> Date: Thu, 4 Jan 1996
> From: Radu <markm@epix.net>
> To: Father Mateo <cinaskf@catinfo.cts.com>
> Subject: Pro Life
>
> Dear Father:
> Are there any circumstances which the church would approve of
> an abortion such as if the mother's life was in danger? incest?
> rape? Thanks, markm@epix.net
Dear Radu,
The teaching of the Catholic Church on direct abortion is
contained in the "Catechism of the Catholic Church", nos. 2270 ff.,
from which I quote:
2270 Human life must be respected and protected ABSOLUTELY from
the moment of conception. From the first moment of his
existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights
of a person - among which is the INVIOLABLE RIGHT OF EVERY
INNOCENT BEING TO LIFE.
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before
you were born I consecrated you (Jeremiah 1:5).
2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral
evil of EVERY PROCURED ABORTION. This teaching has not changed
and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say,
abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary
to the moral law:
You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not
cause the newborn to perish (Doctrine of the 12 Apostles, 2,2).
God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble
mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a
manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with
the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and
infanticide are abominable crimes. (Second Vatican Council).
This teaching is repeated with even greater clarity and emphasis in
the papal encyclical, "The Gospel of Life", of March 25, 1995:
Procured abortion is THE DELIBERATE AND DIRECT KILLING, BY
WHATEVER MEANS IT IS CARRIED OUT, OF A HUMAN BEING IN THE INITIAL
PHASE OF HIS OR HER EXISTENCE, EXTENDING FROM CONCEPTION TO
BIRTH.
The moral gravity of procured abortion is apparent in all its
truth if we recognize that we are dealing with murder and, in
particular, when we consider the specific elements involved. The
one eliminated is a human being at the very beginning of life.
No one more absolutely *innocent* could be imagined. In no way
could this human being ever be considered an aggressor, much less
an unjust aggressor! He or she is *weak*, defenseless, even to the
point of lacking that minimal form of defence consisting in the
poignant power of a newborn baby's cries and tears.
.......................
Some people try to justify abortion by claiming that the
result of conception, at least up to a certain number of days,
cannot yet be considered a personal human life. But in fact,
"from the time that the ovum is fertilized, a life is begun
which is neither that of the father nor the mother; it is rather
the life of a new human being with his own growth. It would
never be made human if it were not human already. This has
always been clear, and ...modern genetic science offers clear
confirmation. It has demonstrated that from the first instant
there is established the programme of what this living being
will be: a person, this individual person with his
characteristic aspects already well determined. Right from
fertilization the adventure of a human life begins, and each of
its capacities requires time--a rather lengthy time--to find its
place and to be in a position to act". Even if the presence of
a spiritual soul cannot be ascertained by empirical data, the
results themselves of scientific research on the human embryo
provide "a valuable indication for discerning by the use of
reason a personal presence at the moment of the first appearance
of a human life: how could a human individual not be a human
person?
Furthermore, what is a stake is so important that, from the
standpoint of moral obligation, the mere probability that a
human person is involved would suffice to justify an absolutely
clear prohibition of any intervention aimed at killing a human
embryo. Precisely for this reason, over and above all
scientific debates and those philosophical affirmations to which
the Magisterium has not expressly committed itself, the Church
has always taught and continues to teach that the result of
human procreation, from the first moment of its existence, must
be guaranteed that unconditional respect which is morally due to
the human being in his or her totality and unity as body and
spirit: "THE HUMAN BEING IS TO BE RESPECTED AN TREATED AS A
PERSON FROM THE MOMENT OF CONCEPTION; and therefore from that
same moment his rights as a person must be recognized, among
which in the first place is the INVIOLABLE RIGHT OF EVERY
INNOCENT HUMAN BEING TO LIFE".
The entire encyclical is worth your study. It is published by
Random House, Times Books, NY, NY 10022 (ISBN 0-8129-2671-4),
price $9.00 plus postage).
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Mateo
- Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit -
-- | CIN (619-449-6030) Fido: (1:202/1613) http://www.cin.org/cin | Supported by St. Gabriel's: http://www.stgabriel.com/gabriel