| St Charles Church .org |  |
||||
| News & Events |
Faith & Sacraments | Ministries | Volunteer | Search/Help | Contact Us |
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Printer-friendly
version Related
links on other sites:
Fr. Creedon's Excerpts from Evangelium Vitae and other Church Documents on the Consistent Ethic of Life In the words of the Bishops, "We are convinced that a consistent ethic of life should be the moral framework from which to address issues in the political arena." Our Holy Father in his encyclical on "The Gospel of Life" describes this consistent moral framework with these words:
Let me hasten to add that the consistency of our moral framework does not mean that all issues are of equal moral weight, but it is to say that our witness on any one issue is strengthened and given greater credibility by our consistency on other issues. The Vatican goes on to say:
Pope John Paul II has reminded us that we must respect every life, even that of criminals and unjust aggressors. It is increasingly clear in modern society that capital punishment is unnecessary to protect people's safety and the public order, so that cases where it may be justified are "very rare, if not practically non-existent." No matter how serious the crime, punishment that does not take life is "more in conformity with the dignity of the human person" (Evangelium Vitae, 56-7). Our witness to respect for life shines most brightly when we demand respect for each and every human life, including the lives of those who fail to show that respect for others. The antidote to violence is love, not more violence. As we stressed in our 1995 statement Political Responsibility: "The application of Gospel values to real situations is an essential work of the Christian community." Adopting a consistent ethic of life, the Catholic Church promotes a broad spectrum of issues "seeking to protect human life and promote human dignity from the inception of life to its final moment." Opposition to abortion and euthanasia does not excuse indifference to those who suffer from poverty, violence and injustice. Any politics of human life must work to resist the violence of war and the scandal of capital punishment. Any politics of human dignity must seriously address issues of racism, poverty, hunger, employment, education, housing, and health care. Therefore, Catholics should eagerly involve themselves as advocates for the weak and marginalized in all these areas. Catholic public officials are obliged to address each of these issues as they seek to build consistent policies which promote respect for the human person at all stages of life. |
Respect Life Sunday
This is a summary of a Fr. Gerry Creedon homily delivered at St. Charles on October 3, 2004
ST. ANN'S PARISH IS a good neighbor. They reach out to Catholics in Arlington Hospital, (Virginia Hospital Center), including parishioners in St. Charles. On occasion the hospital calls St. Charles when a Spanish-speaking priest is needed in an emergency. I was called last week to Rhina, a Latina parishioner. The Reception Desk knew exactly where I needed to go. I was welcomed at Maternity and Infants Ward by nurses who were awaiting me. The doctor, Julian, wanted to accompany me to her room. Rhina was surrounded by her brothers and sisters, her husband and her mother. Beside her bed was a bassinette with a stillborn baby. She had given him the name Henry. Nobody had expected this tragedy. All the signs were indicating a normal delivery of a fully formed 10-pound infant. Rhina protested that she had done every thing correctly. Dr. Julian agreed that despite her diabetes she had taken all of the precautions conscientiously. We prayed together and blessed the child and his mother.
The experience made clear the reverence all had for this stillborn child. There was absolutely no sense of a discarded fetus. The mother's grief was compounded by the loss of her hopes and dreams for a new son. Our parish Circle of Caring insures that women in similar circumstances receive the ongoing support they need. Unfortunately it serves the English speaking community only. However tomorrow night with the help of Hospice we will take steps to extend a Circulo de Cuidado to the Latino Community of St. Charles.
The grief a woman experiences at the loss of a child is surely accentuated by guilt in the situation of abortion. Because of the clear and absolute Catholic teaching on this question, many feel they have committed the unforgivable sin. Without compromising the right to life, we need to extend healing and forgiveness to all. Christ's love is unconditional.
Consistent Ethic of Life
Our witness to the dignity of pre-born life is strengthened by a consistent ethic of life. This is not an idea created by Cardinal Bernardin; it is an oft-repeated theme in Vatican teaching and in Pope John Paul's pastoral, Evangelium Vitae. As Bishop Loverde has stated recently at St Charles, "To be unconditionally pro-life, from conception to natural death, is nothing less than being just to one's neighbor, whether that person is the defenseless person in the womb or the person already born."
What comes to mind when we hear the opening words of today's readings? "I cry out to you, 'Violence!' but you do not intervene...destruction and violence are before me...there is strife and clamorous discord."Our thoughts may go to the thousands who were drowned by nature's violence in Haiti, or those in the hurricane's wake in Florida. The huge waves that have crashed down on our shores seem symbolic of the havoc humans have wreaked on one another throughout the planet; children reaching out for candy to US troops in Iraq killed by bombs, children massacred by terrorist attack in Russia, Israelis destroyed by nail bombs and Palestinians mowed down by rockets and tanks, teens killed by handguns on Washington's streets, the uncounted victims of war whom we categorize as collateral damage and the thousands who perish in Darfur's genocide. We may add the more silent violence of abortion, euthanasia and capital punishment.
In response to violence in the womb or in the world what do we do?
The answer ascribed to God by the Prophet Habakuk in the lirurgy of the word is, "Write down the vision clearly upon the rock so that one can read it readily. For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment and will not disappoint. The just one because of his faith shall live." The solution to violence is not violence. As Martin Luther King has taught, killing people who kill people to stop people killing people is unworkable. Pre- emptive attack in a world of faulty intelligence may be a trap. The doctrines that too quickly justify force need to cede to a different creed. Fear clouds good judgment. When hope is lost death dealing is conceived. Through faith we are led to a vision that promotes alternatives. Teachers who deal with bullying in schools by teaching the skills of conflict-resolution may be showing the way to a different path not only for children but for nations. In the end of the day love is the only antidote to violence.
