“There are times we may doubt the value of our own lives or falter at the thought of welcoming and embracing the life of another. But reflecting on the healed wounds of the Risen Christ, we can see that even our most difficult trials can be the place where God manifests his victory. He makes all things beautiful. He makes all things new. He is the God of redemption …
“Building a culture of life isn’t something we just do one month of the year, or with one event or initiative – it’s essential to who we are. It happens through our daily actions, how we treat one another, and how we live our lives.”
Timothy Cardinal Dolan
Chairman, USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities
October 2017
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Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
American Catholics mark October each year as “Respect Life Month.” Reverence for the sanctity of the human person starts with a defense of the unborn child. The right to life is foundational. Without it, all other rights and all other discussions of justice and human dignity are built on sand. No other issue or collection of issues can eclipse the priority of the fundamental right to life from conception to natural death.
But being “prolife” involves a great deal more than working to end obvious evils like abortion and euthanasia. The poor, the infirm, the disabled and the strangers among us also have a claim on our discipleship. And I’ll mention two examples.
Here’s the first example: In the United States we live at a time of intense confusion and debate about immigration. And “immigration,” as one of many pressing national issues, too often gets stalled in polemics. This obscures the personal suffering of otherwise innocent deportees with no criminal record, and the social cost of fractured immigrant families at the local level.
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Moreover, millions of persons have been dislocated in recent years by war and poverty, and they’re on the move globally. Wealthy nations have a right to secure their borders and protect their citizens and societies, but they also have a grave duty to help and to welcome migrants as generously as possible.
Pope Francis has called for a “Share the Journey” campaign (www.sharejourney.org) to sensitize people of good will to the scope of today’s migrant crisis, and to encourage Christians — as individuals, parishes, dioceses and charitable organizations — to reach out to assist immigrants and refugees in need.
This is vital work, and a special week of prayer for migrants and refugees is going on right now through October 14. But the effort is just beginning, and a good, simple place to start in understanding the Church’s approach to the migrant crisis is Welcoming the Refugee and Migrant, an excellent pamphlet beautifully produced by Catholic News Service and available in parish packets from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Here’s the second example: One of the communities that best embodies the full, Catholic, holistic approach to the “respect life” cause is the Little Sisters of the Poor. These are extraordinary religious women who dedicate their lives, not surprisingly, to serving the aged and the poor. They’re a blessing to all and a threat to no one — unless you’re a federal agency determined to impose an unneeded and vindictive contraceptive coverage mandate on nearly all U.S. businesses and non-profits as part of the nation’s health plans.
This is exactly what happened to the Little Sisters during the Obama administration, triggering a sardonic Wall Street Journal editorial of support for the nuns, titled “Little Sisters of the Government.” The fight over the mandate, with resistance led, in part, by the Little Sisters of the Poor, has consumed massive
amounts of time and resources for the past several years.
On October 6, at White House direction, the Department of Health and Human Services issued interim rules that will finally allow moral and religious exemptions to the contraceptive mandate that the nuns have fought all along on the grounds of their Catholic beliefs. This is good news. But the struggle isn’t over; the matter is still in the court system. And abortion-friendly “progressive” groups have already filed lawsuits to challenge any easing of the mandate.
As the Wall Street Journal noted in yet another editorial, this one on October 9 (“A Nun’s Right to Choose”): “That so many resources in government and so much litigation are necessary to allow nuns to practice their faith is a testament to the toxic identity politics that corrodes American life.”
The moral of the story: Respect for human life comes in all forms of witness. And that’s a glory of our Catholic faith.
Life is precious and sacred.
It is ludicrous to measure the goodness of a government by how much it taxes its citizens, against their own will, in order to be charitable to the citizens of other nations and to the detriment of its own citizens. A government’s only duty is toward its own citizens. Individual citizens should be charitable toward all with their own wealth (after they’ve taken care of their own children first). No one should distort the 4th Commandment which obliges leaders of all institutions – governments, families to take care of those who have been placed under their care. There is no equivalent obligation to take care of those not under one’s care.
Thank your for your opening paragraph which focuses on the essential message for Respect Life Month.
My concern is that the remainder of your essay following the word “but” serves to remove the focus from the essential battles – Life, Marriage, Family, Religious Liberty – to the “seamless garment” issues, all of which are worthy, and important, and part of our Christian calling. And, the juxtaposition serves as a contradiction – I.e. “Standing for Life is good,, but you need to spend more time on feeding the poor.” The implication when one uses “but” and a second cause, is to undermine the first in favor ofthe second. It may not have been intentional, but I think you will agree that this is a reasonable deduction.
Anyone who seeks to advance any of the virtuous causes you mention – and others – recognizes the goodness of many other causes. The magnititude of what needs to be done causes paralysis. So much needs to be done, by so few! And the need only continues to grow and seem more insurmountable.
Let me agree that each Corporal Work of Mercy, and each act of Charity – is important, and should not be overlooked by anyone seeking to follow Christ. Time is our enemy. If I spend an hour at a soup kitchen, that removes an hour that i could have been trying to save babies from abortion. If soend an hour I promoting immigration, that hour can no longer be used to defend authentic Marriage. And, the list goes on. One of our dangers is that we spread ourselves so thin that we cannot make any difference at all – for any issue. And so, we need to follow our hearts, and listen to where we are being called. Do all we can to address the greatest need. And, encourage everyone we see who is seeking to serve in other ways.
My point – hopefully expressed with the respect and loyalty that I have for you – is that a message of encouragement for those who seek to advance he Culture of Life might be of greater value in this Respect Life Month, than making the observation that whatever work is being done to save babies, or defend Marriage, or advance Religious Liberty is inadequate without the rest of the seamless garment.
Over the past 5 years, the Culture of Death has been swallowing more and more of our societal values – with Government help, and nary a peep from many (most) of our Christian brothers and sisters. An uncompromising call to greater fidelity to protect Life, and Marriage, and Religious Liberrty would be an enormously appreciated message coming from our Shepherd.
God bless you!
Not fully correct: “This obscures the personal suffering of otherwise innocent deportees with no criminal record, and the social cost of fractured immigrant families at the local level.”
Fully correct: This obscures the personal suffering of otherwise innocent deportees with no criminal record, and the social cost of fractured immigrant families at the local level. At the opposite end of the spectrum, citizens, legal resident aliens, and law enforcement officers suffer in a different way from the security threats posed by illegal aliens who have no identity, no measure of allegiance to our country, our laws, or anybody who live here legally or illegally.
Incorrect: “Wealthy nations have a right to secure their borders and protect their citizens and societies…”
Correct: All governments have an OBLIGATION AND SOLEMN DUTY to secure their borders and protect their citizens and societies. Otherwise, they have zero value to their citizens.
I will also state that the Las Vegas massacre demonstrated to me that the lowest common-denominator of a mass-murderers is not religion, political affiliation, or 2nd Amendment views. Rather, it is “culture of death” paradigm where all life is not valued from conception to natural death. Las Vegas is not the result of the 2nd Amendment, it is a result of our lack of interest in defending life. This is commonly known as being “Pro-Choice” as opposed to “Pro-Abortion”. Banning bumper stocks or banning all firearms, for that matter, will only make mass murder easier and more frequent. What is required is governmental actions that shed light on the abortion procedure. “Fake News” is a good term in that we are shown the dead bodies lying in the streets of Las Vegas, Paris, Marseille, etc but we are never shown the dismembered and decapitated child.