VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In the continuing debate over stem-cell research, the ideologues are those who claim it is necessary to use embryonic stem cells, an Italian research physician wrote in the Vatican newspaper.

A growing body of research has proven that a variety of somatic stem cells — usually referred to as adult stem cells — holds more promise for curing many diseases than stem cells derived from embryos, wrote Dr. Angelo L. Vescovi, a professor at Milan’s Bicocca University and a researcher at the Cerebral Stem Cell Bank in Terni. Vescovi’s full-page article May 27 in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, was headlined “Behind embryonic stem-cell research there is only a patent war.”

The doctor wrote, “The decision made in March by U.S. President Barack Obama to use federal funds to finance research on stem cells derived from the destruction of human embryos — embryonic stem cells — has reignited the polemics regarding a theme with complex bioethical implications.” He said that while promoters of embryonic stem-cell research like to label opponents as ideologues or religious extremists, science itself has proven that those who insist on destroying human embryos are the ones being unreasonable.