Posted on 01/26/2008 8:51:32 AM PST by annalex
Good address.
**”The Sanctity of Human Life from Conception to Natural Death”**
I love it when the truth keeps being put out there!
Excellent! He handles the issue of Bernardin nicely - Bernardin and the USCCB who came up with the “seamless garment” theory were, of course, actually doing this to take the heat off abortion and to promote the Democrat party candidate of the moment. They wanted to make it sound as if there was no difference between abortion and, say, opposing the latest Dem welfare give-away (since naturally the only way to deal with social problems is the Dem way).
Aquila points out quite rightly that there’s a vast difference between social problems and life issues (abortion and euthanasia), and running them together obfuscates the matter. But I’m sure the late Bernardin knew that anyway, and I’m sure the dwindling number of his aging followers in the USCCB are also aware of it. But it never hurts to remind them and others in the Church of the truth, and Bishop Aquila is to be highly commended for doing so.
I wish he did not avoid the war topic so completely, but other than that omission, perhaps dictated by tact, it is a very good overview of the Catholic social teaching.
Thank you for posting this timely address. Bookmarked for future reference.
The seamless garments rhetorical obscures a hierarchy of values. Beware the cleric who runs together the arguments of abortion and public execution. Liberals, of course, tend to reverse the order of things. They would abolish all public executions as a goal;we would abolish all abortions.
The common thread was the inviolability of innocent life. That would incude all the medical/ethical issues (abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, suicide, destructive embryonic stem cell research, cloning, and IVF) plus an opposition to WMD's that are intrinsically indiscriminate, the so-called ABC weapons (Atomic, Biological, Chemical).
From the Catechism: 2314 "Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation. A danger of modern warfare is that it provides the opportunity to those who possess modern scientific weapons especially atomic, biological, or chemical weapons - to commit such crimes.
Some --- I daresy most--- Catholics are not aware that WMD's are just as "unequivocally" forbidden by Moral Law as abortion is, and for the same reason: they violate the right to life of innocent human beings.
There is also a tendency to ignore the anarchy that as much as ever distinguishes the international “order.” and, indeed, the “order” of every society. The soldier and the policeman are necessary actors in the scheme of things. It will be a long while, if ever, before the soldier can be reduced to the role of policeman or the policeman to the nightwatchman.
This week I watched The “Tears of the Sun.” a film with Bruce Willis. It had the usual over dramatization, the Holllywood touches etc. It shows a squad od U.S, Marines sent to extract some missionaries from a war=tirn Nigeria. The special features tell us that the original title had been “Rule of Engagement,” and throughout the film these marines examplify these values that you lay down. My son was in Iraq for fifteen months as an Army scout Lt. so I am not unbiased, but I will claim that no large combat force has ever been inserted into a country and conducted itself better. These soldiers and marines are the best-trained we have ever had, period. And I will say that is in following the ROE that have helped immeasurably in making our forces even more efficient, although in many cases they have gotten good men killed.
Yes. Exactly so.
I thought I remember, maybe five years ago, that North Dakota was all set to criminalize the act of killing an unborn child. If I remember right, the two bishops of North Dakota came out against this measure.
Can somebody remind me/correct me if I’m wrong?
I remember the initiative but not the bishops’ reaction. Some reaction from the pro-life movement was that the move was tactically unwise, and of course, it is the duty of the bishop to teach the Catholic teaching, which is firmly pro-life, as he sees reasonable at the time. I am sure that the bishops’ reaction, if it was against the measure at all, was not anti-life.
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That was brilliant. I wish every high school junior could read it.
Just went back and did some research. Yep, this is the same bishop.
“Should never punish a woman, who is a second victim.”
So when a woman shoots her kids, she shouldn’t pay.
When Roe vs. Wade gets overturned, a woman who gets an abortion after that, shouldn’t go to jail.
This is insanity. Is it a kid or not? No wonder politicians don’t take these guys seriously.
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