DIGNITAS PERSONAE, VATICAN INSTRUCTION ON BIOETHICS, WELCOMED FOR GUIDANCE ON ISSUES OF PROCREATION AND MEDICAL RESEARCH
Dignitas Personae (The Dignity of a Person), an Instruction from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) on ethical issues arising from biomedical research, provides guidance on how to respect human life and human procreation in our heavily scientific age, said Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"We welcome the Instruction as theologians, medical personnel, researchers and married couples consider new scientific and medical procedures that have profound ethical implications bearing upon the procreation of children and the integrity of marriage," Cardinal George said in a December 12 statement. "We applaud developments which advance medical progress with respect for the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception," he said. "We oppose discarding or manipulating innocent lives to benefit future generations, or promoting the creation of new human life in depersonalized ways that substitute for the loving union between a husband and wife."
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
The Long Haul
We just lost a political battle to preserve the headway made against Roe v Wade in 1973. People in the pro-life movement will find wisdom in the comments of one of our leaders.
We are in this movement for the long haul. Our work does not depend on political successes or failures. We do what we do because it is right and we are called by God to do it. Pro-life work has been and will continue to be a long haul, but our strength is that we never give up. Pro-Lifers NEVER give up! We do not run in vain nor labor in vain. Our task now is to expand and strengthen our county chapters, a task already underway. We will keep South Carolina a pro-life state. We are and will continue to be the resistance movement to the culture of death. Let us this day recommit our lives to prayer, work, and especially to gratitude so that we truly may “shine like lights in the world.” Innocent unborn babies and the medically vulnerable members of our human family need us now more than ever. Holly Gatling Ex. Dir SCCL
We are in this movement for the long haul. Our work does not depend on political successes or failures. We do what we do because it is right and we are called by God to do it. Pro-life work has been and will continue to be a long haul, but our strength is that we never give up. Pro-Lifers NEVER give up! We do not run in vain nor labor in vain. Our task now is to expand and strengthen our county chapters, a task already underway. We will keep South Carolina a pro-life state. We are and will continue to be the resistance movement to the culture of death. Let us this day recommit our lives to prayer, work, and especially to gratitude so that we truly may “shine like lights in the world.” Innocent unborn babies and the medically vulnerable members of our human family need us now more than ever. Holly Gatling Ex. Dir SCCL
Sunday, August 17, 2008
DEATH WISH
DEATH WISH
The United States of America seems to have a death wish, and we have traveled far down the road to having that wish realized. When law divorces itself from common sense and spawns the illegitimate offspring of distortions of law, resulting in illegal laws—based neither on the natural law nor divine law—this undermines law itself, generating disdain for the law. Erosion of trust in the courts, or the system in general, is inevitable.
There is yet another candidate for the office of president of the United States who has in an extraordinary way done everything possible to breathe life into all of the barbaric elements of the death wish. He and his party make no apologies for their support of abortion, partial-birth abortion, and even infanticide. It’s hard to believe that we have degenerated to the point that we’ll murder a helpless baby should it escape the violence of an abortion and be born alive.
Can a Catholic vote for such persons? We are told, “yes”, for a “proportionate reason.” What, I might ask, is the proportionate reason so weighty as to excuse supporting those responsible for what is tantamount to genocide? Rev John Corapi -www.fathercorapi.com
The United States of America seems to have a death wish, and we have traveled far down the road to having that wish realized. When law divorces itself from common sense and spawns the illegitimate offspring of distortions of law, resulting in illegal laws—based neither on the natural law nor divine law—this undermines law itself, generating disdain for the law. Erosion of trust in the courts, or the system in general, is inevitable.
There is yet another candidate for the office of president of the United States who has in an extraordinary way done everything possible to breathe life into all of the barbaric elements of the death wish. He and his party make no apologies for their support of abortion, partial-birth abortion, and even infanticide. It’s hard to believe that we have degenerated to the point that we’ll murder a helpless baby should it escape the violence of an abortion and be born alive.
Can a Catholic vote for such persons? We are told, “yes”, for a “proportionate reason.” What, I might ask, is the proportionate reason so weighty as to excuse supporting those responsible for what is tantamount to genocide? Rev John Corapi -www.fathercorapi.com
Monday, July 14, 2008
ARGUMENTS AGAINST ABORTION
THE BASIC ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST ABORTION -There are three steps, or premises, to the argument for outlawing abortion.
The first is that one of the most fundamental purposes of law is to protect human rights, especially the first and foundational right, the right to life. The second is that all human beings have the right to life. The third is that the already-conceived but not-yet-born children of human beings are human beings. From these three premises it necessarily follows that the law must protect the right to life of unborn children.
