Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Ah, some gooood stuff from our Papa. Check this out.
Abortion is crime against society, says Benedict XVI
Abortion is a crime of aggression not only against the unborn, but also against society, Pope Benedict XVI said in a Dec. 3 meeting with the presidents of Latin American bishops' committees for the family and for life.
[...]
"Children have the right to be born and to grow in the midst of a family founded on matrimony, where the parents are the first educators of children in the faith and where they can grow to full human and spiritual maturity," the pope said Dec. 3.
He urged them to work together, sharing the programs and approaches that are most successful in their countries.
"Children are the major richness and the most precious good of a family," he said.
Amen to that!! Enough of this malarky about "Oh, but Joe Schmoe and I are happy together. We have nice jobs, a nice house, and a vacation spot in Cancun!" Barf.
"For this reason, it is necessary to help all people to be aware that the intrinsic evil of the crime of abortion, which attacks human life at its beginning, is also an aggression against society itself," the pope said.
A great restatement of our point all along. Something about the human family and our actions affecting one another... :)
Legalized abortion has laid the groundwork for acceptance of the destruction of embryos in scientific research, he said.
What gets me is how many people - seemingly good, normal people - are completely OK with this sort of thing. Excuse me - what the heck are you thinking?!
The result is that human life is reduced "to an object or a mere instrument. When it reaches this level, society itself suffers and its foundations shake, with all classes at risk," he said.
Ah, sounds like Ethics class. I love it. Keep it comin'.
The key to addressing the situation, he said, is to strengthen and defend the traditional family, which is the first place in society where human life is welcomed and treasured.
And we're back to the traditional family. It gets better...
"Your task as pastors is to present with all its richness the extraordinary value of matrimony which, as a natural institution, is the patrimony of humanity," he said.
The pope said the entire church must focus on efforts to "safeguard the fundamental values of marriage and the family, which are threatened by the current phenomenon of secularization, which prevents the social conscience from discovering the identity and mission of the institution of the family."
Once again, a wonderful point. Seems like the polar opposite of that which I have learned in my Christian Sexual Morality class. So that means it must be Truth.
The family must be defended from "the pressure of unjust laws" that do not recognize the rights and needs of the family and "disfigure it with false understandings of marriage and the family that do not respect the original plan of God," he said.
And another "Amen!" for the "original plan of God" statement. Gosh, I love it. I just truly love it. He's so great, and he states everything so plainly. This is not complicated, people. You complicate it. God has designed a plan for us - we follow it becaust it's beautiful, it's right and it's good. End of story.
