All persons, not just Catholics, can know from the scientific and medical evidence that what grows in a mother's womb is a new, distinct human being. All persons can understand that each human being--without discrimination--merits respect. At the very least, respecting human life excludes the deliberate and direct destruction of life--and that is exactly what abortion is.
Catholics are also pro-life because our Christian tradition is pro-life. As Pope John Paul II said, Christians believe that "all human life is sacred, for it is created in the image and likeness of God." Aborting an unborn child destroys a unique creation which God has called specially into existence.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith in it's Declaration on Procured Abortion [1974; paragraphs 11-12] states:
"The first right of the human person is his life...It does not belong to society, nor does it belong to public authority in any form to recognize this right for some and not for others; all discrimination is evil...
"Any discrimination based on the various stages of life is no more justified than any other discrimination...In reality, respect for human life is called for from the time that the process of generation begins. From the time that the ovum is fertilized, a life is begun which is neither that of the father nor of the mother; it is rather the life of a new human being with his own growth" --and dignity.
Since its beginnings, Christianity has maintained a firm and clear teaching on the sacredness of human life. Abortion was rejected in the earliest known Christian manual of discipline, the Didache.
Early Church fathers likewise condemned abortion as the killing of innocent human life. A third century Father of the Church, Tertullian, called it "accelerated homicide." Early Church councils considered it one of the most serious crimes. Even during periods when Aristotle's theory of "delayed ensoulment" led Church law to assign different penalties to earlier and later abortions, abortion at any stage was still considered a grave evil.
When biologists in the 19th century learned more about the process of conception, the Church altered its legal distinction between early and late abortions out of respect for reason and biology.
Since that time, science has only further confirmed the humanity of the child growing in the womb. Official Church teaching insists, to the present day, that a just society protects life before as well as after birth.
--National Conference of Catholic Bishops/Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities
"You shall not murder a child by abortion, nor kill it after birth."
Letter of St. Barnabas, 2nd century AD.
Prayer: Lord, bless all those who will march this year for life, and the many more who labor for life in their own communities every day.
--Pro-Life Reflections for Every Day (2009); Fr. Frank Pavone, p.17
No comments:
Post a Comment