259 Salesian speaks to international conference on genetics and ethics

Subject: 'austraLasia' # 259

SALESIAN SPEAKS TO INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GENETICS AND ETHICS

Julian Fox

MELBOURNE: 3rd Nov -- Father Norman Ford, well-known moral philosopher and

presently Director of the Bioethics Centre at Mercy Hospital, Melbourne, was

recently invited to give a talk at a Conference on 'Genetics and Ethics' in

St Louis USA by the St Louis University's Center for Health Care Ethics' .

There were many papers given over this two day Conference, with speakers

from several countries. Prior to this Conference, there was a meeting of

Directors of Catholic Bioethics Centres from around the world.

Fr Kevin O'Neil, CSsR organised an ecumenical Round Table Discussion for Fr.

Ford to discuss the difficult ethical issues arising from Conception to

Birth' -- the general theme of his book, 'When Did I Begin?' A very fruitful

ninety minutes of discussion was held for the lecturers in moral theology in

Washington who shared Fr. Ford's concern of the need to confront the human

challenge in this area in a professional way, and not to rely on slogans or

emotive invective.

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