On Building a Culture of
Life
A week from tomorrow we commemorate the 41st anniversary of the
Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion on demand. We have reached over 56 million abortions
since that fateful decision in 1973 (O’Bannon 12 January 2014). 56 million . . . To help understand this huge number, if you add
up the population of the 25 cities in the U.S. with the greatest populations
you total only around 36 million (Grant 23 July 2010). Let that sink in. Image they were all wiped out tomorrow. We are not only missing millions of our
brothers and sisters, but it has left a path of destruction in its wake. It has caused untold suffering to women, men
and families. It has caused us to
construct a society where the most vulnerable among us are not protected, what
Blessed John Paul II called the culture of death. Sadly, the most dangerous place now for a
person on earth is his mother’s womb which should truly be the safest.
Let
me mention from the outset that I am not here to talk politics, but rather to
speak about this issue from a moral perspective. Also seeing the huge statistics, may be one
of you brothers in this room encouraged a wife, girlfriend to have an abortion
or did not discourage a family member from having an abortion. I not here to condemn, but to let you know
that the Church is here to forgive and help you in the process of healing. I would invite you to have the courage to
mention this the next time you go to confession as well as look into Rachel’s
Vineyard which is specifically a healing retreat for men and women who are
post-abortive.
So now in the face of such gross evil on a scale of which the
world has never encountered, especially such calculated evil, how do we
respond? First of all, we should not hate those who support abortion (9
March 2010 CNA/EWTN News). We need to
remember that they are held captive by the enemy of our salvation Satan and
that as St. Paul reminds us that our war is not against “. . .flesh and blood,
but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of
this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the
heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 RSV-CE).
This means that we need to fight with spiritual weapons – prayer and
fasting. When dialoging about life use
tact to avoid personal attacks, using terms that could attack people outright
such as abortion mills or pro-abortion, if someone makes a claim he needs to
back it up himself and pray for the person asking that the Holy Spirit would
open their heart (Benderas 9 October 2010).
Keep in mind that the Lord will remember and make fruitful even the
simple acts that we do to build up a true culture of life whether that be
praying in front of an abortion clinic, authentically loving your friend in a
time of great struggle, talking to a person who is homeless or standing up to
defend life among your peers (9 March 2010 CNA/EWTN News). While we recognize the seriousness of this
spiritual battle, we also need to have a sense of joy in the hope that the Lord
is with us and has won the definitive victory over sin including abortion (9
March 2010 CNA/EWTN News & 1 Corinthians 15:25-27).
How
we live our lives should exude a pro-life spirituality. Do we see or attempt to see each person as
created in the image of God and having an inestimable dignity? Do we try to see Jesus in His distressing
disguise of the poor as Blessed Mother Teresa encouraged us whether that is in
the unborn, the homeless, the immigrant or the elderly? Or do we judge people depending on their
abilities or lack of abilities? Pope
Francis, in a meeting on Monday with member of his diplomatic core of
ambassadors condemned “‘the throwaway culture.’” He stated:
Unfortunately, what is thrown away is not
only food and dispensable objects, but often human beings themselves, who are
discarded as “unnecessary”. For example, it is frightful even to think there
are children, victims of abortion, who will never see the light of day;
children being used as soldiers, abused and killed in armed conflicts; and
children being bought and sold in that terrible form of modern slavery which is
human trafficking, which is a crime against humanity (Francis 13 January 2014).
The
philosophy behind abortion says that one is a burden that needs to be
eliminated while the philosophy of life upholds that it is not about what one
can or can not do, but who one is
that matters.
At
the root of the culture of death is a lack of understanding of the human
person, sex and chastity and the widespread use of contraception especially the
birth control pill which can be an abortifacient, but that is a topic for a
whole other talk. I want to go over some
current challenges to life:
·
Euthanasia: the direct
killing of an innocent person who is suffering or feels that their life is
worthless.
-We are not masters over our life (Chacon &Burnham 2008
p. 19).
-Contrary to the Hippocratic oath
-People worry about being a burden to others (Chacon
&Burnham 2008, p. 18)
-They should be able to receive proper pain management even
if it hastens death or the person loses consciousness (Chacon &Burnham
2008, p. 19-20)
-Suffering has a redemptive value through the cross of
Christ
-Ordinary (well established and beneficial, could depend on
age) is required v. extraordinary (expensive, experimental) means of treatment
is not required (Chacon &Burnham 2008, p. 20).
