The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has told Catholic schools not to do the popular “ice bucket challenge” if it benefits the ALS Association, because that group includes embryonic stem cell research as part of its fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease.
“The beneficiary of the ice-bucket challenge funds a study using embryonic stem cells, which can only be obtained by destroying embryonic life,” reads a statement from archdiocesan spokesman Stephen Trosley. “For that reason, we have determined that our schools should not raise money for the ALS Association, and should instead — if they wish — donate to another organization doing ALS research.”
In a common version of the challenge, participants are dared to dump a bucket of ice water on their heads and make a small donation to the ALS Association, or make a much larger donation if they opt out of the ice-bath.
The activity has swept the nation, with politicians, celebrities, youth sports teams, and everyday residents posting their ice bucket videos online. The ALS Association said this week that it has received more than $31.5 million in donations in the three weeks since the challenge took off, compared with $1.9 million during the same time period last year.
Carrie Munk, spokeswoman for the ALS Association, said she is not aware of any other groups asking their members not to donate to ALSA. She downplayed the archdiocese’s concerns, saying stem cell research is one of six areas of focus for her group.
She said ALSA has only one study that uses embryonic stem cells, and that study is funded by a single donor. She said the stem cell line for that study was established years ago “under ethical guidelines set by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.”
“Also, the ALS Association is committed to honoring donor intent,” Munk said. “If a donor is not comfortable with a type of research, he or she can stipulate that their dollars not be invested in that particular area.”
ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. There is no cure, and the disease can lead to loss of muscle control, paralysis and death.
Many Catholics took the ice-bucket challenge for ALS in recent days, either unaware of the stem cell controversy, unconcerned by it, or doing the challenge without donating. Multiple sports teams from the University of Dayton posted videos, as did the presidents of Xavier and Marquette University.
Local Catholic schools received a letter this week from Jim Rigg, school superintendent for the archdiocese, acknowledging that ice-bucket participants “are motivated by Christian compassion for those who are suffering.” But he said schools should stop or change their approach.
“If your school is planning an effort to raise funds, you should immediately cease such planning, or direct your fund-raising to another organization with a similar goal, but whose practices are consistent with the Church,” Rigg’s letter said.
He emphasized that individual Catholics are free to donate to the ALSA, but Catholic schools “should not encourage, organize or sponsor such efforts.”
The archdiocese later announced that Rigg and Cincinnati Elder High School Principal Tom Otten would take the ice-bucket challenge at Elder. They will make a contribution to the John Paul II Medical Research Institute in Iowa City, Iowa, which they said conducts research using only adult stem cells, a morally acceptable practice under Catholic teaching.
Carroll High School Principal Matt Sableski said he would also do the ice-bucket challenge, and echoed that Catholics are not turning their backs on the disease.
“It’s not about not supporting ALS; it’s simply about knowing that the money you raise is going to an organization that’s in line with Catholic teaching, specifically around pro-life issues,” Sableski said.
Dirk Allen, director of admissions at Badin High School in Hamilton, said several faculty members and students at the Catholic school have participated in the ice-bucket challenge individually.
“It’s not an organized Badin effort,” Allen said. “We understand where the archdiocese is coming from; we pay attention to what the archdiocese encourages us to do.”
Allen said Badin graduate Joseph Toerner of Fairfield, Ohio, died from ALS in 2010. He said Toerner was the parent of two Badin graduates, putting ALS on a lot of people’s minds.
“Joe Toerner’s death certainly touches a nerve here,” he said.
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