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ENCYCLICAL LETTER
EVANGELIUM VITAE
ADDRESSED BY THE SUPREME PONTIFF
POPE JOHN PAUL II
TO ALL THE BISHOPS, PRIESTS, AND DEACONS
MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS
LAY FAITHFUL
AND ALL PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL
ON THE VALUE AND INVIOLABILITY
OF HUMAN LIFE
INDEX
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I -
THE VOICE OF YOUR BROTHER'S BLOOD CRIES TO ME FROM THE GROUND
CHAPTER II - I CAME
THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE
CHAPTER III - YOU
SHALL NOT KILL
CHAPTER IV - YOU
DID IT TO ME
CONCLUSION
ENDNOTES
INTRODUCTION
1. 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.
At the dawn of salvation, it is the Birth of a Child
which is proclaimed as joyful news: "I bring you good news of a great joy which will
come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who
is. Christ the Lord" (Lk 2:10-11). The source of this "great joy"
is the Birth of the Saviour; but Christmas also reveals the full meaning of every human
birth, and the joy which accompanies the Birth of the Messiah is thus seen to be the
foundation and fulfilment of joy at every child born into the world (cf. Jn
16:21).
When he presents the heart of his redemptive mission,
Jesus says: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn
10:10). In truth, he is referring to that "new" and "eternal" life
which consists in communion with the Father, to which every person is freely called in the
Son by the power of the Sanctifying Spirit. It is precisely in this "life" that
all the aspects and stages of human life achieve their full significance.
The incomparable worth of the human person
2. Man is called to a fullness of life which far
exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very
life of God. The loftiness of this supernatural vocation reveals the greatness
and the inestimable value of human life even in its temporal phase. Life in time,
in fact, is the fundamental condition, the initial stage and an integral part of the
entire unified process of human existence. It is a process which, unexpectedly and
undeservedly, is enlightened by the promise and renewed by the gift of divine life, which
will reach its full realization in eternity (cf. 1 Jn 3:1-2). At the same time,
it is precisely this supernatural calling which highlights the relative character
of each individual's earthly life. After all, life on earth is not an "ultimate"
but a "penultimate" reality; even so, it remains a sacred reality
entrusted to us, to be preserved with a sense of responsibility and brought to perfection
in love and in the gift of ourselves to God and to our brothers and sisters.
The Church knows that this Gospel of life,
which she has received from her Lord,1 has a profound and persuasive echo in the heart
of every person—believer and non-believer alike—because it marvellously fulfils all the
heart's expectations while infinitely surpassing them. Even in the midst of difficulties
and uncertainties, every person sincerely open to truth and goodness can, by the light of
reason and the hidden action of grace, come to recognize in the natural law written in the
heart (cf. Rom 2:14-15) the sacred value of human life from its very beginning
until its end, and can affirm the right of every human being to have this primary good
respected to the highest degree. Upon the recognition of this right, every human community
and the political community itself are founded.
In a special way, believers in Christ must defend and
promote this right, aware as they are of the wonderful truth recalled by the Second
Vatican Council: "By his incarnation the Son of God has united himself in some
fashion with every human being".2 This saving event reveals to humanity not only
the boundless love of God who "so loved the world that he gave his only Son" (Jn
3:16), but also the incomparable value of every human person.
The Church, faithfully contemplating the mystery of
the Redemption, acknowledges this value with ever new wonder.3 She feels called to
proclaim to the people of all times this "Gospel", the source of invincible hope
and true joy for every period of history. The Gospel of God's love for man, the Gospel
of the dignity of the person and the Gospel of life are a single and indivisible Gospel.
For this reason, man—living man—represents
the primary and fundamental way for the Church.4
New threats to human life
3. Every individual, precisely by reason of the
mystery of the Word of God who was made flesh (cf. Jn 1:14), is entrusted to the
maternal care of the Church. Therefore every threat to human dignity and life must
necessarily be felt in the Church's very heart; it cannot but affect her at the core of
her faith in the Redemptive Incarnation of the Son of God, and engage her in her mission
of proclaiming the Gospel of life in all the world and to every creature (cf. Mk
16:15).
Today this proclamation is especially pressing
because of the extraordinary increase and gravity of threats to the life of individuals
and peoples, especially where life is weak and defenceless. In addition to the ancient
scourges of poverty, hunger, endemic diseases, violence and war, new threats are emerging
on an alarmingly vast scale.
The Second Vatican Council, in a passage which
retains all its relevance today, forcefully condemned a number of crimes and attacks
against human life. Thirty years later, taking up the words of the Council and with the
same forcefulness I repeat that condemnation in the name of the whole Church, certain that
I am interpreting the genuine sentiment of every upright conscience: "Whatever is
opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or
wilful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as
mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself;
whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary
imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as
well as disgraceful working conditions, where people are treated as mere instruments of
gain rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others like them
are infamies indeed. They poison human society, and they do more harm to those who
practise them than to those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme
dishonour to the Creator".5
4. Unfortunately, this disturbing state of affairs,
far from decreasing, is expanding: with the new prospects opened up by scientific and
technological progress there arise new forms of attacks on the dignity of the human being.
At the same time a new cultural climate is developing and taking hold, which gives crimes
against life a new and—if possible—even more sinister character, giving rise to
further grave concern: broad sectors of public opinion justify certain crimes against life
in the name of the rights of individual freedom, and on this basis they claim not only
exemption from punishment but even authorization by the State, so that these things can be
done with total freedom and indeed with the free assistance of health-care systems.
All this is causing a profound change in the way in
which life and relationships between people are considered. The fact that legislation in
many countries, perhaps even departing from basic principles of their Constitutions, has
determined not to punish these practices against life, and even to make them altogether
legal, is both a disturbing symptom and a significant cause of grave moral decline.
Choices once unanimously considered criminal and rejected by the common moral sense are
gradually becoming socially acceptable. Even certain sectors of the medical profession,
which by its calling is directed to the defence and care of human life, are increasingly
willing to carry out these acts against the person. In this way the very nature of the
medical profession is distorted and contradicted, and the dignity of those who practise it
is degraded. In such a cultural and legislative situation, the serious demographic, social
and family problems which weigh upon many of the world's peoples and which require
responsible and effective attention from national and international bodies, are left open
to false and deceptive solutions, opposed to the truth and the good of persons and
nations.
The end result of this is tragic: not only is the
fact of the destruction of so many human lives still to be born or in their final stage
extremely grave and disturbing, but no less grave and disturbing is the fact that
conscience itself, darkened as it were by such widespread conditioning, is finding it
increasingly difficult to distinguish between good and evil in what concerns the basic
value of human life.
In communion with all the Bishops of the
world
5. The Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals
held in Rome on 4-7 April 1991 was devoted to the problem of the threats to human life in
our day. After a thorough and detailed discussion of the problem and of the challenges it
poses to the entire human family and in particular to the Christian community, the
Cardinals unanimously asked me to reaffirm with the authority of the Successor of Peter
the value of human life and its inviolability, in the light of present circumstances and
attacks threatening it today.
In response to this request, at Pentecost in 1991 I
wrote a personal letter to each of my Brother Bishops asking them, in the spirit
of episcopal collegiality, to offer me their cooperation in drawing up a specific
document.6 I am deeply grateful to all the Bishops who replied and provided me with
valuable facts, suggestions and proposals. In so doing they bore witness to their
unanimous desire to share in the doctrinal and pastoral mission of the Church with regard
to the Gospel of life.
In that same letter, written shortly after the
celebration of the centenary of the Encyclical Rerum Novarum, I drew everyone's
attention to this striking analogy: "Just as a century ago it was the working classes
which were oppressed in their fundamental rights, and the Church very courageously came to
their defence by proclaiming the sacrosanct rights of the worker as a person, so now, when
another category of persons is being oppressed in the fundamental right to life, the
Church feels in duty bound to speak out with the same courage on behalf of those who have
no voice. Hers is always the evangelical cry in defence of the world's poor,
those who are threatened and despised and whose human rights are violated".7
Today there exists a great multitude of weak and
defenceless human beings, unborn children in particular, whose fundamental right to life
is being trampled upon. If, at the end of the last century, the Church could not be silent
about the injustices of those times, still less can she be silent today, when the social
injustices of the past, unfortunately not yet overcome, are being compounded in many
regions of the world by still more grievous forms of injustice and oppression, even if
these are being presented as elements of progress in view of a new world order.
The present Encyclical, the fruit of the cooperation
of the Episcopate of every country of the world, is therefore meant to be a precise
and vigorous reaffirmation of the value of human life and its inviolability, and at
the same time a pressing appeal addressed to each and every person, in the name of God: respect,
protect, love and serve life, every human life! Only in this direction will you find
justice, development, true freedom, peace and happiness!
May these words reach all the sons and daughters of
the Church! May they reach all people of good will who are concerned for the good of every
man and woman and for the destiny of the whole of society!
6. In profound communion with all my brothers and
sisters in the faith, and inspired by genuine friendship towards all, I wish to meditate
upon once more and proclaim the Gospel of life, the splendour of truth which
enlightens consciences, the clear light which corrects the darkened gaze, and the
unfailing source of faithfulness and steadfastness in facing the ever new challenges which
we meet along our path.
As I recall the powerful experience of the Year of
the Family, as if to complete the Letter which I wrote "to every particular
family in every part of the world",8 I look with renewed confidence to every
household and I pray that at every level a general commitment to support the family will
reappear and be strengthened, so that today too—even amid so many difficulties and
serious threats—the
family will always remain, in accordance with God's plan, the "sanctuary of
life".9
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.
