academics, law experts, scientists, clergy,rnand theologians.rnWhereas the general inclination —rnwith the notable exception of the Britishrnparliament—is to ban human cloning,rnthe trend regarding transplants is the oppositern—namely, to encourage organ donation.rnThe culture of organ donation receivedrna boost late last August, when, at arnsix-day congress on organ transplantation.rnPope John Paul II encouraged thernremoval of vital organs from dead patientsrnas a genuine act of love to save thernlives of others. This donation, accordingrnto the Pope, may not be unqualified andrncan only take place after death, becausernto act otherwise would mean intentionallyrnto cause the death of the donor. In thernPope’s words, the fact that the means ofrndetermining the moment of death hasrnshifted from the traditional cardio-respiratory-rnsigns to the “neurological criterion”rn(the complete and irreversible cessationrnof all brain activity) “does not seemrnto conflict with the essential elements ofrna sound anthropolog),” provided this criterionrnis “rigorously applied.”rnBut a growing minority of the scientificrncommunity is concerned that the neurologicalrnapproach is invalid. So far,rnsome 120 signatories from 19 countries—rnincluding scientists, philosophers, judges,rnattorneys, clergy, pro-family leaders,rnand disability-rights and pro-life advocatesrnof varying political and religiousrnpersuasions —have forwarded to thernPope what constitutes the largest internationalrnpublic statement in histors’ in oppositionrnto the “brain death” criterionrnand unpaired vital organ transplantation.rnA few days later, the matter was taken uprnby the Jomal do Brasil, which ran a featurernheadlined “Movement contests thernuse of brain death criterion.”rnSignatories include such prominentrn”brain death” critics as Dr. Paul Byrnern(United States), Dr. Cicero Coimbrarn(Brazil), Dr. David Evans (England),rnProf. Josef Seifert (Liechtenstein), andrnDr. Yoshio Watanabe (Japan). The listrnfeatures many Italians, including thoracicrnsurgeon Luigi Gagliardi, geneticistrnGiuseppe Sermonti, and Nerina Negrello,rnthe flamboyant president of LegarnNazionale Contro la Predazione di Organirne la Morte a Cuore Battente. “Inasmuchrnas these controversies quite literallyrninvolve matters of life and death,rnphysical and spiritual,” they argue, “arnclear understanding of their nature is vitalrnto the survival of both life and truth.rnlife’s guardian.”rnTo confirm with moral certainty thatrn”the complete and irreversible cessationrnof all brain activity (in the cerebrum,rncerebellum, and brain stem)” has occurredrnwould require the total absence ofrnall circulation and respiration, the statementrnclaims. Confirmation of this absencernwould necessitate that the cerebrum,rncerebellum, and brain stem—asrnwell as the circulator)’ and respiratory systemsrn—have been destroyed.rnObserving that none of the shifting setsrnof “so-called” neurological criteria for determiningrndeath fulfills the requirementsrndescribed by the Pope in his address, thernstatement argues that, “In fact, ‘brainrndeath’ is not death, and death ought notrnto be declared unless the entire brain andrnthe respiratory and circulatory systemsrnhave been destroyed.” For vital organs tornbe suitable for transplantation, however,rnthey must be living organs—and that requiresrnremoval from living human beings.rnMoreover, the signatories conclude,rnpersons condemned to death asrn”brain dead” are not “certainlyrndead” but, to the contrary, are certainlyrnalive. Thus adherence to thernrestrictions stipulated by the Popernand the prohibitions imposed byrnGod Himself in the Natural MoralrnLaw precludes the transplantationrnof unpaired vital organs, an actrnwhich causes the death of thern”donor” and violates the fifth commandmentrnof the divine Decalogue,rn”Thou shalt not kill” (Deut.rn5:17).rnOne of the signatories, Americanrnphysician Dr. Paul A. Byrne, has coauthoredrna new book. Beyond Brain Death:rnThe Case Against Brain Based Criteria forrnHuman Death, which was released byrnNetherlands-based publisher KluwerrnAcademic at the very’ moment that countryrnwas busy decriminalizing euthanasia.rnOne of the groups coordinating the collectionrnof signatures is Citizens UnitedrnResisting Euthanasia, the oldest single-issuernanti-euthanasia organization in thernUnited States. Its director. Earl Appleby,rnJr., has made it clear that “we are notrnthrough by any means,” and more signaturesrncontinue to amass.rnThis petition is likely to be rememberedrnfor another reason: an unprecedentedrnrift in a pontifical institution. Inrnfact, it was signed by a former secretary ofrnthe Pontifical Academy for Life (professorrnof bioethies Fr. Christian Marie Charlot)rnand hvo of its present members (thernpresident of the Family of the America’srnFoundation Mercedes Arzu Wilson andrnProf Josef Seifert, rector of the InternationalrnAcademy for Philosophy in Liechtenstein),rnas well as hvo Roman Catholicrnbishops and other clergy, religious, andrnpriests.rnMembers of a pontifical academy haverndistanced themselves from the officialrnline of their institution for the first time.rnAs Dr. Paul Byrne explained in a recentrninterview in London’s Catholic Times,rnthe dissenters’ intention is not to challengernthe Pope’s general teaching on thernmatter, which he believes to be sound,rnbut to clarify the medical aspects. Inrnfact, he claims, the Pope may not haverngrasped the finer details of this complicatedrnmedical procedure. “The Holy Fatherrnis dependent on the advisers aroundrnhim,” contends Dr. Byrne.rnI strongly suspect that he has notrnbeen told that you can’t get arnhealthy heart to be used for transplantationrnunless you get it from arnliving person. Although his teachingsrnare clear, the medical aspectsrnof it need to be clarified in that regard.rnDr. Byrne goes on to explain that, while arnvital organ is being removed, there isrnblood pressure, the body temperature isrnbeing regulated, the heart is beating, andrnthe person is passing urine. In short, therndonor is still alive. “Brain death is a lie,”rnhe argues. “One shouldn’t use the wordrndying because one is either alive or one isrndead.” And there have been docinnentedrncases of people, he points out, whornhave fully recovered after being declaredrnbrain dead.rnJohn Paul II has condemned all experimentsrnin the cloning of human embryosrnand has encouraged the dorration of organsrnas a genuine act of love. But the onlyrntype of organ transplants that are acceptable,rnaccording to Dr. Byrne, arernthose that do not cause death —for instance,rnwhen a person offers up one ofrnhvo healthy kidneys, or a lobe of his lungrnor liver, or donates tissue, such as bonernmarrow, which can be removed afterrndeath has occurred.rnAlberto Carosa, the editor of FamigliarnDomani Flash, writes from Rome.rn46/CHRONICLESrnrnrn