THE TABLET
Oct. 6, 2007
Creating a Culture of Life

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

October traditionally has been Respect Life Month in the Church in the United States. “Respect for Life” certainly characterizes the witness of our Church in our society that has lost some of its understanding of the true meaning of life. 

The theme for this year’s celebration is the words of Elizabeth when she encountered Mary, who visited her to assist her in her pregnancy, “The infant in my womb leaped for joy.”  John the Baptist recognized the author and the presence of life, Jesus, who was in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

The movement of John the Baptist in Elizabeth’s womb perhaps gives us insight into the pre-consciousness that children in the womb feel.  Modern science tells us how much fetuses are influenced by their life in the womb.  Although there is scientific debate regarding the moment that life begins, it has certainly been the constant teaching of the Church that life begins at the moment of conception, further defined as the moment of fertilization. 

The Church has defended the most basic right to life from its natural beginning to its natural end.  There are many other human rights that flow from the basic right to life, but without a defense and a respect of the basic right to life, all other rights have no meaning.  True it is that people have a right to housing, food and decent employment, but when one is deprived of life, these rights have no meaning.

As modern medical science makes progress in seeking to prolong life, it strives to give a better quality of life to those who are alive.  This is admirable, but without moral and ethical restraints, this goal can certainly go awry.  Let me give some examples of modern predicaments in which we find ourselves.

First, let us take abortion, the preeminent issue today in defending the right to life.  This has been corrupted by the proponents of abortion and turned into the right to choose.  The right for a woman to choose death for her unborn child is no right at all, but unfortunately this is what has been authorized. The constant teaching of the Church has been interpreted by critics as an intrusion into the freedom of a woman to control her own body and reproduction.  Life, when all is said and done, is not under our own control.  Life is a gift from God; we respect it and preserve it with all human means available to us.  An abortion certainly does not enhance the right to life, but truly destroys it.

Many today have proposed the idea of preventing conception as a means to reduce abortions.  It has been perpetuated, unfortunately, by many in political life who have chosen to be pro-abortion and not pro-life.  They insinuate that the rates of abortion diminish when social programs to prevent conception are fostered. Morning-after pills are touted as remedies that lower abortion rates, though they themselves are abortifacients, that is, they cause abortions after conception has already taken place.

Contraception unfortunately has become the mentality in our society, even among our Catholic people, that has caused a weakening of our moral fabric.  The Church has constantly taught that we must be responsible in our parenthood, and that natural means of limiting the size of the family are acceptable.  Human sexuality is a natural part of human life that must be naturally controlled.

A complex issue that is difficult for many people, including Catholics, to understand is the advance in all forms of assisted reproductive technology, known as ART.  Fertility clinics have multiplied, as well as the number of sperm banks and surrogate mothers, producing about 10,000 children annually.  Again, the Church’s argument is that we cannot separate procreation from the love between two persons who are committed to one another.  The right to have a child is certainly not absolute, although there are natural ways to assist couples seeking to conceive a child. Artificial means serve to degrade the conception of a life, reducing it to a laboratory exercise, not one which is couched in the bosom of family where it belongs.

Many others who try to balance their support for abortion cite social programs that can in the long run prevent unwanted pregnancies, but that really destroy unwanted children.  Catholic social teaching, which supports human development, has also been constant in asserting that abortion is the destruction of innocent human life. Its sheer magnitude on a worldwide basis cannot be ignored.  It is estimated that 46 million abortions are performed globally each year, a figure that makes abortion a real social problem, one the world cannot ignore.  Although we see genocide, terrorism and other affronts to human life, the overwhelming destruction of human life through abortion is something of even greater proportion.

Catholic social teaching offers two distinctive arguments in the abortion debates.  First, it charts a course between moral theology and the public debate of the issue.  Our arguments are not only theological and religious. They are based on natural law that can be understood by anyone of good will, and our arguments are framed in ways that are understandable to all. 

Second, the Catholic Church in its teaching has developed principles that address complex moral questions and social order.  A long tradition, solid philosophy and reasoning allow us to deal with new issues of technology as they arise.  For example, the Church’s opposition to embryonic stem cell research is not something that has been developed only to deal with these new phenomena.
Again, the need to avoid the destruction of life at any stage outweighs any benefit that might be derived.  If it were not for the Church, modern medical science would not be where it is today. Though we could cite instances of misunderstanding science, the Church for the most part has supported the advancements in medical treatment and has been there to administer many treatments to all, especially the poor.

As we contemplate this month dedicated to life, let us take some time to study the issues so we are not swayed by arguments offered by those who create a culture of death, as Pope John Paul II, of happy memory, characterized it.  We must create a culture of life which is part and parcel of our culture.

I take this opportunity to commend Msgr. Philip Reilly and his associates with the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants, who directly and in a peaceful way confront the issue of abortion by trying to rescue children from being aborted by convincing their pregnant mothers to carry them to term.  He has gained a worldwide reputation and has assisted the Church in many countries to develop programs of prayer and rescue. 

Bishop Daily almost every Saturday is found outside an abortion clinic in our Diocese praying the Rosary.  He, Bishop Caggiano and I take turns at a monthly vigil Mass on a Saturday morning, then lead a procession to an abortion clinic where we recite the Rosary.  These are small witnesses that we make to defend the right to life.  Unfortunately, the overwhelming and horrific consequences of abortion are hidden from most people’s understanding.  Last year, I was asked to bless a former abortion clinic that was being returned to a positive use. It was a most moving experience.  To stand in a place where death of innocents had occurred and to pray for respect for life was truly a memorable moment.

On this issue the Church must “put out into the deep,” not always being understood, but never wavering from the defense of life. Take this month to consider your own understanding of life issues and pray that we can turn our culture into one that respects life.

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