Index
CHAPTER
I
THE VOICE
OF YOUR BROTHER'S BLOOD CRIES TO ME FROM THE GROUND
Present-day threats to human life
"Cain rose up against his brother Abel,
and killed him" (Gen 4:8):
the roots of violence against life
7. "God did not make death, and he does not
delight in the death of the living. For he has created all things that they might exist...God
created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity, but
through the devil's envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his
party experience it" (Wis 1:13-14; 2:23-24).
The Gospel of life, proclaimed in the
beginning when man was created in the image of God for a destiny of full and perfect life
(cf. Gen 2:7; Wis 9:2-3), is contradicted by the painful experience of death
which enters the world and casts its shadow of meaninglessness over man's entire
existence. Death came into the world as a result of the devil's envy (cf. Gen
3:1,4-5) and the sin of our first parents (cf. Gen 2:17, 3:17-19). And death
entered it in a violent way, through the killing of Abel by his brother Cain:
"And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed
him" (Gen 4:8).
This first murder is presented with singular
eloquence in a page of the Book of Genesis which has universal significance: it is a page
rewritten daily, with inexorable and degrading frequency, in the book of human history.
Let us re-read together this biblical account which,
despite its archaic structure and its extreme simplicity, has much to teach us.
"Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a
tiller of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the
fruit of the ground, and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat
portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering
he had not regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. The Lord said to
Cain, 'Why are you angry and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not
be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; its desire is for
you, but you must master it'.
"Cain said to Abel his brother, 'Let us go
out to the field'. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel,
and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is Abel your brother?' He said, I do
not know; am I my brother's keeper?' And the Lord said, 'What have you done? The voice of
your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the
ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When
you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a fugitive
and a wanderer on the earth'. Cain said to the Lord, 'My punishment is greater than I can
bear. Behold, you have driven me this day away from the ground; and from your face I shall
be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me
will slay me'. Then the Lord said to him, 'Not so! If any one slays Cain, vengeance shall
be taken on him sevenfold'. And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him
should kill him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land
of Nod, east of Eden" (Gen 4:2-16).
8. Cain was "very angry" and his
countenance "fell" because "the Lord had regard for Abel and his
offering" (Gen 4:4-5). The biblical text does not reveal the reason why God
prefers Abel's sacrifice to Cain's. It clearly shows however that God, although preferring
Abel's gift, does not interrupt his dialogue with Cain. He admonishes him, reminding
him of his freedom in the face of evil: man is in no way predestined to evil.
Certainly, like Adam, he is tempted by the malevolent force of sin which, like a wild
beast, lies in wait at the door of his heart, ready to leap on its prey. But Cain remains
free in the face of sin. He can and must overcome it: "Its desire is for you, but you
must master it" (Gen 4:7).
Envy and anger have the upper hand over the
Lord's warning, and so Cain attacks his own brother and kills him. As we read in the Catechism
of the Catholic Church: "In the account of Abel's murder by his brother
Cain, Scripture reveals the presence of anger and envy in man, consequences
of original sin, from the beginning of human history. Man has become the
enemy of his fellow man"10
Brother kills brother. Like the first
fratricide, every murder is a violation of the "spiritual" kinship
uniting mankind in one great family,11 in which all share the same fundamental good:
equal personal dignity. Not infrequently the kinship "of flesh and blood"
is also violated; for example when threats to life arise within the relationship between
parents and children, such as happens in abortion or when, in the wider context of family
or kinship, euthanasia is encouraged or practised.
At the root of every act of violence against one's
neighbour there is a concession to the "thinking" of the evil one, the
one who "was a murderer from the beginning" (Jn 8:44). As the Apostle
John reminds us: "For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning,
that we should love one another, and not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered
his brother" (1 Jn 3:11-12). Cain's killing of his brother at the very dawn
of history is thus a sad witness of how evil spreads with amazing speed: man's revolt
against God in the earthly paradise is followed by the deadly combat of man against man.
After the crime, God intervenes to avenge the one
killed. Before God, who asks him about the fate of Abel, Cain, instead of showing
remorse and apologizing, arrogantly eludes the question: "I do not know; am I my
brother's keeper?" (Gen 4:9). "I do not know": Cain tries
to cover up his crime with a lie. This was and still is the case, when all kinds of
ideologies try to justify and disguise the most atrocious crimes against human beings.
"Am I my brother's keeper?": Cain does not wish to think about his
brother and refuses to accept the responsibility which every person has towards others. We
cannot but think of today's tendency for people to refuse to accept responsibility for
their brothers and sisters. Symptoms of this trend include the lack of solidarity towards
society's weakest members—such as the elderly, the infirm, immigrants, children—and the
indifference frequently found in relations between the world's peoples even when basic
values such as survival, freedom and peace are involved.
9. But God cannot leave the crime unpunished:
from the ground on which it has been spilt, the blood of the one murdered demands that God
should render justice (cf. Gen 37:26; Is 26:21; Ez 24:7-8).
From this text the Church has taken the name of the "sins which cry to God for
justice", and, first among them, she has included wilful murder.12 For the Jewish
people, as for many peoples of antiquity, blood is the source of life. Indeed "the
blood is the life" (Dt 12:23), and life, especially human life, belongs only
to God: for this reason whoever attacks human life, in some way attacks God himself.
Cain is cursed by God and also by the earth,
which will deny him its fruit (cf. Gen 4: 12). He is punished: he will
live in the wilderness and the desert. Murderous violence profoundly changes man's
environment. From being the "garden of Eden" (Gen 2:15), a place of
plenty, of harmonious interpersonal relationships and of friendship with God, the earth
becomes "the land of Nod" (Gen 4:16), a place of scarcity, loneliness
and separation from God. Cain will be "a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth" (Gen
4:14): uncertainty and restlessness will follow him forever.
And yet God, who is always merciful even when he
punishes, "put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill
him" (Gen 4:15). He thus gave him a distinctive sign, not to condemn him to
the hatred of others, but to protect and defend him from those wishing to kill him, even
out of a desire to avenge Abel's death. Not even a murderer loses his personal dignity,
and God himself pledges to guarantee this. And it is precisely here that the paradoxical
mystery of the merciful justice of God is shown forth. As Saint Ambrose
writes: "Once the crime is admitted at the very inception of this sinful act
of parricide, then the divine law of God's mercy should be immediately
extended. If punishment is forthwith inflicted on the accused, then men in
the exercise of justice would in no way observe patience and moderation, but
would straightaway condemn the defendant to punishment.... God drove Cain
out of his presence and sent him into exile far away from his native land,
so that he passed from a life of human kindness to one which was more akin
to the rude existence of a wild beast. God, who preferred the correction
rather than the death of a sinner, did not desire that a homicide be
punished by the exaction of another act of homicide".13
"What have you done?" (Gen
4:10): the eclipse of the value of life
10. The Lord said to Cain: "What have you done?
The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground" (Gen
4:10). The voice of the blood shed by men continues to cry out, from generation
to generation, in ever new and different ways.
The Lord's question: "What have you done?",
which Cain cannot escape, is addressed also to the people of today, to make them realize
the extent and gravity of the attacks against life which continue to mark human history;
to make them discover what causes these attacks and feeds them; and to make them ponder
seriously the consequences which derive from these attacks for the existence of
individuals and peoples.
Some threats come from nature itself, but they are
made worse by the culpable indifference and negligence of those who could in some cases
remedy them. Others are the result of situations of violence, hatred and conflicting
interests, which lead people to attack others through murder, war, slaughter and genocide.
And how can we fail to consider the violence against
life done to millions of human beings, especially children, who are forced into poverty,
malnutrition and hunger because of an unjust distribution of resources between peoples and
between social classes? And what of the violence inherent not only in wars as such but in
the scandalous arms trade, which spawns the many armed conflicts which stain our world
with blood? What of the spreading of death caused by reckless tampering with the world's
ecological balance, by the criminal spread of drugs, or by the promotion of certain kinds
of sexual activity which, besides being morally unacceptable, also involve grave risks to
life? It is impossible to catalogue completely the vast array of threats to human life, so
many are the forms, whether explicit or hidden, in which they appear today!
11. Here though we shall concentrate particular
attention on another category of attacks, affecting life in its earliest and in
its final stages, attacks which present new characteristics with respect to the past
and which raise questions of extraordinary seriousness. It is not only that in
generalized opinion these attacks tend no longer to be considered as "crimes";
paradoxically they assume the nature of "rights", to the point that the State is
called upon to give them legal recognition and to make them available through the free
services of health-care personnel. Such attacks strike human life at the time of its
greatest frailty, when it lacks any means of self-defence. Even more serious is the fact
that, most often, those attacks are carried out in the very heart of and with the
complicity of the family—the family which by its nature is called to be the
"sanctuary of life".
How did such a situation come about? Many different
factors have to be taken into account. In the background there is the profound crisis of
culture, which generates scepticism in relation to the very foundations of knowledge and
ethics, and which makes it increasingly difficult to grasp clearly the meaning of what man
is, the meaning of his rights and his duties. Then there are all kinds of existential and
interpersonal difficulties, made worse by the complexity of a society in which
individuals, couples and families are often left alone with their problems. There are
situations of acute poverty, anxiety or frustration in which the struggle to make ends
meet, the presence of unbearable pain, or instances of violence, especially against women,
make the choice to defend and promote life so demanding as sometimes to reach the point of
heroism.
All this explains, at least in part, how the value of
life can today undergo a kind of "eclipse", even though conscience does not
cease to point to it as a sacred and inviolable value, as is evident in the tendency to
disguise certain crimes against life in its early or final stages by using innocuous
medical terms which distract attention from the fact that what is involved is the right to
life of an actual human person.
