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PAGE 4 — The Southern Cross, October 3, 1985
With Whom Do I Take My Stand?
In both our private and our civic roles, all of us frequently
face the questions, Whose side am I on? With whom do I
take my stand?
These questions can be painful for anyone but especially
for a Christian. Following Christ obliges us to defend the
weak, the voiceless, those who suffer injustice. Following
Christ obliges us to do so out of love, not out of a desire for
conflict. Following Christ even obliges us to love those
whose actions we oppose, ready always to forgive as God
forgives us. To “hate the sin but love the sinner” is essen
tial to Christian life.
The Church seeks to respond to these imperatives
whenever it addresses issues which involve threats to
human life and dignity. Called to defend the innocent
against attack in war or violent crime, we also ask that
even the attackers be treated justly, without hatred or a
thirst for vengeance. Committed to a preferential option for
the poor, we urge justice for the victims of economic in
justice, but we reject violence between social classes while
calling upon those who have more to share with those who
have little. .
Nowhere is this combination of justice and charity more
necessary than in dealing with the national tragedy of abor
tion.
The Church has always rejected abortion as a grave
moral evil. It has always seen that the child’s helplessness,
both before and after birth, far from diminishing his or her
right to life, increases our moral obligation to respect and
protect that right.
The Church also realizes that a society which tolerates
the direct destruction of innocent life, as in the current Sj
practice of abortion, is in danger of losing its respect for life <
in all other contexts. It likewise knows that protecting un- |
born human life will ultimately benefit all human life, not g
only the lives of the unborn.
Some misunderstand or deliberately distort this concern
for the unborn. They say that the abortion controversy re
quires one to choose between the rights of women and the
rights of the unborn. To stand in solidarity with the innocent
victim of abortion, they say, pits one against not only abor
tion but women’s rights and dignity.
This is a misunderstanding of the Christian message.
Christian love extends to all God’s children without limit or
exception. It does not mean choosing one over the other, but
loving all and treating all with respect.
We therefore stand with the child who has no voice of his
or her own, and we also stand with the woman facing pro
blems in pregnancy, doing all we can to provide her with ef-
“ CHRISTIAN LOVE entends to all God’s
children without limit or exception. It does not
mean choosing one over the other, but loving all
and treating all with respect.
fective, morally acceptable assistance. Mourning with
those who have been involved in abortion, we extend to
them God’s healing forgiveness. Opposing those who seek
to justify the destruction of the unborn, we wish at the same
time to serve them by helping them see that what they ad
vocate expresses not liberation but a failure of love.
Much has been made lately of statements by persons
who, emphasizing that they are Catholics, assert that they
are not bound by what the Church says about abortion. In
reply, we wish to make a very simple point: the Church’s
teaching in this matter is binding not only because the
Church says so, but because this teaching expresses the ob
jective demands placed on all of us by the inherent dignity
of human life. A Catholic who chooses to dissent from this
teaching, or to support dissent from it, is dissenting not only
from Church law but from a higher law which the Church
seeks to observe and teach. Such dissent can in no way be
seen as legitimate alternative teaching.
Through the Respect Life Program, which begins on the
first Sunday of October, the Church recommits itself at
every level to the Christian message of unconditional love
for all human beings. This program addresses a broad
range of issues involving the sanctity and dignity of human
life, while giving special attention to the current situation of
virtually unrestricted abortion. It provides resources and
suggests programs to enable parishes, schools and church-
related organizations to contribute to the Church’s long-
range effort. We urge all Catholics to participate in this ef
fort by finding out how they can help make the Respect Life
Program a success in their area. Respect for life requires
us to speak a firm “no” to all that threatens or diminishes
life both before and after birth.We must say no une
quivocally to abortion, to euthanasia, to nuclear war, to
degrading poverty, and to many other violations of human
dignity. But these “no’s” express the Church’s positive at
titude of love for all human life as a precious gift of the
Creator. Every Catholic has the awesome responsibility of
understanding this message more clearly and com
municating it to others, so that all God’s children may have
life and have it more abundantly.
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin
Chairman
NCCB Ad Hoc Committee for
Pro-Life Activities
Christians Must Show There's A Choice
BY SISTER PAULA VANDEGAER, S.S.S.
Today we are living in a new “historic moment” — a
transition time from one pattern of living and thinking to a
new, undefined pattern.
Scientific and other advances affect not only our style of
living but also our way of thinking about ourselves and
others. Family life is under great stress; cultural and
religious values are called into question; there is a new
world order emerging; we are dependent economically
from one country to another.
Our emerging economic order has resulted in families be
ing moved from city to city, depending on job availability.
Consequently, most families no longer live in close-knit
neighborhoods or extended family groups. Divorce has
become a common phenomenon, and many young people
have experienced repeated broken relationships.
In building our new society and our new way of living, the
predominant force must be the dictates of the Gospel. What
would Jesus do in this situation? We know that his concern
was for the poor, the oppressed, the defenseless. We also
have the clear and constant teaching of the Church that
each and every human being is made in the image and
likeness of God himself.
What of the woman with an “unwanted” pregnancy? She
is pregnant with a baby she thinks she doesn’t want or can’t
handle, and she lives in a society that tells her it is perfectly
acceptable to get rid of it. Who will tell her otherwise? Who
will stand for another value? The Christian community
must offer that value, based on the teaching of Our Lord.
Our care must be advanced through preaching and
teaching, but most especially, it must be advanced through
demonstrated action.
While all of society has a responsibility to care for
women and children, the Christian community has a
special role to play. Throughout history God has called his
people to meet the needs of the time. Often we are called in
strange ways. Like St. Paul, some of us are knocked off our
horses. We are busy about many things, and God finds a
way to tell us that he needs something different from us.
Some of us are like Jeremiah. We complain the whole
time! Although we anguish and worry, we do respond to
God’s call, often not liking it, and sometimes suffering
greatly because of it.
Others of us are like Isaiah. God speaks to us and says,
“Whom shall I send?” and we say, “Here I am, send me,”
not really knowing what is involved. We have little more to
offer him than a willingness to try and do his will.
It is estimated that more than 12 million women in the
United States have had abortions. Suicide Anonymous
reports that in a two-year period, out of 4,000 women who
had attempted suicide and contacted their hotline, 1,800 of
them had had a previous abortion. This is only one indica
tion of the pain that is present in American society.
Much of that pain is undetected and unknown. Healing
and reconciliation can only occur in a loving setting, and it
is within the Christian community that the setting can be
best provided.
Will our love for one another be reflected in our words and
actions? Will we welcome into our communities those who
are hurting? Will we go forward from our Christian com
munities to affect less loving segments of society? Will we
create a society in which women will not choose abortion
because it makes no sense to them — because they know
there is a clear alternative, and that caring people stand
willing and able to support that alternative? Will we in
fluence society to offer loving support to women and
children?
We can do these things. And I believe we will do them.
God will lead each individual to his or her place of service.
We need only to respond to his call.
(This article is excerpted from “Building A Christian
Community” in Respect Life. Washington, D.C.: National
Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1985. Sister Paula
Vandegaer is the editor of Living World, Los Angeles, CA.)
CARE FOR CAREGIVERS — Mothers, too,
need care, respect and acceptance so that they
in turn can give to their children. While society
itself has a responsibility to care for women and
children, the Christian community has a
special role to play. If we shirk our responsibili
ty, there is no one to make it up for us, no one to
give what we have to contribute.
The Southern Cross
(USPS 505 680)
Most Rev. Raymond W. Lessard, D.D., President
Rev. Joseph Stranc
Director, Department of Communications
John E. Mark waiter, Editor
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