wfn.org | Anglican Archbishop opposes cloning

[Theo and Ruth Coggin <coggin@sn.apc.org>]

^From Theo Coggin +2711-648-5461
e-mail: coggin@sn.apc.org

The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Njongonkulu
Ndungane, has expressed his strong opposition to cloning, and warned
that people “must not play God”.

In an interview in Cape Town this afternoon, the Archbishop said that
God created humankind in his image, and set in place mechanisms to
ensure its sustenance. Humanity was not at liberty to interfere with
this process through cloning, he added.

Archbishop Ndungane said that experiments with issues such as cloning
frequently had much to do with individual gratification associated with
scientific breakthroughs. Scientists should rather concentrate on
breakthroughs that are the most good for the greatest number of people
in the world, he said.

Asked whether human cloning was justified in the case of people
desperate for children, the Archbishop recalled that many children in
the world do not have homes, and that there is a social process of
adoption whereby people are enabled to experience the joy of family
life.

Archbishop Ndungane also addressed the issue of modern technology at a
media conference this afternoon at his residence in Cape Town. He had
earlier in the day returned from a visit to London, during which he met
the Archbishop of Canterbury to discuss issues relating to the
forthcoming Lambeth conference of Anglican bishops from around the
world.

“The 21st century will see a society emerging which will be more
influenced by technological advancement than any previous one. The
startling developments in biotechnology that have resulted from genetic
science in the last two decades suggest the prospect of enormous changes
in agriculture and in the treatment of human disease and incapacity,”
Archbishop Ndungane said.

He added: “Many also fear that these biotechnological developments will
also bring negative as well as positive changes, reducing biodiversity,
risking harmful mutations and manipulating human destinies. Some believe
such development could be as potentially destructive for future
generations as the development of nuclear weapons.

“Amidst this wide diversity of views we must never lose sight of the
nature of our humanity, which is founded on Jesus Christ, the real
person,” he said.

The Lambeth Conference of some 800 Anglican bishops from throughout the
world will be held in July and August at the University of Kent in
Canterbury. Archbishop Ndungane will chair section one of the
Conference, which will deal with some of the most decisive issues facing
humanity in the next ten years. These will include human sexuality, the
environment, international debt and poverty, racism, and medical and
human rights.

Decisions taken at the Conference are not statutorily binding on the
participating Anglican Provinces from all parts of the world. 
Nevertheless, Lambeth’s significance lies in the moral force of the
decisions and the direction that is given to the Church for the first
part of the next millennium by the most influential international
gathering of Anglican leaders. 

Visit the homepage of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa at
http://www.cpsa.org.za/