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Sts. Joseph & Paul |
Social Justice: Consistent Ethic of Life | |
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On the Issue of Abortion: "Among all the crimes which can be committed against life, procured abortion has characteristics making it particularly serious and deplorable. The Second Vatican Council defines abortion, together with infanticide, as an 'unspeakable crime'.
Some people try to justify abortion by claiming that
the result of conception, at least up to a certain number of days, cannot
yet be considered a personal human life. But in fact,
Human life is sacred and inviolable at every moment of existence, including the initial phase which precedes birth. All human beings, from their mothers' womb, belong to God who searches them and knows them, who forms them and knits them together with his own hands, who gazes on them when they are tiny shapeless embryos and already sees in them the adults of tomorrow whose days are numbered and whose vocation is even now written in the "book of life" (cf. Ps 139: 1, 13-16). There too, when they are still in their mothers' womb-as many passages of the Bible bear witness -they are the personal objects of God's loving and fatherly providence. No circumstance, no purpose,
no law whatsoever can ever make licit an act which is intrinsically
illicit, since it is contrary to the Law of God which is written in every
human heart, knowable by reason itself, and proclaimed by the Church."
Opportunities for
Life
Operation Baby
Box
On the Issue of
Euthanasia: With regard to the last moments of life too, it
would be anachronistic to expect biblical revelation to make express
reference to present-day issues concerning respect for elderly and sick
persons, or to condemn explicitly attempts to hasten their end by force.
The cultural and religious context of the Bible is in no way touched by
such temptations; indeed, in that context the wisdom and No one, however, can arbitrarily choose whether to live or die; the absolute master of such a decision is the Creator alone, in whom 'we live and move and have our being' (Acts 17:28). In this context the temptation grows to have recourse to euthanasia, that is, to take control of death and bring it about before its time, 'gently' ending one's own life or the life of others. In reality, what might seem logical and humane, when looked at more closely is seen to be senseless and inhumane. Here we are faced with one of the more alarming symptoms of the 'culture of death', which is advancing above all in prosperous societies, marked by an attitude of excessive preoccupation with efficiency and which sees the growing number of elderly and disabled people as intolerable and too burdensome. These people are very often isolated by their families and by society, which are organized almost exclusively on the basis of criteria of productive efficiency, according to which a hopelessly impaired life no longer has any value. ...in harmony with the
Magisterium of my Predecessors and in communion with the Bishops of the
Catholic Church, I confirm that euthanasia is a grave violation of the law
of God, since it is the deliberate and morally unacceptable killing of a
human person. This doctrine is based upon the natural law and upon the
written word of God, is transmitted by the Church's Tradition and taught
by the ordinary and universal Magisterium."
Will to Live The Will to Live is a legal document that you can sign which: 1) names someone to make health care decisions for you (your "health care agent") if you develop a condition that makes it impossible for you to speak for yourself (become "incompetent"), and 2) makes clear (in the form of written instructions to your health care agent) what medical treatment you would want if you can no longer speak for yourself. The bottom line is this: if you are someone who doesn't want medical technology to prolong your last hours, but who also doesn't want to be starved or allowed to die just because you have a disability, your wishes will be far more likely to be respected if you sign a properly prepared Will to Live than if you sign a living will. For further information, click here.
On the Issue of
Capital Punishment: In a declaration to the first World Congress on
the Death Penalty held June 21-23, 2001 in Strasbourg, France, the Vatican
termed the death penalty "a sign of desperation," and said it pursued the
abolition of capital punishment as "an integral part of the defense of
human life at every stage of its development.... The universal abolition
of the death penalty would be a courageous reaffirmation of the belief
that humankind can be successful in dealing with criminality and of our
refusal to succumb to despair before such forces, and as such it would
regenerate new hope in our very humanity."
Declaration of Life This document protects against a sentence of
capital punishment by declaring your wishes that, should you die as a
result of a violent crime, the person or persons found guilty of homicide
for your killing will not be subject to or put in jeopardy of the death
penalty under any circumstances, no matter how heinous their crime or how
much you may have suffered. It does not state that the murderer found
guilty of killing you be released without punishment. Instead, it simply
protects your wish that punishment be in keeping with Catholic teaching
and that a sentence of life imprisonment is given rather than a sentence
of capital punishment, On the Issue of Torture:
The Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International (TASSC) is the only organization founded by and for torture survivors. The mission of TASSC is to end the practice of torture wherever it occurs and to empower survivors, their families and communities wherever they are.
sdrose@bellsouth.net |
'from
the time that the ovum is fertilized, a life is begun which is neither
that of the father nor the mother; it is rather the life of a new human
being with his own growth. It would never be made human if it were not
human already. This has always been clear, and ... modern genetic science
offers clear confirmation. It has demonstrated that from the first instant
there is established the programme of what this living being will be: a
person, this individual person with his characteristic aspects already
well determined. Right from fertilization the adventure of a human life
begins, and each of its capacities requires time-a rather lengthy time-to
find its place and to be in a position to act'.
