Respect Life
All Catholics have a duty and responsibility to fulfill the mission of the Church and the future of humanity when it comes to pro-life issues, especially those who seek public office and legislate. We must always follow Jesus who told us in the Gospel of John “…I am the way the truth and the life..” and “A thief comes to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd.”
Those are strong words and the reason the Church from the outset has taught that abortion was an intrinsic evil. In The Didache, the early teaching of the Twelve Apostles, they wrote:
“…the commandments teach us this…thou shalt do no murder…thou shalt not procure abortion…you shall not kill the embryo and shall not cause
the newborn to perish.”
Sounds pretty clear to me…and it should do to all of us Catholics and Christians.
The Catholic Church has adopted the absolutist ethical stance from day one. This means that we believe in teachings that have no exceptions, and “Do not kill” is an example of such a teaching. No exceptions from even those Catholics who say, “I am pro-life and oppose abortion, but respect a woman’s right to choose.” This is an oxymoron if I ever heard one. The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly states, and I quote:
Human life must be respected and protected from the
first moment of conception. From the first moment
of his existence, a human being must be recognized
as having the rights of a person – among which is the
inviolable right of every innocent being to life.
This has a very familiar ring to it…sounds a bit like the Declaration of Independence:
“…endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these [is] LIFE..”
As I have mentioned earlier, Church Teachings remain unchangeable…and they are contrary to the laws we have adopted since Roe v. Wade; sad, but true.
Next week: What are we to do?
Deacon Loris