CCL EUROPE NEWSLETTER ISSUE NO. 23, JUNE 2010

The Couple to Couple League of the Czech Republic

To CCL teaching couples and promoters, friends and benefactors

Assisted Reproduction - in vitro fertilisation

Considerable discussion was created by the publication of the instruction Dignitas personae in 2008. It even came up in our Czech pro-life organisation, of which I am a Board member. The controversial paragraph is Dignitas personae 19, which discusses the situation of frozen embryos. The conclusion is that the position of abandoned frozen embryos is insoluble, "a situation of injustice which in fact cannot be resolved.” Even the position of pre-natal adoption is considered problematical, though well-meant. Some argue that the transfer of an embryo into the womb of a woman (other than the biological mother, or perhaps even in this case) is intrinsically evil. Others, including myself, do not agree and point out that this act is the only way of saving the embryo’s life. For the Church to declare an essential life-saving act, albeit problematical, to be intrinsically evil would be a dangerous precedent, as far as I can tell, unique in the history of the Church, and would condemn a whole category of people to destruction. Would not the Church then come collectively under Christ’s condemnation of Mt 25,45f? One needs to consider the moral legitimacy of the various acts involved in the whole process of IVF and embryo transfer more carefully.

In my talk at the ethics conference in Brno in April I considered these questions, explained why the status of embryos conceived by IVF should be considered as one of slavery, said that it would be advantageous if embryos had a patron, suggested that St. Josephine Bakhita, a freed Sudanese slave who entered a convent and was canonised in 2002, would be suitable, and proposed that societies be set up in countries where IVF is practised to promote and organise the adoption of embryos under appropriate conditions. I am hoping that the talk can be published as an article in a Czech journal. I have sent a German version to a journal in Austria. If there were the possibility of publication in an English-language journal, I would prepare an English version. Can anyone suggest a journal that might be interested?

INER Congress

Mishka and I attended the congress which took place in Wels, Austria, 30th April - 2nd May. INER (Institute of Natural Conception Regulation Roetzer, http://www.iner.org) organises this congress every year for its members and other guests. This year the highlight was to be the celebration of the 90th birthday of Prof. Dr. Roetzer, the father of the Sympto-Thermal Method in Europe. Although very frail he had planned to attend the congress on the Saturday afternoon, but cancelled it at the last minute because of ill-health.

I was gratified to hear that my English translation of Dr. Roetzer’s manual was at last to be published at least in a limited edition by INER. It is to be used by couples in which one of them is German-speaking and the other is not, but can understand English. I had originally been commissioned to translate the book by Bill Corey, the then International Director of CCLI, in about 2002. I had often referred to the book in correspondence. The thought appealed to me that this standard work of the NFP movement should be available for the English-speaking world. After his retirement from CCLI Bill visited us in November 2003 and we visited Dr. Roetzer and discussed the publication. Dr. Roetzer is competent in English and read the text carefully. We put the finishing touches to the translation at the INER congress in 2004. Even though this book has been translated into many languages and has sold over half a million copies world-wide, Bill Corey was unable to find a publisher in the USA. However, a copy was given to CCLI, and it is this text which has formed the basis of the CCL "re-tooled method”. So my translation has been useful after all.

I was also able to present our 16-page brochure for girls Created for Fruitful Love. There was quite a bit of interest and we were able to meet the author of the story we published on the back page of the brochure. We had extracted it from Dr. Roetzer’s second book Woman and her personal cycle - from the premenarche to the premenopause. This book contains the fruits of Dr. Roetzer’s lifelong research into cycles. The story we published was of a 14-year old girl, whose mother had sent Dr. Roetzer her charts from the age of 11 1/2. When we met her she was a young married woman with her first child. Her mother was also present. I was a little apprehensive as to whether they minded us publishing the story, but the young lady was enthusiastic and said how important it was to promote knowledge of their cycles and charting among young girls. We left INER a couple of copies of the original Czech brochure and the English translation as a computer file, suggesting that it might be an inspiration to them to produce something similar of their own.

Please pray for our work here, as well as in Slovakia and Georgia, as we pray for you.

David Prentis, with greetings from Mishka too

Donations for Slovakia should be sent to Jozef Predac, Slovenskej armady 15, 953 01 Zlate Moravce, Slovakia, payable to "Jozef Predac” or "Liga par paru v Slovenskej republike”. Donations for Georgia or the Czech Republic may be sent (in any currency) to me (payable to "David Prentis” or "Liga par paru Ceske republiky, o.s.”). They may be earmarked for "Georgia” or the "Czech Republic”. You will find full details at http://www.lpp.cz/?a=20&id=59.

For anyone wishing to donate by electronic credit transfer account details can be provided.

UK residents may send cheques payable to "The Couple to Couple League” to CCL of Great Britain, 44 Park Street, Beeston, Nottingham, NG9 1DF.

Irish residents may send cheques payable to "The Couple to Couple League” to Andrew & Catherine Breen, 102 Rosewood Est, Ballincollig, Co Cork.

US and Canadian residents may send cheques payable to "Peter von Buelow” to Peter & Leeta von Buelow, NFP Mission in Europe, 8444 Chamberlin Road, Dexter, Michigan, 48130.

It should be stated in each case that the donation is for CCL Europe, Slovakia, Georgia or the Czech Republic. Money collected at these addresses will be forwarded to me or to Jozef.

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