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Opinion pages have had ready-made fodder this week. A few of the editorials on Bush's decision include those by: the Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, Orlando Sentinel, The Christian Science Monitor, San Diego Union-Tribune, USA Today, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and The Washington Post.

Other editorials are debating the prospect of Dr. Leon Kass as the leader of the president's stem-cell ethics panel. While The Wall Street Journal says Kass brings "moral seriousness" to his craft, USA Today argues that "His written record … provides a more radical picture of a man at war with the accepted state of medicine and research."

Meanwhile, Reuters reported yesterday that researchers have found some adult stem cells in the scalp are displaying "impressive versatility, highlighting the promise for therapeutic applications involving stem cells, aside from those harvested from live human embryos."

Scientists examine the role of prayer in medical recovery
Earlier this week, a study revealed that spiritual anguish could have negative side effects on the ill. At the same time, a global scientific experiment is testing whether prayer can heal. A cardiologist at Duke University Medical Center is leading the study that will be completed this year.

Over 191 studies have been already been done on "spirtual healing." One prayer experiment was conducted at the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo., on heart patients. ABCNews reports:

For an entire year, about 1,000 heart patients admitted [in the] critical care unit were secretly divided into two groups. Half were prayed for by a group of volunteers and the hospital's chaplain; the other half were not … The results: The patients who were prayed for had 11 percent fewer heart attacks, strokes and life-threatening complications.

"This study offers an interesting insight into the possibility that maybe God is influencing our lives on Earth," says [cardiologist Dr. James] O'Keefe. "As a scientist, it's very counterintuitive because I don't have a way to explain it."

Archbishop Milingo:

• Vatican Releases Archbishop's Note | To rebut suggestions that Milingo is being held against his will, his handwritten letter goes public (Associated Press)
• Also: Archbishop Under Duress? | Sung is left seeking solace in what he left behind, convinced he is being kept prisoner by the Vatican (CBS)

Crime and litigation:

• Salvadoran priest abducted at church | He had worked for years in Florida (Miami Herald)
• Clergy at same risk of attack as police officers | Being a priest may be the most dangerous profession in Britain (The Guardian)
• Public must pay church liability, conference told | Anglican churches plead need of public funds to defend against mass litigation in Canada (The National Post)
• Judge Deliberates Molester's Fate | Accused pleaded guilty to 75 counts and could face life in prison (Associated Press)
• Also: Victims, parents testify in sentencing of church worker accused of raping children | Alleged victims tell accused that he ruined their lives. (Associated Press)

Persecution:

• Taliban plays waiting game over aid staff | Diplomats sit around Kabul hoping for progress (The Times)
• Harvesting souls a sensitive business in Asia | Planting the cross in Asia will take more than prayer in a region where the missionary movement is viewed with deep suspicion (Reuters)

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August (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45