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A designer Lent?
Prelate orders purple scarves
Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger of Paris has asked a noted French fashion designer to make 50,000 purple scarves to be given out to Catholics to wear during Lent.
An archdiocesan spokesman said the cardinal had ordered the scarves from Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, who is currently a favorite scarf designer in Paris. The bright purple scarves bear the quote from St. Mark: “Take heart, He is calling you.” “The idea came from the young people of the diocese who wanted a discreet outward sign of their observance of Lent,” said the spokesman. The scarves will be sold in churches and Catholic youth groups throughout France during Lent for about $4.50. Apart from the scarves, Castelbajac has also designed rainbow-colored vestments for the clergy.
Criticizes British on cloning
A plea for international restraints
President Jacques Chirac of France has criticized a British decision to authorize research on cloned human embryos (see story below) and has called for an international ban on all human cloning. The French president said that he was opposed to so-called therapeutic cloning for ethical reasons, and insisted that France would certainly not follow the British lead.
Chirac clarified his position by saying that he supports the continuation of current French policies that allow research on fetal tissue, but require that the tissue must be taken from fetuses that have been stored for more than five years after being created through in vitro fertilization techniques. However, the French president condemned the notion that fetuses could be created solely for the purpose of scientific research, and he called for an “absolute ban” on that practice.
Chirac also said that it was vital to fund research into the use of adult stem cells, in order to ease the pressure for the use of fetal cells. He called for greater funding of research on adult stem cells, at both the national and European level.