12. In fact, while the climate of widespread moral
uncertainty can in some way be explained by the multiplicity and gravity of today's social
problems, and these can sometimes mitigate the subjective responsibility of individuals,
it is no less true that we are confronted by an even larger reality, which can be
described as a <veritable structure of sin>. This reality is characterized by the
emergence of a culture which denies solidarity and in many cases takes the form of a
veritable "culture of death". This culture is actively fostered by powerful
cultural, economic and political currents which encourage an idea of society excessively
concerned with efficiency. Looking at the situation from this point of view, it is
possible to speak in a certain sense of a war of the powerful against the weak: a
life which would require greater acceptance, love and care is considered useless, or held
to be an intolerable burden, and is therefore rejected in one way or another. A person
who, because of illness, handicap or, more simply, just by existing, compromises the
well-being or life-style of those who are more favoured tends to be looked upon as an
enemy to be resisted or eliminated. In this way a kind of "conspiracy against
life" is unleashed. This conspiracy involves not only individuals in their
personal, family or group relationships, but goes far beyond, to the point of damaging and
distorting, at the international level, relations between peoples and States.
13. In order to facilitate the spread of abortion,
enormous sums of money have been invested and continue to be invested in the production of
pharmaceutical products which make it possible to kill the fetus in the mother's womb
without recourse to medical assistance. On this point, scientific research itself seems to
be almost exclusively preoccupied with developing products which are ever more simple and
effective in suppressing life and which at the same time are capable of removing abortion
from any kind of control or social responsibility.
It is frequently asserted that contraception,
if made safe and available to all, is the most effective remedy against abortion. The
Catholic Church is then accused of actually promoting abortion, because she obstinately
continues to teach the moral unlawfulness of contraception. When looked at carefully, this
objection is clearly unfounded. It may be that many people use contraception with a view
to excluding the subsequent temptation of abortion. But the negative values inherent in
the "contraceptive mentality"—which is very different from responsible
parenthood, lived in respect for the full truth of the conjugal act—are such that they in
fact strengthen this temptation when an unwanted life is conceived. Indeed, the
pro-abortion culture is especially strong precisely where the Church's teaching on
contraception is rejected. Certainly, from the moral point of view contraception and
abortion are specifically different evils: the former contradicts the full truth
of the sexual act as the proper expression of conjugal love, while the latter destroys the
life of a human being; the former is opposed to the virtue of chastity in marriage, the
latter is opposed to the virtue of justice and directly violates the divine commandment
"You shall not kill".
But despite their differences of nature and moral
gravity, contraception and abortion are often closely connected, as fruits of the same
tree. It is true that in many cases contraception and even abortion are practised under
the pressure of real-life difficulties, which nonetheless can never exonerate from
striving to observe God's law fully. Still, in very many other instances such practices
are rooted in a hedonistic mentality unwilling to accept responsibility in matters of
sexuality, and they imply a self-centered concept of freedom, which regards procreation as
an obstacle to personal fulfilment. The life which could result from a sexual encounter
thus becomes an enemy to be avoided at all costs, and abortion becomes the only possible
decisive response to failed contraception.
The close connection which exists, in mentality,
between the practice of contraception and that of abortion is becoming increasingly
obvious. It is being demonstrated in an alarming way by the development of chemical
products, intrauterine devices and vaccines which, distributed with the same ease as
contraceptives, really act as abortifacients in the very early stages of the development
of the life of the new human being.
14. The various techniques of artificial
reproduction, which would seem to be at the service of life and which are frequently
used with this intention, actually open the door to new threats against life. Apart from
the fact that they are morally unacceptable, since they separate procreation from the
fully human context of the conjugal act,14 these techniques have a high rate of failure:
not just failure in relation to fertilization but with regard to the subsequent
development of the embryo, which is exposed to the risk of death, generally within a very
short space of time. Furthermore, the number of embryos produced is often greater than
that needed for implantation in the woman's womb, and these so-called "spare
embryos" are then destroyed or used for research which, under the pretext of
scientific or medical progress, in fact reduces human life to the level of simple
"biological material" to be freely disposed of.
Prenatal diagnosis, which presents no moral
objections if carried out in order to identify the medical treatment which may be needed
by the child in the womb, all too often becomes an opportunity for proposing and procuring
an abortion. This is eugenic abortion, justified in public opinion on the basis of a
mentality—mistakenly held to be consistent with the demands of "therapeutic
interventions"—which accepts life only under certain conditions and rejects it when
it is affected by any limitation, handicap or illness.
Following this same logic, the point has been reached
where the most basic care, even nourishment, is denied to babies born with serious
handicaps or illnesses. The contemporary scene, moreover, is becoming even more alarming
by reason of the proposals, advanced here and there, to justify even infanticide,
following the same arguments used to justify the right to abortion. In this way, we revert
to a state of barbarism which one hoped had been left behind forever.
15. Threats which are no less serious hang over the incurably
ill and the dying. In a social and cultural context which makes it more
difficult to face and accept suffering, the temptation becomes all the greater to
resolve the problem of suffering by eliminating it at the root, by hastening death so
that it occurs at the moment considered most suitable.
Various considerations usually contribute to such a
decision, all of which converge in the same terrible outcome. In the sick person the sense
of anguish, of severe discomfort, and even of desperation brought on by intense and
prolonged suffering can be a decisive factor. Such a situation can threaten the already
fragile equilibrium of an individual's personal and family life, with the result that, on
the one hand, the sick person, despite the help of increasingly effective medical and
social assistance, risks feeling overwhelmed by his or her own frailty; and on the other
hand, those close to the sick person can be moved by an understandable even if misplaced
compassion. All this is aggravated by a cultural climate which fails to perceive any
meaning or value in suffering, but rather considers suffering the epitome of evil, to be
eliminated at all costs. This is especially the case in the absence of a religious outlook
which could help to provide a positive understanding of the mystery of suffering.
On a more general level, there exists in contemporary
culture a certain Promethean attitude which leads people to think that they can control
life and death by taking the decisions about them into their own hands. What really
happens in this case is that the individual is overcome and crushed by a death deprived of
any prospect of meaning or hope. We see a tragic expression of all this in the spread of euthanasia—disguised
and surreptitious, or practised openly and even legally. As well as for reasons of a
misguided pity at the sight of the patient's suffering, euthanasia is sometimes justified
by the utilitarian motive of avoiding costs which bring no return and which weigh heavily
on society. Thus it is proposed to eliminate malformed babies, the severely handicapped,
the disabled, the elderly, especially when they are not self-sufficient, and the
terminally ill. Nor can we remain silent in the face of other more furtive, but no less
serious and real, forms of euthanasia. These could occur for example when, in order to
increase the availability of organs for transplants, organs are removed without respecting
objective and adequate criteria which verify the death of the donor.
16. Another present-day phenomenon,
frequently used to justify threats and attacks against life, is the demographic
question. This question arises in different ways in different parts of the world. In the
rich and developed countries there is a disturbing decline or collapse of the birthrate.
The poorer countries, on the other hand, generally have a high rate of population growth,
difficult to sustain in the context of low economic and social development, and especially
where there is extreme underdevelopment. In the face of overpopulation in the poorer
countries, instead of forms of global intervention at the international level—serious
family and social policies, programmes of cultural development and of fair production and
distribution of resources—anti-birth policies continue to be enacted.
Contraception, sterilization and abortion are
certainly part of the reason why in some cases there is a sharp decline in the birthrate.
It is not difficult to be tempted to use the same methods and attacks against life also
where there is a situation of "demographic explosion".
The Pharaoh of old, haunted by the presence and
increase of the children of Israel, submitted them to every kind of oppression and ordered
that every male child born of the Hebrew women was to be killed (cf. Ex 1:7-22).
Today not a few of the powerful of the earth act in the same way. They too are haunted by
the current demographic growth, and fear that the most prolific and poorest peoples
represent a threat for the well-being and peace of their own countries. Consequently,
rather than wishing to face and solve these serious problems with respect for the dignity
of individuals and families and for every person's inviolable right to life, they prefer
to promote and impose by whatever means a massive programme of birth control. Even the
economic help which they would be ready to give is unjustly made conditional on the
acceptance of an anti-birth policy.
17. Humanity today offers us a truly alarming
spectacle, if we consider not only how extensively attacks on life are spreading but also
their unheard-of numerical proportion, and the fact that they receive widespread and
powerful support from a broad consensus on the part of society, from widespread legal
approval and the involvement of certain sectors of health-care personnel.
As I emphatically stated at Denver, on the occasion
of the Eighth World Youth Day, "with time the threats against life have not grown
weaker. They are taking on vast proportions. They are not only threats coming from the
outside, from the forces of nature or the 'Cains' who kill the 'Abels'; no, they are scientifically
and systematically programmed threats. The twentieth century will have been an era of
massive attacks on life, an endless series of wars and a continual taking of innocent
human life. False prophets and false teachers have had the greatest success".15
Aside from intentions, which can be varied and perhaps can seem convincing at times,
especially if presented in the name of solidarity, we are in fact faced by an objective
"conspiracy against life", involving even international Institutions,
engaged in encouraging and carrying out actual campaigns to make contraception,
sterilization and abortion widely available. Nor can it be denied that the mass media are
often implicated in this conspiracy, by lending credit to that culture which presents
recourse to contraception, sterilization, abortion and even euthanasia as a mark of
progress and a victory of freedom, while depicting as enemies of freedom and progress
those positions which are unreservedly pro-life.
"Am I my brother's keeper?"
