Pope Francis on the Vulnerable Unborn

Pope Francis on our Vulnerable Unborn ( from Priests for Life Newsletter March -April, 2014 )

http://www.priestsforlife.org/newsletters/v24n02marapr14.pdf#page=1

Brothers and Sisters

On the Feast of Christ the King, November 24, 2013, our

Holy Father Pope Francis issued his Apostolic Exhortation

“Evangelii Gaudium,” The Joy of the Gospel. Among

his key points, he stressed that religion which does not

make us responsive, on a human, effective level, to the

sufferings of others, is false and dangerous. The Gospel

is “joy” because, among other reasons, it empowers us to

serve, and the document is issued on the Feast of Christ

the King because, in his Kingdom, power is service.

It is in this context that the Pope raises the issue

of abortion, and reminds us that the context for

understanding this issue is “concern for the vulnerable.”

It is not abstract, and is not primarily about sexual

morality. Rather, it is about service and justice. His

words about our unborn neighbors are as follows:

213. Among the vulnerable for whom the Church

wishes to care with particular love and concern are

unborn children, the most defenceless and innocent

among us. Nowadays efforts are made to deny them

their human dignity and to do with them whatever one

pleases, taking their lives and passing laws preventing

anyone from standing in the way of this. Frequently, as a

way of ridiculing the Church’s effort to defend their lives,

attempts are made to present her position as ideological,

obscurantist and conservative. Yet this defence of unborn

life is closely linked to the defence of each and every other

human right. It involves the conviction that a human

being is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation

and at every stage of development. Human beings

are ends in themselves and never a means of resolving

other problems. Once this conviction disappears, so do

solid and lasting foundations for the defence of human

rights, which would always be subject to the passing

whims of the powers that be. Reason alone is sufficient

to recognize the inviolable value of each single human

life, but if we also look at the issue from the standpoint

of faith, every violation of the personal dignity of the

human being cries out in vengeance to God and

is an offence against the creator of the individual.

214. Precisely because this involves the internal

consistency of our message about the value of the human

person, the Church cannot be expected to change her

position on this question. I want to be completely honest

in this regard. This is not something subject to alleged

reforms or “modernizations”. It is not “progressive” to

try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life.

On the other hand, it is also true that we have done

little to adequately accompany women in very difficult

situations, where abortion appears as a quick solution

to their profound anguish, especially when the life

developing within them is the result of rape or a situation

of extreme poverty. Who can remain unmoved before such

painful situations?

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium.