Abortion and the Church
Saint John Paul II in the Encyclical “EVANGELIUM VITAE” addressed to 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, stated with Apostolic Authority: “Faced with the progressive weakening in individual consciences and in society of the sense of the absolute and grave moral illicitness of the direct taking of all innocent human life, especially at its beginning and at its end, the Church's Magisterium has spoken out with increasing frequency in defense of the sacredness and inviolability of human life. The Papal Magisterium, particularly insistent in this regard, has always been seconded by that of the Bishops, with numerous and comprehensive doctrinal and pastoral documents issued either by Episcopal Conferences or by individual Bishops. The Second Vatican Council also addressed the matter forcefully, in a brief but incisive passage. (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 27.)
Therefore, by the authority which Christ conferred upon Peter and his Successors, and in communion with the Bishops of the Catholic Church, I confirm that the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral. This doctrine, based upon that unwritten law which man, in the light of reason, finds in his own heart (cf. Rom 2:14-15), is reaffirmed by Sacred Scripture, transmitted by the Tradition of the Church and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium.( Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 25.)
The deliberate decision to deprive an innocent human being of his life is always morally evil and can never be licit either as an end in itself or as a means to a good end. It is in fact a grave act of disobedience to the moral law, and indeed to God himself, the author and guarantor of that law; it contradicts the fundamental virtues of justice and charity. "Nothing and no one can in any way permit the killing of an innocent human being, whether a fetus or an embryo, an infant or an adult, an old person, or one suffering from an incurable disease, or a person who is dying. Furthermore, no one is permitted to ask for this act of killing, either for himself or herself or for another person entrusted to his or her care, nor can he or she consent to it, either explicitly or implicitly. Nor can any authority legitimately recommend or permit such an action". (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Euthanasia Iura et Bona (5 May 1980), II: AAS 72 (1980), 546.)”
In the opinion of the Church, abortion is a voluntary murder of innocent beings and is one of those sins that cause excommunication latae sententiae, that is, the state of excommunication from the Church community for a serious reason, although in each case the degree of individual responsibility borne by the perpetrator should be properly assessed.
The Catholic Church's approach to voluntary abortion has never changed. Her teaching about its "moral inadmissibility" (see Paul VI, Humanae vitae, 1968, n. 14) is based on natural law and on Sacred Scripture, is transmitted by Christian Tradition and has been unanimously expressed in the Church's Magisterium. Moreover, over the centuries it was enriched with new aspects which confirmed, never contradicting it, the previously adopted position. The present teaching of the Church, beginning with the Declaration on Termination of Pregnancy, adopted by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1974, is formulated with great conviction.
“Among all the crimes which can be committed against life, procured abortion has characteristics that makes it particularly serious and deplorable. The Second Vatican Council defines abortion, together with infanticide, as an unspeakable crime” (Vatican Council II, Constitution Gaudium et Spes, n. 51. “Today, in many people's consciences, the perception of its gravity has become progressively obscured. The acceptance of abortion in the popular mind, in behavior and even in law itself, is a telling sign of an extremely dangerous crisis of the moral sense, which is becoming more and more incapable of distinguishing between good and evil, even when the fundamental right to life is at stake.” "(John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium Vitae, 1995, n. 58).
Church interpretation in this regard is equally critical of concepts such as "therapeutic" abortion, which emphasize the alleged "benefit" of abortion for women, forgetting that the procedure has no therapeutic value for the unborn child, healthy or sick. In other words: "voluntary termination of pregnancy" is an act undertaken solely for the sake of the woman, without taking any account of its effects on others, in this case the child (see ibid.).
The Church continues to point to the moral side of abortion as the deliberate killing of an innocent human being, tirelessly calling on governments and the world of culture to be accountable
Despite the fact that abortion in many hospitals and in many parts of the world has become a routine procedure, conditioning a range of individual and social attitudes towards pregnancy and motherhood, prenatal diagnosis techniques, care for people with disabilities and support policies for large families, the Church still points to its moral side as deliberately killing an innocent human being, tirelessly calling on governments and the world of culture to be held accountable in this regard. When "disguised" forms of early termination of pregnancy in the form of contraception were publicized and marketed, the Church sounded the alarm.
Pope John Paul II made it clear that some contraceptives actually have an early abortion effect because they more often prevent the embryo from implanting in the uterus than prevent fertilization itself (John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, 1995, n. 13). This is the case with the intra-uterine device (IUD) and many types of hormone pills, especially the last generation "mini-pills", which are not always able to block ovulation, but instead render the uterus inhospitable to the embryo, preventing further development of the pregnancy. Also with regard to the "day after" pill, the Church's Magisterium took a precise position, especially in the speeches of John Paul II, exposing attempts to conceal its real action under the name of "emergency contraception" (see C. Navarini, La verità sulla "pillola del giorno dopo", ZENIT, May 23, 2005).
The church immediately began to warn against pharmacological abortion, induced by the "abortion pill" called RU 486, when only the first mifepristone-based formulations were used in female trials. They were intended to perform do-it-yourself abortions (Holy See's Position at the United Nations International Forum on Population and Development, The Hague, February 8-12, 1999).