(Gen 4:9): a perverse idea of freedom
18. The panorama described needs to be understood not
only in terms of the phenomena of death which characterize it but also in the variety
of causes which determine it. The Lord's question: "What have you done?" (Gen
4:10), seems almost like an invitation addressed to Cain to go beyond the material
dimension of his murderous gesture, in order to recognize in it all the gravity of the motives
which occasioned it and the consequences which result from it.
Decisions that go against life sometimes arise from
difficult or even tragic situations of profound suffering, loneliness, a total lack of
economic prospects, depression and anxiety about the future. Such circumstances can
mitigate even to a notable degree subjective responsibility and the consequent culpability
of those who make these choices which in themselves are evil. But today the problem goes
far beyond the necessary recognition of these personal situations. It is a problem which
exists at the cultural, social and political level, where it reveals its more sinister and
disturbing aspect in the tendency, ever more widely shared, to interpret the above crimes
against life as legitimate expressions of individual freedom, to be acknowledged and
protected as actual rights.
In this way, and with tragic consequences, a long
historical process is reaching a turning-point. The process which once led to discovering
the idea of "human rights"— rights inherent in every person and prior to any
Constitution and State legislation—is today marked by a surprising contradiction.
Precisely in an age when the inviolable rights of the person are solemnly proclaimed and
the value of life is publicly affirmed, the very right to life is being denied or trampled
upon, especially at the more significant moments of existence: the moment of birth and the
moment of death.
On the one hand, the various declarations of human
rights and the many initiatives inspired by these declarations show that at the global
level there is a growing moral sensitivity, more alert to acknowledging the value and
dignity of every individual as a human being, without any distinction of race,
nationality, religion, political opinion or social class.
On the other hand, these noble proclamations are
unfortunately contradicted by a tragic repudiation of them in practice. This denial is
still more distressing, indeed more scandalous, precisely because it is occurring in a
society which makes the affirmation and protection of human rights its primary objective
and its boast. How can these repeated affirmations of principle be reconciled with the
continual increase and widespread justification of attacks on human life? How can we
reconcile these declarations with the refusal to accept those who are weak and needy, or
elderly, or those who have just been conceived? These attacks go directly against respect
for life and they represent a direct threat to the entire culture of human rights.
It is a threat capable, in the end, of jeopardizing the very meaning of democratic
coexistence: rather than societies of "people living together", our cities
risk becoming societies of people who are rejected, marginalized, uprooted and
oppressed. If we then look at the wider worldwide perspective, how can we fail to think
that the very affirmation of the rights of individuals and peoples made in distinguished
international assemblies is a merely futile exercise of rhetoric, if we fail to unmask the
selfishness of the rich countries which exclude poorer countries from access to
development or make such access dependent on arbitrary prohibitions against procreation,
setting up an opposition between development and man himself? Should we not question the
very economic models often adopted by States which, also as a result of international
pressures and forms of conditioning, cause and aggravate situations of injustice and
violence in which the life of whole peoples is degraded and trampled upon?
19. What are the roots of this remarkable
contradiction?
We can find them in an overall assessment of a
cultural and moral nature, beginning with the mentality which carries the concept of
subjectivity to an extreme and even distorts it, and recognizes as a subject of
rights only the person who enjoys full or at least incipient autonomy and who emerges from
a state of total dependence on others. But how can we reconcile this approach with the
exaltation of man as a being who is "not to be used"? The theory of human
rights is based precisely on the affirmation that the human person, unlike animals and
things, cannot be subjected to domination by others. We must also mention the mentality
which tends to equate personal dignity with the capacity for verbal and explicit,
or at least perceptible, communication. It is clear that on the basis of these
presuppositions there is no place in the world for anyone who, like the unborn or the
dying, is a weak element in the social structure, or for anyone who appears completely at
the mercy of others and radically dependent on them, and can only communicate through the
silent language of a profound sharing of affection. In this case it is force which becomes
the criterion for choice and action in interpersonal relations and in social life. But
this is the exact opposite of what a State ruled by law, as a community in which the
"reasons of force" are replaced by the "force of reason", historically
intended to affirm.
At another level, the roots of the contradiction
between the solemn affirmation of human rights and their tragic denial in practice lies in
a notion of freedom which exalts the isolated individual in an absolute way, and
gives no place to solidarity, to openness to others and service of them. While it is true
that the taking of life not yet born or in its final stages is sometimes marked by a
mistaken sense of altruism and human compassion, it cannot be denied that such a culture
of death, taken as a whole, betrays a completely individualistic concept of freedom, which
ends up by becoming the freedom of "the strong" against the weak who have no
choice but to submit.
It is precisely in this sense that Cain's answer to
the Lord's question: "Where is Abel your brother?" can be interpreted: "I
do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" (Gen 4:9). Yes, every man
is his "brother's keeper", because God entrusts us to one another. And it is
also in view of this entrusting that God gives everyone freedom, a freedom which possesses
an inherently relational dimension. This is a great gift of the Creator, placed
as it is at the service of the person and of his fulfilment through the gift of self and
openness to others; but when freedom is made absolute in an individualistic way, it is
emptied of its original content, and its very meaning and dignity are contradicted.
There is an even more profound aspect which needs to
be emphasized: freedom negates and destroys itself, and becomes a factor leading to the
destruction of others, when it no longer recognizes and respects its essential link
with the truth. When freedom, out of a desire to emancipate itself from all forms of
tradition and authority, shuts out even the most obvious evidence of an objective and
universal truth, which is the foundation of personal and social life, then the person ends
up by no longer taking as the sole and indisputable point of reference for his own choices
the truth about good and evil, but only his subjective and changeable opinion or, indeed,
his selfish interest and whim.
20. This view of freedom leads to a serious
distortion of life in society. If the promotion of the self is understood in terms of
absolute autonomy, people inevitably reach the point of rejecting one another. Everyone
else is considered an enemy from whom one has to defend oneself. Thus society becomes a
mass of individuals placed side by side, but without any mutual bonds. Each one wishes to
assert himself independently of the other and in fact intends to make his own interests
prevail. Still, in the face of other people's analogous interests, some kind of compromise
must be found, if one wants a society in which the maximum possible freedom is guaranteed
to each individual. In this way, any reference to common values and to a truth absolutely
binding on everyone is lost, and social life ventures on to the shifting sands of complete
relativism. At that point, everything is negotiable, everything is open to bargaining:
even the first of the fundamental rights, the right to life.
This is what is happening also at the level of
politics and government: the original and inalienable right to life is questioned or
denied on the basis of a parliamentary vote or the will of one part of the people—even if
it is the majority. This is the sinister result of a relativism which reigns unopposed:
the "right" ceases to be such, because it is no longer firmly founded on the
inviolable dignity of the person, but is made subject to the will of the stronger part. In
this way democracy, contradicting its own principles, effectively moves towards a form of
totalitarianism. The State is no longer the "common home" where all can live
together on the basis of principles of fundamental equality, but is transformed into a tyrant
State, which arrogates to itself the right to dispose of the life of the weakest and
most defenceless members, from the unborn child to the elderly, in the name of a public
interest which is really nothing but the interest of one part. The appearance of the
strictest respect for legality is maintained, at least when the laws permitting abortion
and euthanasia are the result of a ballot in accordance with what are generally seen as
the rules of democracy. Really, what we have here is only the tragic caricature of
legality; the democratic ideal, which is only truly such when it acknowledges and
safeguards the dignity of every human person, is betrayed in its very foundations:
"How is it still possible to speak of the dignity of every human person when the
killing of the weakest and most innocent is permitted? In the name of what justice is the
most unjust of discriminations practised: some individuals are held to be deserving of
defence and others are denied that dignity?"16 When this happens, the process
leading to the breakdown of a genuinely human co-existence and the disintegration of the
State itself has already begun.
To claim the right to abortion, infanticide and
euthanasia, and to recognize that right in law, means to attribute to human freedom a perverse
and evil significance: that of an absolute power over others and against others.
This is the death of true freedom: "Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits
sin is a slave to sin" (Jn 8:34).
"And from your face I shall be
hidden" (Gen 4:14): the eclipse of the sense of God and of man
21. In seeking the deepest roots of the struggle
between the "culture of life" and the "culture of death", we cannot
restrict ourselves to the perverse idea of freedom mentioned above. We have to go to the
heart of the tragedy being experienced by modern man: the eclipse of the sense of God
and of man, typical of a social and cultural climate dominated by secularism, which,
with its ubiquitous tentacles, succeeds at times in putting Christian communities
themselves to the test. Those who allow themselves to be influenced by this climate easily
fall into a sad vicious circle: when the sense of God is lost, there is also a
tendency to lose the sense of man, of his dignity and his life; in turn, the
systematic violation of the moral law, especially in the serious matter of respect for
human life and its dignity, produces a kind of progressive darkening of the capacity to
discern God's living and saving presence.
Once again we can gain insight from the story of
Abel's murder by his brother. After the curse imposed on him by God, Cain thus addresses
the Lord: "My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me this
day away from the ground; and from your face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a
fugitive and wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay me" (Gen
4:13-14). Cain is convinced that his sin will not obtain pardon from the Lord and that his
inescapable destiny will be to have to "hide his face" from him. If Cain is
capable of confessing that his fault is "greater than he can bear", it is
because he is conscious of being in the presence of God and before God's just judgment. It
is really only before the Lord that man can admit his sin and recognize its full
seriousness. Such was the experience of David who, after "having committed evil in
the sight of the Lord", and being rebuked by the Prophet Nathan, exclaimed: "My
offences truly I know them; my sin is always before me. Against you, you alone, have I
sinned; what is evil in your sight I have done" (Ps 51:5-6).
