Pope John Paul II
QUOTES FROM THE GOSPEL OF LIFE BY POPE JOHN PAUL II
The Gospel of Life is at the heart of Jesus’ message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as “good news” to the people of every age and culture. (#1)
To all the members of the Church, the people of life and for life, I make this most urgent appeal, that together we may offer this world of ours new signs of hope, and work to ensure that justice and solidarity will increase and that a new culture of human life will be affirmed, for the building of an authentic civilization of truth and love.” (#6)
The blood of Christ, while it reveals the grandeur of the Father’s love, shows how precious man is in God’s eyes and how priceless the value of his life
. . . . Furthermore, Christ’s blood reveals to us that his greatness, and therefore his vocation, consists in the sincere gift of self... Whoever in the Sacrament of the Eucharist drinks this blood and abides in Jesus (cf. Jn 6:56) is drawn into the dynamism of his love and gift of life, in order to bring to its fullness the original vocation to love which belongs to everyone. (cf. Gen 1:27; 2:18-24) (#25)
"We are facing an enormous and dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life, the "culture of death" and the "culture of life." We find ourselves not only "faced with" but necessarily "in the midst of" this conflict: we are all involved and we all share in it, with the inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life." (#28)
Truly great must be the value of human life if the Son of God has taken it up and made it the instrument of the salvation of all humanity! (#33)The deepest element of God’s commandment to protect human life is the requirement to show reverence and love for every person and the life of every person. (#41)
The Gospel of Life is both a great gift of God and an exacting task for humanity....In giving life to man, God demands that he love, respect and promote life. (#52)
The use of human embryos or fetuses as an object of experimentation constitutes a crime against their dignity as human beings who have a right to the same respect owed to a child once born, just as to every person. (#63)
True “compassion” leads to sharing another’s pain; it does not kill the person whose suffering we cannot bear. (#66)
We are asked to love and honor the life of every man and woman and to work with perseverance and courage so that our time, marked by all too many signs of death, may at last witness the establishment of a new culture of lfe, the fruit of the culture of truth and of love. (#77)
Everyone has an obligation to be at the service of life... Together we all sense our duty to preach the Gospel of life
, to celebrate it in the Liturgy and in our whole existence, and to serve it with the various programmes and structures which support and promote life. (#79)
We need to bring the Gospel of life to the heart of every man and woman and to make it penetrate every part of society. (#80)
These can be summed up as follows: human life, as a gift of God, is sacred and inviolable. For this reason procured abortion and euthanasia are absolutely unacceptable. Not only must human life not be taken, but it must be protected with loving concern. The meaning of life is found in giving and receiving love, and in this light, human sexuality and procreation reach their true and full significance. Love also gives meaning to suffering and death; despite the mystery which surrounds them, they can become saving events. Respect for life requires that science and technology should always be at the service of man and his integral development. Society as a whole must respect, defend and promote the dignity of every human person, at every moment and in every conditionof that person's life. (#81)
To be truly a people at the service of life we must propose these truths constantly and courageously from the very first proclamation of the Gospel, and thereafter in catechesis, in thevarious forms of preaching, in personal dialogue and in all educational activity. (#82)
... I propose that a Day for Life be celebrated each year in every country, as already established by some Episcopal Conferences. The celebration of this Day should be planned and carried out with the active participation of all sectors of the local Church. Its primary purpose should be to foster in individual consciences, in families, in the Church and in civil society a recognition of the meaning and value of human life at every stage and in every condition. Particular attention should be drawn to the seriousness of abortion and euthanasia, without neglecting other aspects of life which from time to time deserve to be given careful consideration, as occasion and circumstances demand. (#85)
By virtue of our sharing in Christ’s royal mission, our support and promotion of human life must be accomplished through the service of charity, which finds expression in personal witness, various forms of volunteer work, social activity and political commitment. (#86)
No single person or group has a monopoly on the defense and promotion of life. These are everyone’s task and responsibility.... the challenge facing us is an arduous one: only the concerted efforts of all those who believe in the value of life can prevent a setback of unforeseeable consequences for civilization. (#91)
The family celebrates the Gospel of Life through daily prayer, both individual and family prayer....But the celebration which gives meaning to every other form of prayer and worship is found in the family’s actual daily life together, if it is a life of loving and self-giving (#93).
The first and most fundamental step towards...cultural transformation consists in forming consciences with regard to the incomparable and inviolable worth of every human life. It is of the greatest importance to re-establish the essential connection between life and freedom. ... There is no true freedom where life is not welcomed and loved; and there is no fullness of life except in freedom. ... Love, as a sincere gift of self, is what gives the life and freedom of the person theirtruest meaning. (#96)
A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world...Let us...discover anew the humility and courage to pray and fast so that power from on high will breakdown the walls of lies and deceit: the walls which conceal from the sight of so many of our brothers and sisters the evil of practices and laws which are hostile to life. May this same power turn their hearts to resolutions and goals inspired by the civilization of life and love. (#100)
"It is impossible to further the common good without acknowledging and defending the right to life, upon which all the other inalienable rights of individuals are founded and from which they develop The Gospel of Life is for the whole of human society. To be actively pro-life is to contribute to the renewal of society through the promotion of the common good. (#101)