Anglican Communion News Service

(CPSA) The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane, has expressed his strong opposition to cloning, and warned that people "must not play God".

In an interview in Cape Town this week, the Archbishop said that God created humankind in his image, and set in place mechanisms to ensure its sustenance. Humanity was not at liberty to interfere with this process through cloning, he added.

Archbishop Ndungane said that experiments with issues such as cloning frequently had much to do with individual gratification associated with scientific breakthroughs. Scientists should rather concentrate on breakthroughs that are the most good for the greatest number of people in the world, he said.

Asked whether human cloning was justified in the case of people desperate for children, the Archbishop recalled that many children in the world do not have homes, and that there is a social process of adoption whereby people are enabled to experience the joy of family life.

Archbishop Ndungane also addressed the issue of modern technology at a media conference this afternoon at his residence in Cape Town. He had earlier in the day returned from a visit to London, during which he met the Archbishop of Canterbury to discuss issues relating to the forthcoming Lambeth conference of Anglican bishops from around the world.

"The 21st century will see a society emerging which will be more influenced by technological advancement than any previous one. The startling developments in biotechnology that have resulted from genetic science in the last two decades suggest the prospect of enormous changes in agriculture and in the treatment of human disease and incapacity," Archbishop Ndungane said.

He added: "Many also fear that these biotechnological developments will also bring negative as well as positive changes, reducing biodiversity, risking harmful mutations and manipulating human destinies. Some believe such development could be as potentially destructive for future generations as the development of nuclear weapons.

"Amidst this wide diversity of views we must never lose sight of the nature of our humanity, which is founded on Jesus Christ, the real person," he said.