A high ranking Cardinal has announced that the Vatican, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, has agreed to work with the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine by funding research into the medical uses of adult stem cells. An Associated Press report states the Catholic Church will be making an initial donation to the project in the amount of 2 million euros or $2.7 million.

The University describes the initiative as exploring "the therapeutic potential of intestinal stem cells". Such research is believed to have potential for the treatment of bowel conditions such as celiac disease.

Stem cells exist in every adult’s body. They are cells that that can reproduce themselves throughout a life time. The cells that make up most of the human body cannot reproduce and have a limited life span, according to the University of California, San Francisco’s Science Cafe site.

In 2000, the Vatican issues a document titled "DECLARATION ON THE PRODUCTION AND THE SCIENTIFIC AND THERAPEUTIC USE OF HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS" that recognized the potential efficacy of adult stem cells and the lack of moral and ethical barriers to research and use of these cells. A number of medical treatments currently use adult stem cells and research on those cells is routinely conducted at Catholic Universities such as Notre Dame.

Adult stem cells from bone marrow have been used in transplants for about 40 years and the University of Utah has a website describing those treatments. WSOC-TV reports on research at the Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, MD, that is using the patient’s own stem cells to stimulate bone repair and speed healing in orthopedic injuries. In a December, 2009 story, CNN reported on a study taking place using adult stem cells with a few days of a heart attack that seems to repair at least part of the damage to the heart. The University of Wisconsin, in August, 2009, was engaged in trials testing the use of adult stem cells to treat Type 1 diabetes.

While actual research using the Vatican money is some years away, the decision to fund such research appears to signal the Catholic Church’s desire to make morally and ethically gathered stem cell medical therapies available.

I had to use the original title. Just look at the alliteration!

The Sultan Saqi Shrine, built in the 1960s in a part of the historic Tiseen neighborhood which is now on Kirkuk Regional Air Base, marks the burial place of Imam Sultan Saqi, as well as that of his sister. The Sultan's grave dates from approximately 600 A.D. Photo by Master Sgt. Martie Moore

The 506th Air Expeditionary Group and the Kirkuk Provincial Reconstruction Team of the U.S. Embassy in Iraq assisted approximately 30 members of the predominantly Turkmen Shi’a community of the Tiseen neighborhood of Kirkuk city to visit the Imam Sultan Saqi Shrine and its surrounding cemetery, which are historically and religiously important to the Turkmen Shi’a community, April 17.

Traditionally, the people of the Tiseen community in Kirkuk visit the shrine and the graves of the deceased of their own community buried in the cemetery surrounding the shrine on religious holidays and other special occasions.

Under the regime of Saddam Hussein, the land was confiscated for use as an airport and military base, and visitations and use of the cemetery were forbidden. The U.S. Air Force, who has managed the base since 2003, and the PRT recognized the importance of the site to the Tiseen community and initiated periodic visits for them.

“The U.S. Air Force believes that it’s important to be a good neighbor to the people of Kirkuk, and we are pleased to have been able to meet and assist some of our neighbors today,” said Col. Leonard Dick, 506th AEG commander.

Kirkuk Provincial Council members Tahseen Kahea and Qassim Hamza participated in the visit, along with representatives of the PRT and U.S. Air Force. During the event, Akbar Shokor Bahram gave a blessing and spoke of the importance of the site to the community.

DVIDS
Story by Master Sgt. Martie Moore

Soldiers at Contingency Operating Base Marez, Iraq celebrate a Catholic Easter vigil mass on April 3 at St. Elijah Monastery. (Photo by: Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika)

Soldiers at Contingency Operating Base Marez, Iraq celebrate a Catholic Easter vigil mass on April 3 at St. Elijah Monastery. (Photo by: Sgt. Shannon R. Gregory)

More than 250 service members and civilians celebrated Easter with a candlelit mass Saturday at St. Elijah Monastery, the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq.

The mass was one of three Christian services scheduled at the monastery for Easter weekend.

“This is the second time we’ve done this,” said Capt. Patrick Van Durme, the battalion chaplain with the 1-19th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division and a Dansville, N.Y., native.

Van Durme said turnout for the event was large and included civilian workers from around the world and from the Mosul area, which has the largest Christian population in Iraq.

“It’s an amazing thing for them,” he said.

First Lt. Geoffrey Whitaker, the garrison chaplain at Contingency Operating Base Marez, Iraq, with the Regimental Fires Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), said he was honored to be part of the services at the 1,700-year-old monastery.

“To get to celebrate Easter in the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq … it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Whitaker, a Murphy, N.C., native.

Whitaker said he expected more than 1,000 Soldiers and civilians to attend the three services.

Van Durme said the monastery has held great historical relevance throughout the ages.

Local traditional suggests the monastery was first built in the year 350 AD and the current structure was probably added 1,000 years later, he said.

In 1743, the monks and orphans at the monastery were killed by a Persian leader for refusing to convert to Islam, and Christians in the area have been persecuted since, said Van Durme.