22. Consequently, when the sense of God is
lost, the sense of man is also threatened and poisoned, as the Second
Vatican Council concisely states: "Without the Creator the creature would
disappear . . . But when God is forgotten the creature itself grows
unintelligible".17 Man is no longer able to see
himself as "mysteriously different" from other earthly creatures; he regards
himself merely as one more living being, as an organism which, at most, has reached a very
high stage of perfection. Enclosed in the narrow horizon of his physical nature, he is
somehow reduced to being "a thing", and no longer grasps the
"transcendent" character of his "existence as man". He no longer
considers life as a splendid gift of God, something "sacred" entrusted to his
responsibility and thus also to his loving care and "veneration". Life itself
becomes a mere "thing", which man claims as his exclusive property, completely
subject to his control and manipulation.
Thus, in relation to life at birth or at death, man
is no longer capable of posing the question of the truest meaning of his own existence,
nor can he assimilate with genuine freedom these crucial moments of his own history. He is
concerned only with "doing", and, using all kinds of technology, he busies
himself with programming, controlling and dominating birth and death. Birth and death,
instead of being primary experiences demanding to be "lived", become things to
be merely "possessed" or "rejected".
Moreover, once all reference to God has been removed,
it is not surprising that the meaning of everything else becomes profoundly distorted.
Nature itself, from being "mater" (mother), is now reduced to being
"matter", and is subjected to every kind of manipulation. This is the direction
in which a certain technical and scientific way of thinking, prevalent in present-day
culture, appears to be leading when it rejects the very idea that there is a truth of
creation which must be acknowledged, or a plan of God for life which must be respected.
Something similar happens when concern about the consequences of such a "freedom
without law" leads some people to the opposite position of a "law without
freedom", as for example in ideologies which consider it unlawful to interfere in any
way with nature, practically "divinizing" it. Again, this is a misunderstanding
of nature's dependence on the plan of the Creator. Thus it is clear that the loss of
contact with God's wise design is the deepest root of modern man's confusion, both when
this loss leads to a freedom without rules and when it leaves man in "fear" of
his freedom.
By living "as if God did not exist", man
not only loses sight of the mystery of God, but also of the mystery of the world and the
mystery of his own being.
23. The eclipse of the sense of God and of man
inevitably leads to a practical materialism, which breeds individualism,
utilitarianism and hedonism. Here too we see the permanent validity of the words of the
Apostle: "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a
base mind and to improper conduct" (Rom 1:28). The values of being
are replaced by those of having. The only goal which counts is the pursuit of
one's own material well-being. The so-called "quality of life" is interpreted
primarily or exclusively as economic efficiency, inordinate consumerism, physical beauty
and pleasure, to the neglect of the more profound dimensions—interpersonal, spiritual and
religious—of existence.
In such a context suffering, an inescapable
burden of human existence but also a factor of possible personal growth, is
"censored", rejected as useless, indeed opposed as an evil, always and in every
way to be avoided. When it cannot be avoided and the prospect of even some future
well-being vanishes, then life appears to have lost all meaning and the temptation grows
in man to claim the right to suppress it.
Within this same cultural climate, the body
is no longer perceived as a properly personal reality, a sign and place of relations with
others, with God and with the world. It is reduced to pure materiality: it is simply a
complex of organs, functions and energies to be used according to the sole criteria of
pleasure and efficiency. Consequently, sexuality too is depersonalized and
exploited: from being the sign, place and language of love, that is, of the gift of self
and acceptance of another, in all the other's richness as a person, it increasingly
becomes the occasion and instrument for self-assertion and the selfish satisfaction of
personal desires and instincts. Thus the original import of human sexuality is distorted
and falsified, and the two meanings, unitive and procreative, inherent in the very nature
of the conjugal act, are artificially separated: in this way the marriage union is
betrayed and its fruitfulness is subjected to the caprice of the couple. Procreation
then becomes the "enemy" to be avoided in sexual activity: if it is welcomed,
this is only because it expresses a desire, or indeed the intention, to have a child
"at all costs", and not because it signifies the complete acceptance of the
other and therefore an openness to the richness of life which the child represents.
In the materialistic perspective described so far, interpersonal
relations are seriously impoverished. The first to be harmed are women, children, the
sick or suffering, and the elderly. The criterion of personal dignity—which demands
respect, generosity and service—is replaced by the criterion of efficiency, functionality
and usefulness: others are considered not for what they "are", but for what they
"have, do and produce". This is the supremacy of the strong over the weak.
24. It is at the heart of the moral conscience
that the eclipse of the sense of God and of man, with all its various and deadly
consequences for life, is taking place. It is a question, above all, of the individual
conscience, as it stands before God in its singleness and uniqueness.18 But it is also a
question, in a certain sense, of the "moral conscience" of society: in
a way it too is responsible, not only because it tolerates or fosters behaviour contrary
to life, but also because it encourages the "culture of death", creating and
consolidating actual "structures of sin" which go against life. The moral
conscience, both individual and social, is today subjected, also as a result of the
penetrating influence of the media, to an extremely serious and mortal danger:
that of confusion between good and evil, precisely in relation to the fundamental
right to life. A large part of contemporary society looks sadly like that humanity which
Paul describes in his Letter to the Romans. It is composed "of men who by their
wickedness suppress the truth" (1:18): having denied God and believing that they can
build the earthly city without him, "they became futile in their thinking" so
that "their senseless minds were darkened" (1:21); "claiming to be wise,
they became fools" (1:22), carrying out works deserving of death, and "they not
only do them but approve those who practise them" (1:32). When conscience, this
bright lamp of the soul (cf. Mt 6:22-23), calls "evil good and good
evil" (Is 5:20), it is already on the path to the most alarming corruption
and the darkest moral blindness.
And yet all the conditioning and efforts to enforce
silence fail to stifle the voice of the Lord echoing in the conscience of every
individual: it is always from this intimate sanctuary of the conscience that a new journey
of love, openness and service to human life can begin.
"You have come to the sprinkled
blood" (cf. Heb 12:22, 24): signs of hope and invitation to commitment
25. "The voice of your brother's blood is crying
to me from the ground" (Gen 4:10). It is not only the voice of the blood of
Abel, the first innocent man to be murdered, which cries to God, the source and defender
of life. The blood of every other human being who has been killed since Abel is also a
voice raised to the Lord. In an absolutely singular way, as the author of the Letter to
the Hebrews reminds us, the voice of the blood of Christ, of whom Abel in his
innocence is a prophetic figure, cries out to God: "You have come to Mount Zion and
to the city of the living God ... to the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled
blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel" (12:22, 24).
It is the sprinkled blood. A symbol and
prophetic sign of it had been the blood of the sacrifices of the Old Covenant, whereby God
expressed his will to communicate his own life to men, purifying and consecrating them
(cf. Ex 24:8; Lev 17:11). Now all of this is fulfilled and comes true in
Christ: his is the sprinkled blood which redeems, purifies and saves; it is the blood of
the Mediator of the New Covenant "poured out for many for the forgiveness of
sins" (Mt 26:28). This blood, which flows from the pierced side of Christ on
the Cross (cf. Jn 19:34), "speaks more graciously" than the blood of
Abel; indeed, it expresses and requires a more radical "justice", and above all
it implores mercy,19 it makes intercession for the brethren before the Father (cf. Heb
7:25), and it is the source of perfect redemption and the gift of new life.
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. The Apostle Peter reminds us of this: "You know that you were
ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such
as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without
blemish or spot" (1 Pt 1:18-19). Precisely by contemplating the precious
blood of Christ, the sign of his self-giving love (cf. Jn 13:1), the believer
learns to recognize and appreciate the almost divine dignity of every human being and can
exclaim with ever renewed and grateful wonder: "How precious must man be in the eyes
of the Creator, if he 'gained so great a Redeemer' (Exsultet of the Easter
Vigil), and if God 'gave his only Son' in order that man 'should not perish but have
eternal life' (cf. Jn 3:16)!"20
Furthermore, Christ's blood reveals to man that his
greatness, and therefore his vocation, consists in the sincere gift of self.
Precisely because it is poured out as the gift of life, the blood of Christ is no longer a
sign of death, of definitive separation from the brethren, but the instrument of a
communion which is richness of life for all. 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).
It is from the blood of Christ that all draw the
strength to commit themselves to promoting life. It is precisely this blood that is the
most powerful source of hope, indeed it is the foundation of the absolute certitude that
in God's plan life will be victorious. "And death shall be no more",
exclaims the powerful voice which comes from the throne of God in the Heavenly Jerusalem (Rev
21:4). And Saint Paul assures us that the present victory over sin is a sign and
anticipation of the definitive victory over death, when there "shall come to pass the
saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory'. 'O death, where is your
victory? O death, where is your sting?"' (1 Cor 15:54-55).
26. In effect, signs which point to this victory are
not lacking in our societies and cultures, strongly marked though they are by the
"culture of death". It would therefore be to give a one-sided picture, which
could lead to sterile discouragement, if the condemnation of the threats to life were not
accompanied by the presentation of the positive signs at work in humanity's
present situation.
Unfortunately it is often hard to see and recognize
these positive signs, perhaps also because they do not receive sufficient attention in the
communications media. Yet, how many initiatives of help and support for people who are
weak and defenceless have sprung up and continue to spring up in the Christian community
and in civil society, at the local, national and international level, through the efforts
of individuals, groups, movements and organizations of various kinds!