There are only three possible reasons for disagreeing with this conclusion. “One may deny the first, second, or third premises. For if all three are admitted, the "pro-life" conclusion follows.
First, there are those who admit that all persons have a right to life and that unborn children are persons, but deny that this right should be protected by law (the first premise). This is a serious legal error. The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation. 'The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. `The moment a positive [human] law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined....’81 " (C 2273).
Second, there are those who admit that the law should protect the right to life and that unborn children are human beings, but deny that human beings have the right to life (the second premise). This is a very serious moral error.
It is essentially the philosophy of power, of "might makes right." Those in power - doctors, mothers, legislators, adults - decree the right to kill those who lack the power to defend themselves: the smallest, most vulnerable, and most innocent of all human beings. No good reason can justify this decree; a good end does not justify an intrinsically evil means. If the babies shared the powers of the abortionists and could fight back with scalpels, there would be few abortions.
Third, there are those who admit that the law should protect the right to life and that all humans have that right, but deny that unborn children are humans (the third premise). This is a serious factual and scientific error.
Before Roe v. Wade legalized abortion, all science texts taught the biological understanding that the life of any individual of any species begins at conception, when sperm and ovum unite to create a new being with its own complete and unique genetic code, distinct from both father and mother. All growth and development from then on is a matter of degree, a gradual unfolding of what is already there. There is no specific or distinct point in our development when we become human. (What were we before that, birds?) Only when abortion became legal did the science textbooks change their language and cease teaching this understanding - not because of any new science but because of a new politics.
(This article was excerpted from the Luke Hart series “Basics Elements of the Catholic Faith” (section 7) published by the Knights of Columbus. The series is available free of charge from New Haven. )
The first is that one of the most fundamental purposes of law is to protect human rights, especially the first and foundational right, the right to life. The second is that all human beings have the right to life. The third is that the already-conceived but not-yet-born children of human beings are human beings. From these three premises it necessarily follows that the law must protect the right to life of unborn children.
There are only three possible reasons for disagreeing with this conclusion. “One may deny the first, second, or third premises. For if all three are admitted, the "pro-life" conclusion follows.
First, there are those who admit that all persons have a right to life and that unborn children are persons, but deny that this right should be protected by law (the first premise). This is a serious legal error. The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation. 'The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. `The moment a positive [human] law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined....’81 " (C 2273).
Second, there are those who admit that the law should protect the right to life and that unborn children are human beings, but deny that human beings have the right to life (the second premise). This is a very serious moral error.
It is essentially the philosophy of power, of "might makes right." Those in power - doctors, mothers, legislators, adults - decree the right to kill those who lack the power to defend themselves: the smallest, most vulnerable, and most innocent of all human beings. No good reason can justify this decree; a good end does not justify an intrinsically evil means. If the babies shared the powers of the abortionists and could fight back with scalpels, there would be few abortions.
Third, there are those who admit that the law should protect the right to life and that all humans have that right, but deny that unborn children are humans (the third premise). This is a serious factual and scientific error.
Before Roe v. Wade legalized abortion, all science texts taught the biological understanding that the life of any individual of any species begins at conception, when sperm and ovum unite to create a new being with its own complete and unique genetic code, distinct from both father and mother. All growth and development from then on is a matter of degree, a gradual unfolding of what is already there. There is no specific or distinct point in our development when we become human. (What were we before that, birds?) Only when abortion became legal did the science textbooks change their language and cease teaching this understanding - not because of any new science but because of a new politics.
(This article was excerpted from the Luke Hart series “Basics Elements of the Catholic Faith” (section 7) published by the Knights of Columbus. The series is available free of charge from New Haven. )
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Pro-Life Angel of Love
Her name is Angela, diminutive mother of three grown children who almost every day attends 8 AM mass with her hands full. Her arms hold a new born child wrapped in a blanket as she attends mass. Sometimes she stands in the rear of the church to soothe the feelings of a restless child and protect the sacred atmosphere of the church. After mass so many of us ask to hold the child, some even offer to bottle feed the baby.
These babies who stay with Angela up to 6 months, or perhaps only a week ,are awaiting adoption disposition. Perhaps a mother will decide to keep the child or it will be placed in a loving Christian home. Her gentle rocking and quiet voice let the babies feel the human touch and love that only a mother can give. While they wait, they know in a special way that they are loved. Angela and baby stand out in a senior citizen dominant parish. So many seniors long to hold a new born baby even if only for a few moments. Even Arturo, our Seminarian had his picture taken with the baby in his arms.
Her first foster child named Adam stayed six months. Her seventh child (in a period of 18 months) is Peyton. What better Pro-life action than to let a newborn child know love? Jesus is Life and Love. We can experience Him in this relationship.
These babies who stay with Angela up to 6 months, or perhaps only a week ,are awaiting adoption disposition. Perhaps a mother will decide to keep the child or it will be placed in a loving Christian home. Her gentle rocking and quiet voice let the babies feel the human touch and love that only a mother can give. While they wait, they know in a special way that they are loved. Angela and baby stand out in a senior citizen dominant parish. So many seniors long to hold a new born baby even if only for a few moments. Even Arturo, our Seminarian had his picture taken with the baby in his arms.
Her first foster child named Adam stayed six months. Her seventh child (in a period of 18 months) is Peyton. What better Pro-life action than to let a newborn child know love? Jesus is Life and Love. We can experience Him in this relationship.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
THE CULTURE AND ABORTION
We need God’s grace for a culture unwilling to hear the truth. Abortion kills a living human being, a person in its early development. The solution will not spring forth from a Culture of Relativism that wants to decide the rightness or wrongness without God’s guidance.
We must find compassion and recognize Truth (Jesus) where we find it and stand by that truth.
Abortion is a sin. (Thou shall not kill)
Sin entices its victim, offering some perceived good i.e. pleasure, happiness, security or convenience. Eventually sin wants the destruction of its victim. It wants you as its slave and then as its meal ticket.
Abortion kills and unborn human person. Man has no right to take an innocent life. It is wrong to deliberately kill an innocent person. (Deliberate and innocent are the key words) An innocent person is one who has done nothing to deserve death. All persons are human. You and I are persons. Human persons begin to grow immediately following conception.
It should be illegal to kill an unborn person. In the US, the Supreme Court has made a special class of unprotected people, the unborn. If it removed legal protections from Italians, or all short or heavy people there would no doubt be a great hue and cry for the rights of these classes of people and rightly so. At one time black slaves were an unprotected class. We are told that the Mother has a right to decide the life of her unborn child, but babies are not the property of their parents. The law tells mothers it is OK to abort (kill) their offspring, but babies are not pets to be sold and euthanized at the discretion of their mother.
We now have greater legal protection for certain animals than we do for unborn human persons. Try shooting a deer out of season or even clubbing a seal for its warm skin. Then wait for the hand of the law on your shoulder!
Unborn human children are the most innocent of all, totally dependent on the Mother, they never have an opportunity to do wrong. They are always a person, not when some decide to make them human. They are always innocent. They can be nurtured in life or victimized. Currently many are victimized children, aborted with no legal recourse available to them.
Since they are always innocent human persons, it is always wrong to kill them by abortion. This should be made clear especially to those alleged Catholics who claim to be pro-choice and still Catholic. The Catholic Church’s teachings are unmistakable on the question of abortion and life. Deliberate taking of life is always wrong.
Thankfully, our society still recognizes the right of young people to live. Are there any out there who would argue that the mother has a right to kill a born child of one or two years? Would we not consider it wrong to kill a two year old because he or she is inconvenient or unwanted? Why should an unborn person (just as human as a born person) be unprotected?
We must re-establish a culture that protects and nurtures all human life. We have an obligation to employ the arts of democratic persuasion to help reinstitute legal protection for all unborn children.
We must find compassion and recognize Truth (Jesus) where we find it and stand by that truth.
Abortion is a sin. (Thou shall not kill)
Sin entices its victim, offering some perceived good i.e. pleasure, happiness, security or convenience. Eventually sin wants the destruction of its victim. It wants you as its slave and then as its meal ticket.
Abortion kills and unborn human person. Man has no right to take an innocent life. It is wrong to deliberately kill an innocent person. (Deliberate and innocent are the key words) An innocent person is one who has done nothing to deserve death. All persons are human. You and I are persons. Human persons begin to grow immediately following conception.
It should be illegal to kill an unborn person. In the US, the Supreme Court has made a special class of unprotected people, the unborn. If it removed legal protections from Italians, or all short or heavy people there would no doubt be a great hue and cry for the rights of these classes of people and rightly so. At one time black slaves were an unprotected class. We are told that the Mother has a right to decide the life of her unborn child, but babies are not the property of their parents. The law tells mothers it is OK to abort (kill) their offspring, but babies are not pets to be sold and euthanized at the discretion of their mother.
We now have greater legal protection for certain animals than we do for unborn human persons. Try shooting a deer out of season or even clubbing a seal for its warm skin. Then wait for the hand of the law on your shoulder!
Unborn human children are the most innocent of all, totally dependent on the Mother, they never have an opportunity to do wrong. They are always a person, not when some decide to make them human. They are always innocent. They can be nurtured in life or victimized. Currently many are victimized children, aborted with no legal recourse available to them.
Since they are always innocent human persons, it is always wrong to kill them by abortion. This should be made clear especially to those alleged Catholics who claim to be pro-choice and still Catholic. The Catholic Church’s teachings are unmistakable on the question of abortion and life. Deliberate taking of life is always wrong.
Thankfully, our society still recognizes the right of young people to live. Are there any out there who would argue that the mother has a right to kill a born child of one or two years? Would we not consider it wrong to kill a two year old because he or she is inconvenient or unwanted? Why should an unborn person (just as human as a born person) be unprotected?
We must re-establish a culture that protects and nurtures all human life. We have an obligation to employ the arts of democratic persuasion to help reinstitute legal protection for all unborn children.
Monday, February 25, 2008
ANOTHER YEAR
Another year, since Roe v. Wade in 1973, with more than 48 TO 49 million unborn children trashed, a slaughter without historical precedent. Generations from now, people will wonder how mankind could kill so many, so often, for so little. Some will wonder, where were the Christians, where was the church? Where were the shepherds? Were we a civilized people?
Recent polls claim that the majority of Americans oppose abortion, but do not want it to be illegal. What's wrong with this statement? How can a nation founded on biblical principles, “oppose” the killing of innocent life, yet refuse to outlaw it? The reason is that we have been conditioned to overlook abortion as a necessary evil, nothing more. If we truly believe in the depth of our souls, we would stop at nothing, to make abortion a crime. Abortion can never be legal in a civilized society.
We Americans have become numb to numbers. They don't mean a thing! According to the CDC, since Roe v. Wade, over 48 million innocent lives have been lost through surgical abortions. 3,600 lives are terminated every day by surgical abortion. Innocent lives were taken! This figure may be low. What about unreported abortions. Add chemical abortions and contraceptives and the figure might double.
What are we doing to our brothers and sisters in Christ and to our nation? Scientific advances reveal the reality of a child in the womb, but the media and culture have dulled our consciences.
Where will it all end? How can we expect God to bless a nation that has permitted deaths of innocent and defenseless babies as a right? What will it take for people to put their faith into practice? Our faith must be evident at the ballot box, at work, where we shop and in everything we personally do! What will we say when God asks us, what we did to stop the killing?
Recent polls claim that the majority of Americans oppose abortion, but do not want it to be illegal. What's wrong with this statement? How can a nation founded on biblical principles, “oppose” the killing of innocent life, yet refuse to outlaw it? The reason is that we have been conditioned to overlook abortion as a necessary evil, nothing more. If we truly believe in the depth of our souls, we would stop at nothing, to make abortion a crime. Abortion can never be legal in a civilized society.
We Americans have become numb to numbers. They don't mean a thing! According to the CDC, since Roe v. Wade, over 48 million innocent lives have been lost through surgical abortions. 3,600 lives are terminated every day by surgical abortion. Innocent lives were taken! This figure may be low. What about unreported abortions. Add chemical abortions and contraceptives and the figure might double.
What are we doing to our brothers and sisters in Christ and to our nation? Scientific advances reveal the reality of a child in the womb, but the media and culture have dulled our consciences.
Where will it all end? How can we expect God to bless a nation that has permitted deaths of innocent and defenseless babies as a right? What will it take for people to put their faith into practice? Our faith must be evident at the ballot box, at work, where we shop and in everything we personally do! What will we say when God asks us, what we did to stop the killing?
Doing it Right
Jacinta who spoke at the Stand up for Life Rally in Columbia made the right choice. Some eleven years ago Jacinta Connor found herself pregnant with addicted parents who insisted she abort her child or get out. She contacted South Carolina Citizens For Life who picked her up from the porch of her house and made certain she was put into loving and supportive hands. Now Jacinta is married to a soldier on his fourth deployment to Iraq with three children. Her oldest child recently won his schools highest award in Engineering. Jacinta did it right, SCCL did it right, as did the home for unwed mothers and other pregnancy support agencies that assisted and all who supported these agencies did it right as well
Changing the Culture
CHANGING THE CULTURE Every day our society struggles with the "Culture of Death”. The evidence is clear that abortion kills a human being. Threats against life are taking on vast proportions and we now confront an objective conspiracy against life involving international organizations such as the UN that promote contraception, sterilization, and abortion. The mass media treats death by euthanasia like progress. We have a society in which incapacitated and terminally ill persons are helped not to live to the fullest, but only to die sooner, often with the consent of the family. So many citizens believe it's okay to kill living human embryos to harvest their stem cells for speculative research and that it's okay to force taxpayers to pay for it. The U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision of 1973 legalized abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy for any reason. Since then over 49 million children in the United States have died from abortion. How did this happen? What brought us to this point in history? - The late Great Pope John Paul ll called these trends part of a culture of death. He traced that culture's roots to three attitudes in particular: 1. extreme personal autonomy, 2. seeing some lives as not worthy of living, and 3. avoidance of suffering at all costs. Our society has absorbed many attitudes hostile to life without even realizing it.
