Respecting the Life of the Unborn

Abortion has been called the worst form of child abuse. It is an act committed against a totally innocent and totally vulnerable human being. In this country, it continues to happen about 4,500 times a day or 1.6 million times a year, a fact which has led some commentators to say that "the most dangerous place on earth is inside a mother's body." One wonders if we individually or as a society, coming to accept abortion as a valid and normal way to deal with an unwanted pregnancy?

In Germany, after World War II, people asked the Germans:

Fortunately for us, we do not have to fear jail or death for speaking up. Even if we went to jail, the conditions would be far different from a Nazi War Camp. The questions asked to the German people after World War II can be asked to this generation of Americans about the abortion issue, which has been called by some the Silent Holocaust.

Truth Speaking To Power

Perhaps the most powerful statement I have ever read on this issue was spoken by Mother Teresa at the President's Prayer Breakfast in 1994. It must have been some scene when the little "saint of the gutters" spoke the following words to President Clinton and his wife, Vice President Gore and his wife, and many other powerful political leaders:

If we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even his life to love us. So the mother who is thinking of abortion should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.

Compassion For Those Who Had An Abortion

While the Gospel clearly commands us to choose life and stand on the side of life, it also calls to show mercy and compassion to those who fail to live Gospel mandates and that is each of us at different times. In his encyclical Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul writes:

"I would like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The Church is aware of the many factors that may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that, in many cases, it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly, what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try, rather, to understand what happened and face it honestly. If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgiveness and his peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. You will come to understand that nothing is definitely lost and you will also be able to ask forgiveness from your child, who is now living with the Lord." (Art. #94)

Some of my most moving confession experiences have been with women who have had an abortion. How sad when women decided to carry silently, for years and years, the terrible burden of an abortion experience! God desperately wants to free all women from such a burden and offer them the joy of his mercy.

Capital Punishment

The Capital Punishment issue was especially highlighted when Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing. Writing at the time when McVeigh was convicted, Archbishop Chaput of Denver wrote: "I'm aware that the reality of capital crime is heartbreaking beyond words. I do not presume to understand the deep and bitter personal wounds suffered by those who lose their loved ones through murder. Nevertheless, Jesus has showed us that "the only true road to justice passes through mercy." What the death penalty does accomplish is closure through blood letting, violence against violence, which is not really closure at all because murder will continue as long as people sin and capital punishment can never, by its nature, strike at murder's roots. Only love can do that. Executions in Texas could soon reach 50 a month, nearly two a day. Archbishop Chaput then asks: "is this how we want to define ourselves as a civilized society?" "Frying the killer" may sound funny to some, righteous to others. But make no mistake: Capital punishment is just another drug we take to ease other, much deeper anxieties about the direction of our culture. Executions may take away some of the symptoms for a time (symptoms who have names and their own stories before God), but the underlying illness-today's contempt for human life-remains and grows worse."

Capital punishment says to a member of the human family, "we are through with you." Would God ever say that to one of us, no matter what crime we committed? Jesus didn't say it to the convicted criminal hanging on the cross by him. You may remember a few years ago a woman, whose name eludes me, had to truly repent of her heinous crimes. Many people, including the Pope appealed to the Governor of Texas G. W. Bush for clemency. All appeals were rejected. The woman was executed: God must have wept. The book of Ezechiel says, "God desires not the death of the sinner, but that he repents and lives."

Violence does not cure violence. How can we build a moral society if we say killing is wrong and then have the state kill people to show that killing is wrong? I do not understand the logic of such a position.

I am not advocating soft treatment for people who commit capital offenses. In fact, the irreformable ones should be locked up for life and, if possible, made to do hard labor. But, in the long run, killing the killer doesn't help anyone.

Both abortion and capital punishment are moral issues. When we as Catholics form our conscience, we must prayerfully consider the teaching of Scripture and the Church. Hence, I invite you to consider the following questions.

How is my conscience formed on these issues? What resources do I use to come to an informed decision? Gallup polls? The prevailing cultural view? The teachings of Jesus and his Church? The viewpoint of my political party?

Domestic Violence

Respect for Life is also disregarded when domestic violence occurs. People are more likely to be physically assaulted, beaten or even killed by a family member in their own home than any place else or by anyone else. Such violence is not confined to people of a particular race or economic background. It occurs in families of all races, religions, education levels and income groups. Domestic violence has many faces such as physical abuse (pushing, slapping, threatening to use a weapon), psychological abuse (nasty demeaning words, controlling, possessiveness), sexual abuse. A woman is battered every 18 seconds in this country, two million children are abused each year by one or both of their parents or by a relative.

We cannot all be active advocates in each of the above issues (including the assisted suicide issue) but all of us should be strongly opposed to anything that diminishes the dignity of human life.

Finally, a challenging word from the book of Proverbs:

If you remain indifferent in time of adversity, your strength will depart from you. Rescue those who are being dragged to death, and from those tottering to execution withdraw (24:10-11).