The Bishop Writes

(From the Oct. 21, 1999 edition of the Inland Register)

This last year of the second millennium seems to have been accompanied by many tragedies; both natural and human caused.

Hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes have left their catastrophic wake. School shootings, children discarded or killed by a parent, or a little child lost in the woods are familiar stories which pull at the heart and soul of a nation.

We watched the frantic search for buried victims in the earthquakes in Turkey and near Taipei. We abhor the scene of charred bodies of people in the back of a pickup truck in East Timor, or the mass burial sites in Kosovo. Our hearts ache for the parents of the little tyke lost in a forest who hasn’t been found, or for the children in Kosovo who frantically searched for family members, the rest of us realizing that perhaps all of them may have been killed. We observe the loving care and empathy of a nation expressed towards the victims and their families at Columbine High School. This concern for human life is to be commended and applauded.

Traditionally for us Catholics, October is Respect Life Month. The dignity of the human person and respect for human life have become deeply engrained in our tradition. In the first paragraph of the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, we hear that “the Church, in Christ, is in the nature of a sacrament — a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all people.” In the Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, the fathers of the same council stated that “there is a growing awareness of the exalted dignity proper to the human person, since he stands above all things and his rights and duties are inviolable. Hence the social order must always work to the benefit of the human person.” (26)

A few days before he died, Pope John XXIII, who initiated the Second Vatican Council, spoke about the dignity of the individual: “More than ever, we are called to serve mankind as such ... to defend always and everywhere the right of the human person. It is not the Gospel that has changed.... It is that we have begun to understand it better.” Indeed: as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit continues to instruct us.

The Church teaches that human life is precious and has dignity from the moment of conception to natural death. The moment of birth does not define the value of that life, but rather it is to be respected and revered along the entire continuum of life’s journey. Abortion, euthanasia, and murder tragically violate this wonderful gift.

Abortion has become a cancer on the soul of our country. What a strange contrast when we see our nation ardently reaching out to a toddler lost, spend tens of thousands of dollars in the attempt to find the little one; and yet on the other hand, we experience 1.5 million abortions a year. What does a recent court decision in Missouri, which reverses a stand against partial birth abortion, say? Why has violence become such a way of life in media and on our streets? Violence indicates how badly we need to integrate into our daily living the message of Jesus who calls us to more abundant life.

As we celebrate this Respect Life month, we are challenged to accept Jesus’ call to conversion of heart. We invite others to hear this message as well. Pope John Paul II constantly mentions the culture of life, referring to his powerful encyclical, The Gospel of Life. We too must do everything we can to enhance the culture of life in our world and especially in our hearts. We must help and affirm others in the struggle with their own brokenness, and help them to know of their own goodness and of the unbounded mercy and graciousness of our loving God. We must practice what we preach and strive to understand better the mission Jesus gives us.

May we support one another in appreciating the gift of every human life. This month should be a time of special affirmation and encouragement in this important task of spreading the good news of Jesus’ message, “I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Maybe, just maybe, the Jubilee Year and the new millennium will mark a turning point in humanity that we have really turned the corner in advancing the culture of life. I ask that all of us continue to pray for that intention.

May God bless you and give you peace.

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