Pope Benedict XVI yesterday backed calls for an international ban on cluster bombs. "It is necessary to remedy the errors of the past and avoid their repetition in the future," he said.

Today, representatives of 100 countries will gather in Dublin for a conference to discuss an international ban on cluster munitions. The Pope said "I accompany the victims of cluster munitions and their families with my prayers as well as the participants in the conference, offering my best wishes of success."

Meanwhile in Britain, the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in the UK and Ireland yesterday pledged £25,000 for research into adult stem cells, which the Church is promoting as an "ethical" alternative to the use of embyronic stem cells.

They say the money will be used for research into "promising " adult stem cell and cord blood stem cells therapies that so far have been used to help treat up to 80 diseases, mostly linked to the blood system and immune system. Such cells may be found in brain and bone marrow tissue, as well as in the liver, cornea and pancreas.

In a joint letter, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, head of the Catholic Church of Scotland, and Cardinal Sean Brady, president of the bishops' Conference in Ireland say the grant symbolises the Church's "commitment to science and human good."

"We support scientific research that seeks to cure disease and suffering" the leaders added.

" The HFE Bill has focused on embryonic stem cell research. In fact, much greater progress has already been made towards clinical therapies using adult stem cells. Other emerging techniques hold potential for good, without creating and destroying human embryos."

The money, taken from a collection from Catholic parishioners in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland for pro-life causes, will go to Novussanguis, a new foundation for research into adult stem cells launched in Paris on May 14. It is a joint initiative run by Colin McGuckin, Professor of Regenerative Medicine at Newcastle University, a pioneer in adult stem cell research, and the Fondation Jérôme Lejeune, which researches genetic diseases.

http://www.novussanguis.org/