Catholic Caucus: Living the Gospel of Life (paragraph 23) [1998]

United States Catholic Conference of Bishops ^ | 1998 | U. S. Catholic Bishops

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Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics

A Statement by the Catholic Bishops of the United States

[Paragraph 23]

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As we stressed in our 1995 statement Political Responsibility: "The application of Gospel values to real situations is an essential work of the Christian community." Adopting a consistent ethic of life, the Catholic Church promotes a broad spectrum of issues "seeking to protect human life and promote human dignity from the inception of life to its final moment."9 Opposition to abortion and euthanasia does not excuse indifference to those who suffer from poverty, violence and injustice. Any politics of human life must work to resist the violence of war and the scandal of capital punishment. Any politics of human dignity must seriously address issues of racism, poverty, hunger, employment, education, housing, and health care. Therefore, Catholics should eagerly involve themselves as advocates for the weak and marginalized in all these areas. Catholic public officials are obliged to address each of these issues as they seek to build consistent policies which promote respect for the human person at all stages of life. But being 'right' in such matters can never excuse a wrong choice regarding direct attacks on innocent human life. Indeed, the failure to protect and defend life in its most vulnerable stages renders suspect any claims to the 'rightness' of positions in other matters affecting the poorest and least powerful of the human community. If we understand the human person as the "temple of the Holy Spirit" -- the living house of God -- then these latter issues fall logically into place as the crossbeams and walls of that house. All direct attacks on innocent human life, such as abortion and euthanasia, strike at the house's foundation. These directly and immediately violate the human person's most fundamental right -- the right to life. Neglect of these issues is the equivalent of building our house on sand. Such attacks cannot help but lull the social conscience in ways ultimately destructive of other human rights. As Pope John Paul II reminds us, the command never to kill establishes a minimum which we must respect and from which we must start out "in order to say 'yes' over and over again, a 'yes' which will gradually embrace the entire horizon of the good" (Evangelium Vitae, 75).

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[Paragraph 23 was quoted in chapter Faithful Citizenship of new book by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput -- August 12, 2008 -- Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life]

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The Catch 22 of this 1998 USCCB document is that there 22 paragraphs before this paragraph to bury the single most important paragraph.

Arcbhishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. cap., sets the record straight in his book by giving this paragraph special emphasis in his latest book.

It is found in this new book on pages 210-211 -- with the fact that Archbishop Chaput notes the emphasis in the original document -- not his.

I show this emphasis by using the using the color red in the original document. The emphasis shows how the Sanctity of Life is the most important issue...

That book is ISBN 978-0-385-52228-1 published by Doubleday.

Archbishop Chaput's new book is an excellent read. I have over had a chance to skim over it today, but I have already found some real gems in it...

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Footnote 9 referenced in Paragraph 23 is from:

9Administrative Board, Unites States Catholic Conference, Political Responsibility: Proclaiming the Gospel of Life, Protecting the Least Among Us, and Pursuing the Common Good(1995), p. 12.

This is where the reference to:

"seeking to protect human life and promote human dignity from the inception of life to its final moment."

is quoted from...

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Archbishop Chaput introduces this paragraph in his book with the sentence (from page 210 of Render Unto Caesar):

The heart of that document, paragraph 23, is worth revisiting because it has often been overlooked or overshadowed by other statements.

He then quotes Paragraph 23

... [Paragraph 23 of USCCB Document Living the Gospel of Life [1998]

He follows the quote of the paragraph 23 with (from page 211):

In offering his own thoughts on Catholic Social Teaching, the late Cardinal Joseph Bernadin warned against the misue of his "seamless garment" imagery to falsely invest different social issues are important. Many require our attention. But some issues have more weight than others. Deliberately killing innocent human life, or standing by and allowing it, dwarfs all other social issues. Trying to avoid this fact by redefining when human personhood begins is simply a corrupt and corrupting form of verbal gymnastics. ...

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Ping.

Archbishop Chaput felt compelled to quote this paragraph in his chapter Faithful Citizenship in his new book Render Unto Caesar.

For Catholics who are confused...