“If you go back 50 years, you’ll find 1,000′s of Christian families in Mosul. You’ll now find maybe 100,” Van Durme said. “You have to wonder what it’s future will be.”

Whitaker said the chaplains are working with the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Mosul to preserve the monastery and repair structural damage that has occurred in the years since the U.S. came to Iraq.

“The Department of the Army has signed on to do some restoration,” said Whitaker. “The plan is still ongoing.”

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. Keith VanKlompenberg

If you read the New Testament, Jesus rarely talked about anything other than salvation and forgiveness. None of the issues that modern religion struggles with are discussed by Jesus. It is, I suspect, a gentle reminder that this world is but an instant and salvation is for eternity.

If you believe that the Catholic Church is that founded by Christ, and that he appointed the first Pope in Peter, it is a logical conclusion to state that the Pope, when speaking solely on matters of faith and morals can only speak as God wills.

When you have an institution with 100 million members worldwide, a code of law is necessary. In most of the world, Catholics cannot rely on civil authority for any sort of justice and only the laws of the Church are trustworthy.

Jesus was almost dismissive of civil authority. In truth, if salvation is our goal, we should deal with this world only as necessary. Regardless of the claims of very well paid liability attorneys, the Church’s spiritual mission is paramount.

What are the goals of those attacking the Church? As diocese after diocese is bankrupted, with most of the money going to lawyers, it appears that venial goals such as money and revenge are behind the attacks. Were this simply about truth and healing, another path would have been taken.

The stain of a pedophile priest on the fabric of the Church is dramatic. That stain serves to conceal the good work of tens of thousands of faithful priests and religious who did not sin in this way and who deserve far more respect than they are receiving.

Following in the footsteps of Sirhan Sirhan and the Washington Sniper, another American Muslim goes berserk over American policy in the Middle East.

U.S. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is believed to be the lone shooter of some 43 people on Fort Hood, Texas, and he survived being shot by a civilian police officer, the base commander said.

Lt Gen. Robert Cone in a televised press briefing tonight corrected earlier reports that said Hasan and the officer, who shot him several times, were killed. Rather, he said, both are recovering at a nearby hospital.

All but two of the victims are soldiers, Cone said.

Cone confirmed the identity of Hasan, reportedly a psychiatrist on the base who was scheduled soon to deploy, but would not say more about the suspect last night. Hasan has been in the company of a Criminal Investigative Division officer since the midday shooting, he said.

In answer to a reporter’s question, Cone said of the suspect, “I would say his death is not imminent.” Hasan is not yet talking to investigators, he said.

Three other soldiers were initially detained for questioning, but later released. After interviewing more than 100 people at the scene, Cone said, investigators determined there was only one shooter.

While investigators haven’t ruled out terrorism in the case, Cone said, the evidence doesn’t suggest it.

The shooting began about 1:30 Central Time at Hood’s Soldier Family Readiness Center where Cone said soldiers from multiple units were crowded into the center for a scheduled weekly “make up time” for medical and dental appointments.

Casualties were high due to the enclosed location, but would have been much worse were it not for the training and quick reaction of the soldiers, said Cone, adding that he was on the scene quickly after the shooting began.

“Suffice it to say…the American soldier did a great job,” he said.

From the reports of eyewitnesses, he said, the soldiers – “many of them combat lifesavers” — reacted instantaneously, ripping off parts of their own clothing to treat the wounded.

“I credit the first responders,” he said. “God bless these soldiers and Department of Army civilians. As horrible as this was, it could have been much worse.”

Some 600 people attending a college graduation of 138 soldiers in an adjacent building were unharmed because first responders secured the building, he said.

The suspect is believed to have used two handguns in the shooting, one a semiautomatic, Cone said. And in responding to a question, “As a matter of practice, we do not carry weapons on Fort Hood,” he said. “This is our home.”

However, Cone said, “We will increase our security presence here in the coming days.”

The FBI is working the investigation, along with military and other law enforcement, he said. The base was on lockdown until 7 p.m., a base spokesman said.

For now, Cone said, Fort Hood officials are focused on caring for the wounded, securing the base, notifying victims’ families and providing grief counseling. A family hotline is available to obtain information at 254-288-7570.

Cone, who received a call from President Barack Obama soon after the shooting, said he was grateful for an outpouring of support. “It is truly overwhelming the offers of support we have had from around the nation,” the general said. “Tomorrow at Fort Hood, we return to normalcy, schools will be open.”

The Central Texas base is the military’s largest, covering some 340 square miles and is home to 40,000 soldiers. And, according to its Web site, is known as “The Great Place” for its quality of life for soldiers and their families.

DoD

The spin has started. For Hasan, it means that the stories he heard from soldiers at Walter Reed and the hatred he felt from others as a Muslim became too much to bear. For Fort Hood, it means describing the base as a center for soldier suicides and violence.

The truth is that this is another Muslim man who turned his face from his country and adopted an alien belief that led to violence. The FBI will not dare call this terrorism, but at some point the number of young, Muslim men killing random Americans will be too great for them to ignore.