BANGOR – A representative of Priests for Life had planned to preach at Masses today and Sunday about the Catholic Church’s opposition to stem cell research. The Rev. Richard M. Hogan, a priest in the St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese, said in an interview Friday afternoon that his plans changed Tuesday morning.

“My message has changed somewhat since September 11,” he said. “I think the events Tuesday underline the preciousness of all our lives. Now, especially, we need to show respect for all life, from the first moment of conception to natural death.”

Hogan, the former vice president of Priests for Life, was invited weeks ago to be the keynote speaker at today’s awards luncheon of the Pro Life Education Association in Augusta, according to the organization’s president, Gerald Thibodeau of Brewer. Priests for Life is a statewide interfaith, pro-life organization founded in 1972.

The stem cell debate came to a head last month when President Bush announced federal funding for research that uses existing stem cells. He said taxpayer dollars would not be used to support research that requires further destruction of human embryos.

Embryonic stem cells come from 5-day-old human embryos. Scientists believe they are capable of transforming into any kind of cell or organ. Research supporters say the cells show promise in treating a host of diseases such as Parkinson’s and diabetes. Opponents, including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, say the research is tantamount to murder because the process destroys the embryos.

Hogan, who now works for the Natural Family Planning Outreach program, said that the Catholic Church’s stand on stem cell research is rooted in the belief that all life begins at the moment of conception. Because embryos are destroyed or killed, according to Hogan, when the stem cells are harvested, the church opposes such research.

The priest also criticized Bush’s compromise in allowing federal funds to be used for even limited research using stem cells and compared his actions to the boyfriend who pays for an abortion.

“That decision was sort of like receiving stolen goods,” said Hogan. “[The president] is not actually doing the killing but he is funding the people who do the killing. In theology, we call it direct or formal cooperation in an evil. In legal terms, it’s the fruit of the poisonous tree. It’s not as clear-cut as killing an embryo, but in the Catholic tradition, it’s still pretty clear.”

The current debate over the use of stem cells is part of a larger debate about the use of humans and animals in research that began after the discovery of medical atrocities committed during the Holocaust, according to the Rev. Dr. Marvin Ellison, who teaches ethics at Bangor Theological Seminary. He said Friday afternoon that “not every religious tradition defines the beginning of life as the moment of conception.”

“My tradition [Presbyterian U.S.A.] recognizes that the value of doing medical research that helps in the healing, health and well-being of a person may be a strong reason for using embryos in some forms of research as long as certain ethical guidelines are followed,” he said. “Like most serious ethical debates, there is more than value that can be considered.”

Ellison added that while many religious traditions, including his own, value embryonic life, other factors may outweigh that value for the higher good of society.

Hogan will preach at 4 p.m. today at St. Mary’s, Bangor; at 7 a.m. Sunday at St. John’s, Bangor; at 8 a.m. Sunday at St. Joseph’s, Brewer; and at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at St. Teresa’s, Brewer.