There are still many married couples who,
with a generous sense of responsibility, are ready to accept children as "the supreme
gift of marriage".21 Nor is there a lack of families which, over and above
their everyday service to life, are willing to accept abandoned children, boys and girls
and teenagers in difficulty, handicapped persons, elderly men and women who have been left
alone. Many centres in support of life, or similar institutions, are sponsored by
individuals and groups which, with admirable dedication and sacrifice, offer moral and
material support to mothers who are in difficulty and are tempted to have recourse to
abortion. Increasingly, there are appearing in many places groups of volunteers
prepared to offer hospitality to persons without a family, who find themselves in
conditions of particular distress or who need a supportive environment to help them to
overcome destructive habits and discover anew the meaning of life.
Medical science, thanks to the committed
efforts of researchers and practitioners, continues in its efforts to discover ever more
effective remedies: treatments which were once inconceivable but which now offer much
promise for the future are today being developed for the unborn, the suffering and those
in an acute or terminal stage of sickness. Various agencies and organizations are
mobilizing their efforts to bring the benefits of the most advanced medicine to countries
most afflicted by poverty and endemic diseases. In a similar way national and
international associations of physicians are being organized to bring quick relief to
peoples affected by natural disasters, epidemics or wars. Even if a just international
distribution of medical resources is still far from being a reality, how can we not
recognize in the steps taken so far the sign of a growing solidarity among peoples, a
praiseworthy human and moral sensitivity and a greater respect for life?
27. In view of laws which permit abortion and in view
of efforts, which here and there have been successful, to legalize euthanasia, movements
and initiatives to raise social awareness in defence of life have sprung up in many
parts of the world. When, in accordance with their principles, such movements act
resolutely, but without resorting to violence, they promote a wider and more profound
consciousness of the value of life, and evoke and bring about a more determined commitment
to its defence.
Furthermore, how can we fail to mention all those
daily gestures of openness, sacrifice and unselfish care which countless people
lovingly make in families, hospitals, orphanages, homes for the elderly and other centres
or communities which defend life? Allowing herself to be guided by the example of Jesus
the "Good Samaritan" (cf. Lk 10:29-37) and upheld by his strength, the
Church bas always been in the front line in providing charitable help: so many of her sons
and daughters, especially men and women Religious, in traditional and ever new forms, have
consecrated and continue to consecrate their lives to God, freely giving of themselves out
of love for their neighbour, especially for the weak and needy. These deeds strengthen the
bases of the "civilization of love and life", without which the life of
individuals and of society itself loses its most genuinely human quality. Even if they go
unnoticed and remain hidden to most people, faith assures us that the Father "who
sees in secret" (Mt 6:6) not only will reward these actions but already here
and now makes them produce lasting fruit for the good of all.
Among the signs of hope we should also count the
spread, at many levels of public opinion, of a new sensitivity ever more opposed to
war as an instrument for the resolution of conflicts between peoples, and
increasingly oriented to finding effective but "non-violent" means to counter
the armed aggressor. In the same perspective there is evidence of a growing public
opposition to the death penalty, even when such a penalty is seen as a kind of
"legitimate defence" on the part of society. Modern society in fact has the
means of effectively suppressing crime by rendering criminals harmless without
definitively denying them the chance to reform.
Another welcome sign is the growing attention being
paid to the quality of life and to ecology, especially in more developed
societies, where people's expectations are no longer concentrated so much on problems of
survival as on the search for an overall improvement of living conditions. Especially
significant is the reawakening of an ethical reflection on issues affecting life. The
emergence and ever more widespread development of bioethics is promoting more
reflection and dialogue—between believers and non-believers, as well as between followers
of different religions—on ethical problems, including fundamental issues pertaining to
human life.
28. This situation, with its lights and shadows,
ought to make us all fully aware that 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.
For us too Moses' invitation rings out loud and
clear: "See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil.... I have
set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and
your descendants may live" (Dt 30:15,19). This invitation is very
appropriate for us who are called day by day to the duty of choosing between the
"culture of life" and the "culture of death". But the call of
Deuteronomy goes even deeper, for it urges us to make a choice which is properly religious
and moral. It is a question of giving our own existence a basic orientation and living the
law of the Lord faithfully and consistently: "If you obey the commandments of the
Lord your God which I command you this day, by loving the Lord your God, by walking
in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his
ordinances, then you shall live ... therefore choose life, that you and your descendants
may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him; for that
means life to you and length of days" (30:16,19-20).
The unconditional choice for life reaches its full
religious and moral meaning when it flows from, is formed by and nourished by faith in
Christ. Nothing helps us so much to face positively the conflict between death and
life in which we are engaged as faith in the Son of God who became man and dwelt among men
so "that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10). It is
a matter of faith in the Risen Lord, who has conquered death; faith in the blood
of Christ "that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel" (Heb
12:24).
With the light and strength of this faith, therefore,
in facing the challenges of the present situation, the Church is becoming more aware of
the grace and responsibility which come to her from her Lord of proclaiming, celebrating
and serving the Gospel of life.
Index
CHAPTER
II
I CAME THAT
THEY MAY HAVE LIFE
The Christian Message Concerning Life
"The life was made manifest, and we saw
it" (1 Jn 1:2): with our gaze fixed on Christ, "the Word of life"
29. Faced with the countless grave threats to life
present in the modern world, one could feel overwhelmed by sheer powerlessness: good can
never be powerful enough to triumph over evil!
At such times the People of God, and this includes
every believer, is called to profess with humility and courage its faith in Jesus Christ,
"the Word of life" (1 Jn 1:1). The Gospel of life is not
simply a reflection, however new and profound, on human life. Nor is it merely a
commandment aimed at raising awareness and bringing about significant changes in society.
Still less is it an illusory promise of a better future. The Gospel of life is
something concrete and personal, for it consists in the proclamation of the very
person of Jesus. Jesus made himself known to the Apostle Thomas, and in him to every
person, with the words: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn
14:6). This is also how he spoke of himself to Martha, the sister of Lazarus: "I am
the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die" (Jn 11:25-26). Jesus
is the Son who from all eternity receives life from the Father (cf. Jn 5:26), and
who has come among men to make them sharers in this gift: "I came that they may have
life, and have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10).
Through the words, the actions and the very person of
Jesus, man is given the possibility of "knowing" the complete truth
concerning the value of human life. From this "source" he receives, in
particular, the capacity to "accomplish" this truth perfectly (cf. Jn
3:21), that is, to accept and fulfil completely the responsibility of loving and serving,
of defending and promoting human life. In Christ, the Gospel of life is
definitively proclaimed and fully given. This is the Gospel which, already present in the
Revelation of the Old Testament, and indeed written in the heart of every man and woman,
has echoed in every conscience "from the beginning", from the time of creation
itself, in such a way that, despite the negative consequences of sin, it can also be
known in its essential traits by human reason. As the Second Vatican
Council teaches, Christ "perfected revelation by fulfilling it through his
whole work of making himself present and manifesting himself; through his
words and deeds, his signs and wonders, but especially through his death and
glorious Resurrection from the dead and final sending of the Spirit of
truth. Moreover, he confirmed with divine testimony what revelation
proclaimed: that God is with us to free us from the darkness of sin and
death, and to raise us up to life eternal".22
30. Hence, with our attention fixed on the Lord
Jesus, we wish to hear from him once again "the words of God" (Jn 3:34)
and meditate anew on the Gospel of life. The deepest and most original meaning of
this meditation on what revelation tells us about human life was taken up by the Apostle
John in the opening words of his First Letter: "That which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and
touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we
saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father
and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so
that you may have fellowship with us" (1:1-3).
In Jesus, the "Word of life", God's eternal
life is thus proclaimed and given. Thanks to this proclamation and gift, our physical and
spiritual life, also in its earthly phase, acquires its full value and meaning, for God's
eternal life is in fact the end to which our living in this world is directed and called.
In this way the Gospel of life includes everything that human experience and
reason tell us about the value of human life, accepting it, purifying it, exalting it and
bringing it to fulfilment.
"The Lord is my strength and my
song, and he has become my salvation" (Ex 15:2): life is always a good
31. The fullness of the Gospel message about life was
prepared for in the Old Testament. Especially in the events of the Exodus, the centre of
the Old Testament faith experience, Israel discovered the preciousness of its life in the
eyes of God. When it seemed doomed to extermination because of the threat of death hanging
over all its newborn males (cf. Ex 1:15-22), the Lord revealed himself to Israel
as its Saviour, with the power to ensure a future to those without hope. Israel thus comes
to know clearly that its existence is not at the mercy of a Pharaoh who can
exploit it at his despotic whim. On the contrary, Israel's life is the object of God's
gentle and intense love.
Freedom from slavery meant the gift of an identity,
the recognition of an indestructible dignity and the beginning of a new history,
in which the discovery of God and discovery of self go hand in hand. The Exodus was a
foundational experience and a model for the future. Through it, Israel comes to learn that
whenever its existence is threatened it need only turn to God with renewed trust in order
to find in him effective help: "I formed you, you are my servant; O Israel, you will
not be forgotten by me" (Is 44:21).
Thus, in coming to know the value of its own
existence as a people, Israel also grows in its perception of the meaning and value of
life itself. This reflection is developed more specifically in the Wisdom Literature,
on the basis of daily experience of the precariousness of life and awareness of the
threats which assail it. Faced with the contradictions of life, faith is challenged to
respond.
More than anything else, it is the problem of
suffering which challenges faith and puts it to the test. How can we fail to appreciate
the universal anguish of man when we meditate on the Book of Job? The innocent man
overwhelmed by suffering is understandably led to wonder: "Why is light given to him
that is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, who long for death, but it comes not,
and dig for it more than for hid treasures?" (3:20-21). But even when the darkness is
deepest, faith points to a trusting and adoring acknowledgment of the "mystery":
"I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be
thwarted" (Job 42:2).