-When death is close at hand, one can avoid treatment which
will prolong the seemingly inevitable. The person should receive adequate warmth,
food, water and hygiene (Chacon &Burnham 2008, p. 20).
-This attitude about a person having a poor quality of life
or being a burden is similar to the logic of Hitler and Stalin. Anything seemingly could become poor quality
of life. We should use technology to
help the dying rather than hasten death.
All life should be seen as sacred.
The dignity of the human person is key to the teaching of the Church in
its teaching on social issues (Chacon &Burnham 2008, p. 21).
·
Therapeutic v. selective
gene manipulation
-Therapeutic is to help prevent cancer and other diseases
while selective gene manipulation is trying to give human beings certain
physical characteristics. It is morally
permissible to fix genetic problems, but “. . .may not genetically design
people with pre-selected qualities” (Chacon &Burnham 2008, p. 33). Human beings are ends in themselves and
should not be prized because of their characteristics. Parents should not design their children to
meet their needs (Chacon &Burnham 2008, p. 33).
Conversion of hearts and not just getting power in the
government is the end of the pro-life movement.
This conversion of hearts will lead to the renewal of culture which
eventually by God’s grace allows us to have a culture which embraces rather
than rejects life (Gilbert 11 February 2009).
I want to posit that to build a culture of life requires a collective
conversion of heart and not just for those who support abortion. Consider these sobering words from Msgr.
Charles Pope, a priest from the Archdiocese of Washington and a popular
blogger:
It is this nation, collectively that is
guilty. It is those who have sought abortion, those who perform them, those who
pressure women to have them, those who vote to uphold this evil as a “right.”
It is those who remain silent and those who vote for those who uphold this
grave evil, or downplay its horrific reality. It is those who fail to provide
reasonable alternatives and resources for women in crisis. It is those who live
unchastely and fail to reproach those in their family members who live that
way. Yes, to a large
extent few of us can fail to escape the fact that we have contributed to,
even indulged in an unchaste, unjust and unholy culture that leads to the death
of millions every year. Abortion results largely from unchastity and the
refusal of Americans, collectively to accept the consequences of our sin. (20
January 2013)
So it is not only those who actively promote the culture of death who require conversion,
but also our lack of living chastity and having the humility to own up to our
sin. The building of a culture of life
starts with me and as well as you.
Works Cited
Benderas, A. (9 October 2010). “5 tips for Pro-Life conversation.” Live
Action Blog.
Retrieved from http://liveaction.org/blog/5-tips-for-pro-life-conversation/
Chacon,
F. & Burnham, J. (2008). Beginning Apologetics 5: How to Answer Tough
Moral
Questions: Abortion,
Contraception, Euthanasia, Test-Tube Babies, Cloning & Sexual Ethics. Farmington, NM: San
Juan Catholic Seminars:.
CNA/EWTN News. (9 March 2010).
“Archbishop Chaput suggests ‘Dos and Don’ts’ for pro-
life
advocates.” Retrieved from http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/
Francis. (13 January 2014).
“Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Members of the
Diplomatic
Corps Accredited to the Holy See.”
Retrieved from http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/speeches/2014/january/documents/papa-francesco_20140113_corpo-diplomatico_en.html
Gilbert, K. (10 February 2009). “Archbishop Chaput Warns Ireland against
Compromising
with ‘Pluralism’ and ‘Abortion Reduction
Strategies.’” Retrieved from
http://www.lifesitenews.com/
Grant, J.C. (23 July
2010). “Largest U.S. Cities: Population
Size (2012).” Retrieved
from
http://voices.yahoo.com/largest-us-cities-population-size-2012-
6453656.html
O’Bannon,
R. (12 January 2014). “56,662,169 Abortions in America Since Roe vs. Wade in
1973.” Retrieved from
http://www.lifenews.com/2014/01/12/56662169-abortions-in-america-since-roe-vs-wade-in-1973/
Pope, C. (20 January 2013). “Light
and Darkness: Some thoughts on this Presidential
Inauguration Rooted in another
Inauguration in 1865.” Archdiocese of Washington Blog.
Retrieved from http://blog.adw.org/2013/01/light-and-darkenss-some-thoughts-on-this-
presidential-inauguration-rooted-in-another-inauguration-in-1865/
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