Catholics asked to NOT donate to the ALS Association

DUBUQUE (KWWL) - The Archbishop of the Dubuque Diocese is asking Catholics participating in the ice bucket challenge to donate to the John Paul II Medical Research Institute in Iowa City instead of the ALS Association.

As of Wednesday, The ALS Association has received $94.3 million in donations, most of which are attributed to the recent ice bucket challenge.

Archbishop Michael Jackels has now released a statement urging Catholics participating to donate to another organization helping to fight ALS.

"Donating to the ALS Association is inconsistent with Catholic moral teaching as it promotes stem cell research that destroys embryonic human beings, Jackels said. Catholic individuals, parishes, schools, and other entities in the Archdiocese of Dubuque, if they participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge, are asked to send their donations to the John Paul II Medical Research Institute in Iowa City."

Other Catholic archbishops have asked the same of their congregations, and the ALS Association has responded to the church by saying, The ALS Association primarily funds adult stem cell research. Currently, The Association is funding one study using embryonic stem cells (ESC), and the stem cell line was established many years ago under ethical guidelines set by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS); this research is funded by one specific donor, who is committed to this area of research. In fact, donors may stipulate that their funds not be invested in this study or any stem cell project.

To read Jackels full statement, click here: http://www.dbqarch.org/about/archbishop-jackels/messages-from-archbishop-jackels/

To read the ALS Association's full statement, click here:http://www.alsa.org/news/media/press-releases/statement-on-stemcell-research.html

To learn more about the John Paul II Medical Research Institute, click here:http://jp2mri.org/

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Catholics asked to NOT donate to the ALS Association