling all the time we were there even though the storm took out all their electricity. You don’t know what you are missing if you haven’t been there. The Greek word translated as humility is "prautes" which may also be translated as mildness or gentleness. A person with this quality is neither violent nor brash but calm. This fits them and the whole atmosphere there to a "T."

The second thing I wanted to share, mostly, is an article by Ken Connor, chairman of the Center for a Just Society in Washington, DC. He was very much against embryonic stem cell research differing from Barbara Mikulski who has served in the U. S. Senate for more than two decades. She believes it should be done because of the possible cures for diseases. Mr. Conner stated it can be heart wrenching for both sides, but many have been led to believe, often inaccurately, that embryonic research can yield many cures, whereas, I’ve heard adult stem cell research has proven effective in some cases. He goes on to say human life is precious and should be respected and protected at every stage of development, and if a person has an inalienable right to life, then it is not acceptable to destroy the life of one person to benefit another. Some argue embryos are merely clumps of cells but in reality, however, an embryo looks exactly like a human being at every stage in development. He says that it makes no sense to say an embryo outside the womb in petri dishes is less human simply by being outside the womb.

Both Mr. Connor and Senator Mikulski have quite lengthy articles, and if anyone cares to read them both, I’ve got them. His article impressed me the most. Like the Pro-Live billboards say, "Embryos are Tiny Babies." Something to think about.