Personal autonomy or the “Free to be me” attitude has run wild. Many people think the question of what is morally right depends on their own preferences, that there is no objective moral yardstick such as the Ten Commandments. In the name of tolerance, it is said that people have a right to make up their own personal morality. After all, who has the right to “impose” his values on others? If blind self-assertion can define the meaning of life, the lives of everyone – especially the weakest and most vulnerable – become tools for those who are the loudest.
Lives unworthy of living. So many people today do not understand or accept that the value of a human life is inherent. They feel it depends on whether a person is conscious, capable of exercising his autonomy and of performing actions which benefit society. Some so called ethicists have promoted infanticide for parents who do not want to raise a child with a disability. Ours is a culture which values efficiency and productivity, so the idea of eliminating the “unproductive” and “burdensome” sounds reasonable. This functional ethic may explain why many want to allow scientists to create human embryos solely to destroy them, to use their stem cells in research seeking treatments for diseases.
Avoiding suffering at all costs. Our culture’s desire to avoid suffering –including sacrifice, hardship, and even inconvenience – leads many to view death as a form of release. Many avoid the personal sacrifice involved in loving and caring for a family member who needs special assistance. Our “Unplanned” children are aborted to escape the disruptions and sacrifices entailed in raising a child. And when we can no longer enjoy life the way we once did, death may be seen as away to eliminate psychological suffering.
What is the answer? What do we do to change the culture? We must respect the lives of the weak and defenseless – unborn children, human embryos in laboratories, the disabled, the dying, and victims of violence for a just society to evolve. We must move away from this culture of death and toward following Christ to eternal life by way of the Cross: Loving others to the point that we put aside our personal pride and selfishness and our tendency to view others as obstacles or things to be used. Jesus said that one must learn to love God, and "love your neighbor as yourself." God has given us this model of love and solidarity with those entrusted to our care and those we meet on the way. If we live this model we may inspire others to do the same, and help create a culture in which human life is always loved and defended, every form of violence driven out.
Personal autonomy or the “Free to be me” attitude has run wild. Many people think the question of what is morally right depends on their own preferences, that there is no objective moral yardstick such as the Ten Commandments. In the name of tolerance, it is said that people have a right to make up their own personal morality. After all, who has the right to “impose” his values on others? If blind self-assertion can define the meaning of life, the lives of everyone – especially the weakest and most vulnerable – become tools for those who are the loudest.
Lives unworthy of living. So many people today do not understand or accept that the value of a human life is inherent. They feel it depends on whether a person is conscious, capable of exercising his autonomy and of performing actions which benefit society. Some so called ethicists have promoted infanticide for parents who do not want to raise a child with a disability. Ours is a culture which values efficiency and productivity, so the idea of eliminating the “unproductive” and “burdensome” sounds reasonable. This functional ethic may explain why many want to allow scientists to create human embryos solely to destroy them, to use their stem cells in research seeking treatments for diseases.
Avoiding suffering at all costs. Our culture’s desire to avoid suffering –including sacrifice, hardship, and even inconvenience – leads many to view death as a form of release. Many avoid the personal sacrifice involved in loving and caring for a family member who needs special assistance. Our “Unplanned” children are aborted to escape the disruptions and sacrifices entailed in raising a child. And when we can no longer enjoy life the way we once did, death may be seen as away to eliminate psychological suffering.
What is the answer? What do we do to change the culture? We must respect the lives of the weak and defenseless – unborn children, human embryos in laboratories, the disabled, the dying, and victims of violence for a just society to evolve. We must move away from this culture of death and toward following Christ to eternal life by way of the Cross: Loving others to the point that we put aside our personal pride and selfishness and our tendency to view others as obstacles or things to be used. Jesus said that one must learn to love God, and "love your neighbor as yourself." God has given us this model of love and solidarity with those entrusted to our care and those we meet on the way. If we live this model we may inspire others to do the same, and help create a culture in which human life is always loved and defended, every form of violence driven out.
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