Revelation progressively allows the first notion of
immortal life planted by the Creator in the human heart to be grasped with ever greater
clarity: "He has made everything beautiful in its time; also he has put eternity into
man's mind" (Ec 3:11). This first notion of totality and fullness
is waiting to be manifested in love and brought to perfection, by God's free gift, through
sharing in his eternal life.
"The name of Jesus... has made this
man strong" (Acts 3:16): in the uncertainties of human life, Jesus
brings life's meaning to fulfilment
32. The experience of the people of the Covenant is
renewed in the experience of all the "poor" who meet Jesus of Nazareth. Just as
God who "loves the living" (cf. Wis 11:26) had reassured Israel in the
midst of danger, so now the Son of God proclaims to all who feel threatened and hindered
that their lives too are a good to which the Father's love gives meaning and value.
"The blind receive their sight, the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news
preached to them" (Lk 7:22). With these words of the Prophet Isaiah (35:5-6,
61:1), Jesus sets forth the meaning of his own mission: all who suffer because their lives
are in some way "diminished" thus hear from him the "good news" of
God's concern for them, and they know for certain that their lives too are a gift
carefully guarded in the hands of the Father (cf. Mt 6:25-34).
It is above all the "poor" to whom Jesus
speaks in his preaching and actions. The crowds of the sick and the outcasts who follow
him and seek him out (cf. Mt 4:23-25) find in his words and actions a revelation
of the great value of their lives and of how their hope of salvation is well-founded.
The same thing has taken place in the Church's
mission from the beginning. When the Church proclaims Christ as the one who "went
about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with
him" (Acts 10:38), she is conscious of being the bearer of a message of
salvation which resounds in all its newness precisely amid the hardships and poverty of
human life. Peter cured the cripple who daily sought alms at the "Beautiful
Gate" of the Temple in Jerusalem, saying: "I have no silver and gold, but I give
you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk" (Acts 3:6).
By faith in Jesus, "the Author of life" (Acts 3:15), life which lies
abandoned and cries out for help regains self-esteem and full dignity.
The words and deeds of Jesus and those of his Church
are not meant only for those who are sick or suffering or in some way neglected by
society. On a deeper level they affect the very meaning of every person's life in its
moral and spiritual dimensions. Only those who recognize that their life is marked by
the evil of sin can discover in an encounter with Jesus the Saviour the truth and the
authenticity of their own existence. Jesus himself says as much: "Those who are well
have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Lk 5:31-32).
But the person who, like the rich land-owner in the
Gospel parable, thinks that he can make his life secure by the possession of material
goods alone, is deluding himself. Life is slipping away from him, and very soon he will
find himself bereft of it without ever having appreciated its real meaning: "Fool!
This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they
be?" (Lk 12:20).
33. In Jesus' own life, from beginning to end, we
find a singular "dialectic" between the experience of the uncertainty of human
life and the affirmation of its value. Jesus' life is marked by uncertainty from the very
moment of his birth. He is certainly accepted by the righteous, who echo Mary's
immediate and joyful "yes" (cf. Lk 1:38). But there is also, from the
start, rejection on the part of a world which grows hostile and looks for the
child in order "to destroy him" (Mt 2:13); a world which remains
indifferent and unconcerned about the fulfilment of the mystery of this life entering the
world: "there was no place for them in the inn" (Lk 2:7). In this
contrast between threats and insecurity on the one hand and the power of God's gift on the
other, there shines forth all the more dearly the glory which radiates from the house at
Nazareth and from the manger at Bethlehem: this life which is born is salvation for all
humanity (cf. Lk 2:11).
Life's contradictions and risks were fully accepted
by Jesus: "though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his
poverty you might become rich" (2 Cor 8:9). The poverty of which Paul speaks
is not only a stripping of divine privileges, but also a sharing in the lowliest and most
vulnerable conditions of human life (cf. Phil 2:6-7). Jesus lived this poverty
throughout his life, until the culminating moment of the Cross: "he humbled himself
and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted
him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name" (Phil 2:8-9). It
is precisely by his death that Jesus reveals all the splendour and value of
life, inasmuch as his self-oblation on the Cross becomes the source of new life for
all people (cf. Jn 12:32). In his journeying amid contradictions and in the very
loss of his life, Jesus is guided by the certainty that his life is in the hands of the
Father. Consequently, on the Cross, he can say to him: "Father, into your hands I
commend my spirit!" (Lk 23:46), that is, my life. 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!
"Called... to be conformed to the
image of his Son" (Rom 8:28-29): God's glory shines on the face of man
34. Life is always a good. This is an instinctive
perception and a fact of experience, and man is called to grasp the profound reason why
this is so.
Why is life a good? This question is found
everywhere in the Bible, and from the very first pages it receives a powerful and amazing
answer. The life which God gives man is quite different from the life of all other living
creatures, inasmuch as man, although formed from the dust of the earth (cf. Gen
2:7, 3:19; Job 34:15; Ps 103:14; 104:29), is a manifestation of God
in the world, a sign of his presence, a trace of his glory (cf. Gen 1:26-27;
Ps 8:6). This is what Saint Irenaeus of Lyons wanted to emphasize in his
celebrated definition: "Man, living man, is the glory of God".23 Man has been
given a sublime dignity, based on the intimate bond which unites him to his
Creator: in man there shines forth a reflection of God himself.
The Book of Genesis affirms this when, in the first
account of creation, it places man at the summit of God's creative activity, as its crown,
at the culmination of a process which leads from indistinct chaos to the most perfect of
creatures. Everything in creation is ordered to man and everything is made subject to
him: "Fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over . . . every living
thing" (1:28); this is God's command to the man and the woman. A similar message is
found also in the other account of creation: "The Lord God took the man and put him
in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it" (Gen 2:15). We see here a
clear affirmation of the primacy of man over things; these are made subject to him and
entrusted to his responsible care, whereas for no reason can he be made subject to other
men and almost reduced to the level of a thing.
In the biblical narrative, the difference between man
and other creatures is shown above all by the fact that only the creation of man is
presented as the result of a special decision on the part of God, a deliberation to
establish a particular and specific bond with the Creator: "Let us make man
in our image, after our likeness" (Gen 1:26). The life which God
offers to man is a gift by which God shares something of himself with his creature.
Israel would ponder at length the meaning of this
particular bond between man and God. The Book of Sirach too recognizes that God, in
creating human beings, "endowed them with strength like his own, and made them in his
own image" (17:3). The biblical author sees as part of this image not only man's
dominion over the world but also those spiritual faculties which are distinctively
human, such as reason, discernment between good and evil, and free will: "He
filled them with knowledge and understanding, and showed them good and evil" (Sir
17:7). The ability to attain truth and freedom are human prerogatives inasmuch as
man is created in the image of his Creator, God who is true and just (cf. Dt
32:4). Man alone, among all visible creatures, is "capable of knowing and loving his
Creator".24 The life which God bestows upon man is much more than mere existence in
time. It is a drive towards fullness of life; it is the seed of an existence which
transcends the very limits of time: "For God created man for incorruption, and
made him in the image of his own eternity" (Wis 2:23).
35. The Yahwist account of creation expresses the
same conviction. This ancient narrative speaks of a divine breath which is
breathed into man so that he may come to life: "The Lord God formed man of dust
from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living being" (Gen 2:7).
The divine origin of this spirit of life
explains the perennial dissatisfaction which man feels throughout his days
on earth. Because he is made by God and bears within himself an indelible
imprint of God, man is naturally drawn to God. When he heeds the deepest
yearnings of the heart, every man must make his own the words of truth
expressed by Saint Augustine: "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and
our hearts are restless until they rest in you".25
How very significant is the dissatisfaction which
marks man's life in Eden as long as his sole point of reference is the world of plants and
animals (cf. Gen 2:20). Only the appearance of the woman, a being who is flesh of
his flesh and bone of his bones (cf. Gen 2:23), and in whom the spirit of God the
Creator is also alive, can satisfy the need for interpersonal dialogue, so vital for human
existence. In the other, whether man or woman, there is a reflection of God himself, the
definitive goal and fulfilment of every person.
"What is man that you are mindful of him, and
the son of man that you care for him?", the Psalmist wonders (Ps 8:4).
Compared to the immensity of the universe, man is very small, and yet this very contrast
reveals his greatness: "You have made him little less than a god, and crown him with
glory and honour" (Ps 8:5). The glory of God shines on the face of man.
In man the Creator finds his rest, as Saint Ambrose comments with a sense of awe:
"The sixth day is finished and the creation of the world ends with the formation of
that masterpiece which is man, who exercises dominion over all living creatures and is as
it were the crown of the universe and the supreme beauty of every created being. Truly we
should maintain a reverential silence, since the Lord rested from every work he had
undertaken in the world. He rested then in the depths of man, he rested in man's mind and
in his thought; after all, he had created man endowed with reason, capable of imitating
him, of emulating his virtue, of hungering for heavenly graces. In these his gifts God
reposes, who has said: 'Upon whom shall I rest, if not upon the one who is humble,
contrite in spirit and trembles at my word?' (Is 66:1-2). I thank
the Lord our God who has created so wonderful a work in which to take his
rest"26
36. Unfortunately, God's marvellous plan was marred
by the appearance of sin in history. Through sin, man rebels against his Creator and ends
up by worshipping creatures: "They exchanged the truth about God for a lie
and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator" (Rom 1:25).
As a result man not only deforms the image of God in his own person, but is tempted to
offences against it in others as well, replacing relationships of communion by attitudes
of distrust, indifference, hostility and even murderous hatred. When God is not
acknowledged as God, the profound meaning of man is betrayed and communion
between people is compromised.
