Pro-life? Challenge is being so consistently
By JOSEPH L. CHARRON
Published October 14, 2005
SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER
desmoinesregister.com
When we talk about pro-life, we're really talking about a large tent under which there are many issues.
The death penalty is a pro-life issue.
Immigration reform is a pro-life issue.
End of life, especially nutrition and hydration, is a pro-life issue.
The Catholic Church has taken a very strong stand against abortion and stem-cell research on embryos. Those are pro-life issues.
The war in Iraq is a pro-life issue.
We are all aware of the tremendous human suffering and need resulting from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. That's a pro-life issue.
I present this partial litany of pro-life issues to you as we prepare to rededicate ourselves during October, which is designated as "Respect Life Month."
There are foundational principles for the Catholic Church's teaching on the sacredness and inviolability (protectedness) of human life that we must bear in mind as we stand for human life.
First, each human person is made in "the image and likeness of God." One does not earn that dignity, for it is freely given by the creator. Nor does one ever lose that dignity, for God eternally loves each and every daughter and son.
Secondly, since God is the giver of all life, to God belongs the ultimate dominion over life. As the book of Deuteronomy says, "It is I who bring both death and life."
Traditionally, these basic truths about the dignity and value of human life give expression to the fundamental prohibition against taking life. What does not come readily to mind is that there is a positive expression that could be stated: "Thou shalt take good care of human life!"
Herein lies the genius and power of Catholic social teaching, which takes those fundamental principles of dignity and protection and moves out into applications of them in daily life by promoting the family and the community (the common good), by highlighting that each person has rights as well as responsibilities toward the flourishing of human life, by giving a special consideration of the poor and the most vulnerable, by upholding the dignity of work and the rights of workers, by highlighting the solidarity that all people share no matter where on this earth they live, and finally by taking responsible care for God's total creation.
In other words, the dignity of the person cannot be taken away or lost, for it is the dignity of a child of God.
The challenge is to be pro-life in each and every instance of all threats to the sacredness and dignity of human life.
The encouragement comes from Jesus' pro-life example, "As I have loved you, you must love one another." Jesus has shown us the way.
JOSEPH L. CHARRON is bishop of the Des Moines Catholic Diocese. |
