[Buddha-l] This pope

[Stephen Hodge]

Dear Stanley,

You wrote:
> Is the implication you draw here the stated Catholic position or is it
> your conclusion?  It seems to me that the Catholic emphasis upon human
> life beginning at conception leaves no room for the position you offer.
> Have you references that would be of use for further inquiry?

However, if you had read my msg attentively, you would have understood that 
I was highlighting an obvious theological conundrum for the Vatican which 
conflicts with the current Catholic position, which has already been noted 
by some within the Catholic hierarchy: if the soul is indivisble and unique, 
what is the status of a monozygote that becomes twins etc during the approx 
14 days before it splits ?  Before it splits, the monozygote is potentially 
just one individual so can only have one soul, so where does the extra soul 
come from and which sibling keeps the original soul ?   Thus, as I 
mentioned, there are some in the Vatican who see a need to re-examine the 
matter carefully in the light of such recent embryological research -- I 
don't have the reference to hand as I came across that item while scanning 
through a lot of other material, but as far as I can remember the comment 
came from somebody in the Vatican's department that liaises with a wide 
range of scientists for the latest findings of research in various fields. 
However, as you imply, the current position is unlikely to shift in the 
forseeable future, even though, once again, the Church's cherished beliefs 
will be at odds with scienctific fact.  That's why I characterize this as a 
theological conundrum which, as I mentioned, also has some implicications 
for some Buddhist beliefs.

best wishes,
Stephen Hodge