In the life of man, God's image shines forth anew and
is again revealed in all its fullness at the coming of the Son of God in human flesh.
"Christ is the image of the invisible God" (Col 1:15), he
"reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature" (Heb
1:3). He is the perfect image of the Father.
The plan of life given to the first Adam finds at
last its fulfilment in Christ. Whereas the disobedience of Adam had ruined and marred
God's plan for human life and introduced death into the world, the redemptive obedience of
Christ is the source of grace poured out upon the human race, opening wide to everyone the
gates of the kingdom of life (cf. Rom 5:12-21). As the Apostle Paul states:
"The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving
spirit" (1 Cor 15:45).
All who commit themselves to following Christ are
given the fullness of life: the divine image is restored, renewed and brought to
perfection in them. God's plan for human beings is this, that they should "be
conformed to the image of his Son" (Rom 8:29). Only thus, in the splendour
of this image, can man be freed from the slavery of idolatry, rebuild lost fellowship and
rediscover his true identity.
"Whoever lives and believes in me
shall never die" (Jn 11:26): the gift of eternal life
37. The life which the Son of God came to give to
human beings cannot be reduced to mere existence in time. The life which was always
"in him" and which is the "light of men" (Jn 1:4) consists
in being begotten of God and sharing in the fullness of his love: "To all who
received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were
born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (Jn
1:12-13).
Sometimes Jesus refers to this life which he came to
give simply as "life", and he presents being born of God as a necessary
condition if man is to attain the end for which God has created him: "Unless one is
born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (Jn 3:3). To give this life is
the real object of Jesus' mission: he is the one who "comes down from heaven, and
gives life to the world" (Jn 6:33). Thus can he truly say: "He who
follows me ... will have the light of life" (Jn 8:12).
At other times, Jesus speaks of "eternal
life". Here the adjective does more than merely evoke a perspective which is beyond
time. The life which Jesus promises and gives is "eternal" because it is a full
participation in the life of the "Eternal One". Whoever believes in Jesus and
enters into communion with him has eternal life (cf. Jn 3:15; 6:40) because he
hears from Jesus the only words which reveal and communicate to his existence the fullness
of life. These are the "words of eternal life" which Peter acknowledges in his
confession of faith: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life;
and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God" (Jn
6:68-69). Jesus himself, addressing the Father in the great priestly prayer, declares what
eternal life consists in: "This is eternal life, that they may know you the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (Jn 17:3). To know God and his Son
is to accept the mystery of the loving communion of the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit into one's own life, which even now is open to eternal life because it shares
in the life of God.
38. Eternal life is therefore the life of God himself
and at the same time the life of the children of God. As they ponder this
unexpected and inexpressible truth which comes to us from God in Christ, believers cannot
fail to be filled with ever new wonder and unbounded gratitude. They can say in the words
of the Apostle John: "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called
children of God; and so we are.... Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet
appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we
shall see him as he is" (1 Jn 3:1-2).
Here the Christian truth about life becomes most
sublime. The dignity of this life is linked not only to its beginning, to the fact
that it comes from God, but also to its final end, to its destiny of fellowship with God
in knowledge and love of him.
In the light of this truth Saint Irenaeus
qualifies and completes his praise of man: "the glory of God" is indeed,
"man, living man", but "the life of man consists in the vision of God".27
Immediate consequences arise from this for human life
in its earthly state, in which, for that matter, eternal life already springs
forth and begins to grow. Although man instinctively loves life because it is a good, this
love will find further inspiration and strength, and new breadth and depth, in the divine
dimensions of this good Similarly, the love which every human being has for life cannot be
reduced simply to a desire to have sufficient space for self-expression and for entering
into relationships with others; rather, it develops in a joyous awareness that life can
become the "place" where God manifests himself, where we meet him and enter into
communion with him. The life which Jesus gives in no way lessens the value of our
existence in time; it takes it and directs it to its final destiny: "I am the
resurrection and the life ... whoever lives and believes in me shall never die" (Jn
11:25-26).
"From man in regard to his fellow
man I will demand an accounting" (Gen 9:5): reverence and love for every
human life
39. Man's life comes from God; it is his gift, his
image and imprint, a sharing in his breath of life. God therefore is the sole
Lord of this life: man cannot do with it as he wills. God himself makes this clear to
Noah after the Flood: "For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting ...
and from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life"
(Gen 9:5). The biblical text is concerned to emphasize how the sacredness of life
has its foundation in God and in his creative activity: "For God made man in his own
image" (Gen 9:6).
Human life and death are thus in the hands of God, in
his power: "In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all
mankind", exclaims Job (12:10). "The Lord brings to death and brings to life; he
brings down to Sheol and raises up" (1 Sam 2:6). He alone can say: "It
is I who bring both death and life" (Dt 32:39).
But God does not exercise this power in an arbitrary
and threatening way, but rather as part of his care and loving concern for his
creatures. If it is true that human life is in the hands of God, it is no less true
that these are loving hands, like those of a mother who accepts, nurtures and takes care
of her child: "I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its
mother's breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul" (Ps 131:2; cf. Is
49:15; 66:12-13; Hos 11:4). Thus Israel does not see in the history of peoples
and in the destiny of individuals the outcome of mere chance or of blind fate, but rather
the results of a loving plan by which God brings together all the possibilities of life
and opposes the powers of death arising from sin: "God did not make death, and he
does not delight in the death of the living. For he created all things that they might
exist" (Wis 1:13-14).
40. The sacredness of life gives rise to its inviolability,
written from the beginning in man's heart, in his conscience. The question:
"What have you done?" (Gen 4:10), which God addresses to Cain after he
has killed his brother Abel, interprets the experience of every person: in the depths of
his conscience, man is always reminded of the inviolability of life—his own life and that
of others—as something which does not belong to him, because it is the property and gift
of God the Creator and Father.
The commandment regarding the inviolability of human
life reverberates at the heart of the "ten words" in the covenant of Sinai
(cf. Ex 34:28). In the first place that commandment prohibits murder: "You
shall not kill" (Ex 20:13); "do not slay the innocent and
righteous" (Ex 23:7). But, as is brought out in Israel's later legislation,
it also prohibits all personal injury inflicted on another (cf. Ex 21:12-27). Of
course we must recognize that in the Old Testament this sense of the value of life, though
already quite marked, does not yet reach the refinement found in the Sermon on the Mount.
This is apparent in some aspects of the current penal legislation, which provided for
severe forms of corporal punishment and even the death penalty. But the overall message,
which the New Testament will bring to perfection, is a forceful appeal for respect for the
inviolability of physical life and the integrity of the person. It culminates in the
positive commandment which obliges us to be responsible for our neighbour as for
ourselves: "You shall love your neighbour as yourself" (Lev 19:18).
41. The commandment "You shall not kill",
included and more fully expressed in the positive command of love for one's neighbour, is reaffirmed
in all its force by the Lord Jesus. To the rich young man who asks him:
"Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?", Jesus replies:
"If you would enter life, keep the commandments" (Mt 19:16,17). And he
quotes, as the first of these: "You shall not kill" (Mt 19:18). In the
Sermon on the Mount, Jesus demands from his disciples a righteousness which surpasses
that of the Scribes and Pharisees, also with regard to respect for life: "You have
heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be
liable to judgment'. But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall
be liable to judgment" (Mt 5:21-22).
By his words and actions Jesus further unveils the
positive requirements of the commandment regarding the inviolability of life. These
requirements were already present in the Old Testament, where legislation dealt with
protecting and defending life when it was weak and threatened: in the case of foreigners,
widows, orphans, the sick and the poor in general, including children in the womb (cf. Ex
21:22; 22:20-26). With Jesus these positive requirements assume new force and urgency, and
are revealed in all their breadth and depth: they range from caring for the life of one's brother
(whether a blood brother, someone belonging to the same people, or a foreigner living in
the land of Israel) to showing concern for the stranger, even to the point of
loving one's enemy.
A stranger is no longer a stranger for the person who
must become a neighbour to someone in need, to the point of accepting
responsibility for his life, as the parable of the Good Samaritan shows so clearly (cf. Lk
10:25-37). Even an enemy ceases to be an enemy for the person who is obliged to love him
(cf. Mt 5:38-48; Lk 6:27-35), to "do good" to him (cf. Lk
6:27, 33, 35) and to respond to his immediate needs promptly and with no expectation of
repayment (cf. Lk 6:34-35). The height of this love is to pray for one's enemy.
By so doing we achieve harmony with the providential love of God: "But I say to you,
love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of
your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and
sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Mt 5:44-45; cf. Lk 6:28,
35).
Thus 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. This is the teaching which the Apostle Paul, echoing the
words of Jesus, addresses to the Christians in Rome: "The commandments, 'You shall
not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet', and
any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, 'You shall love your neighbour
as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilling; of
the law" (Rom 13:9-10).
"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill
the earth and subdue it" (Gen 1:28): man's responsibility for life
42. To defend and promote life, to show reverence and
love for it, is a task which God entrusts to every man, calling him as his living image to
share in his own lordship over the world: "God blessed them, and God said to them,
'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the
fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon
the earth'" (Gen 1:28).
The biblical text clearly shows the breadth and depth
of the lordship which God bestows on man. It is a matter first of all of dominion over
the earth and over every living creature, as the Book of Wisdom makes clear: "O
God of my fathers and Lord of mercy... by your wisdom you have formed man, to have
dominion over the creatures you have made, and rule the world in holiness and
righteousness" (Wis 9:1,2-3). The Psalmist too extols the dominion given to
man as a sign of glory and honour from his Creator: "You have given him dominion over
the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and
also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever
passes along the paths of the sea" (Ps 8:6-8).
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