`
No wonder that the Church's statements contain many warnings against the consequences of these methods for social and political life. These statements attempt to prove that the objective moral responsibility for abortion falls not only on those who commit it, but also on those who perform it and those who consciously contribute to it. In the opinion of the Church, abortion as a voluntary murder of innocent beings is one of those sins that cause excommunication latae sententiae, that is, the state of excommunication from the Church community for a serious reason, although in each case the degree of individual responsibility borne by the perpetrator should be properly assessed.
When engaging citizens in public life, it should be remembered that the defense of the nascent human life is one of the most important priorities in the activities of Catholic politicians. No wonder the Church takes a firm stance in evaluating their programs. It is not about the meddling of religion in the temporal realm, but about the legitimate and proper voice of the Church to her faithful in purely ethical matters. Many of the decisions made by the episcopal synods in recent years in the field of assessing the behavior of Catholics involved in politics with regard to the family and to abortion are closely aligned with the role that the Church should play in today's society - the light of the world and the salt of the earth (cf. Mt 5, 13-14).
Catholics have the duty to exclude from their ranks those candidates for important social functions who would openly speak out against the protection of human life from conception until natural death.
The teaching of the Church on abortion as well as on the natural law remains unchanged. It applies today as well as in previous eras. Consequently, Catholics have the duty to exclude from their ranks those candidates for important social functions who would openly speak out against the protection of human life from conception until natural death. The Church is even obliged to consider as excommunicated under the mode of latae sententiae those Catholic public activists who openly oppose the doctrine of their Church, by becoming, for example, propagators of electoral ideas or announcements of any form of favorable liberalization of the right to terminate pregnancy. The key point of the government's program should be to concentrate forces and resources on combating this practice.
Precisely in order to provide the best possible support to Catholics involved in politics, forced to act in difficult and often delicate circumstances, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a special Doctrinal Note in 2003, recalling the guidelines contained in the Encyclical Evangelium vitae n. 73 by John Paul II, which take into account the various situations in which Catholic politicians may find themselves, adjusting specific suggestions for action to it. You can learn, for example, that if it is not possible to oppose an unjust law, it is justified to support parliamentary initiatives that would try to limit the scope of legal regulations, provided, however, that the Catholic parliamentarian publicly discloses his views and adjusts his own personal choices to it.
On the other hand, if someone favors the liberalization of wicked laws or it contributes to the introduction of a law detrimental to the defense of life where such laws have not been in force so far, or it allows for ethically questionable provisions under the pretext of respecting pluralism in society, renounces obligations towards his own conscience and breaks unity with the Church.
As Cardinal Lopez Trujillo, then chairman of the Pontifical Council for the Family, said at the Synod of Bishops on October 6, 2005, "politicians and legislators should know that by proposing or defending wicked laws, they bear a heavy responsibility and must correct the inflicted and widespread evil before they wish to regain communion with the Lord who is the Way, the Truth and the Life ”(Speeches of the Synod Fathers at the Eighth General Assembly, ZENIT, October 7, 2005). Is it possible to give Holy Communion to someone who contradicts Christian principles? In no case, answered Cardinal López Trujillo (ibid.).
Also, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal William Levada, referring to the number 73 of the Instrumentum Laboris of the synod, recalled that "too many come to the Sacrament without reflecting sufficiently on the moral aspect of their lives." And he added that "some receive Communion against the teaching of the Church, giving public support to immoral choices such as abortion, and do not realize how seriously personal dishonesty they are committing and what scandal they cause" (cf. Synod on Holy Communion for voters for pro-abortion parties) , ZENIT, October 4, 2005).
The Synod Fathers raised this topic in order to recall the Church's age-old teaching in times of need of particular transparency on fundamental standards, offering all the faithful the necessary support. The basic feature of church teaching is its permanent pedagogical care and concern for people. Even if it may seem too demanding at times, it always meets human uncertainty and weakness, proposing the way to achieve the overall good of man, always connected with a sense of personal happiness.
Why does the Church sometimes “stiffen” her approach by refusing communion to those who support abortion? Pope Benedict XVI has spoken about it more than once. Receiving Holy Communion during Mass is not a formality or a "beautiful experience" shared with brothers in faith, or a suggestive way of remembering the Passion of Jesus, which is approached by those who deeply desire it, but it is a mystery in which we meet the real presence of Christ, the living Lord. The Eucharist renews "the sacrifice of his life in which he himself shares. Every time we eat this bread and drink from this cup, we proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes, said St. Paul "(Benedict XVI, Homily for the Opening of the XI Meeting of the Ordinary Synod of Bishops, ZENIT, October 7, 2005)
Is it possible then to admit to Eucharistic communion someone who rejects universal and Christian principles and values? Great responsibility in this regard rests with politicians and legislators. Personal views cannot be separated from socio-political involvement. This is not a "private" matter. One must accept the Gospel, Church teaching and the so-called righteous reason to act. Everyone, including politicians and legislators, is bound by the same word of God: "Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner ... eats and drinks judgment upon himself" (cf. 1 Cor 11:27, 29).
These arguments may seem too theologically sophisticated in the light of the daily ideological clashes on bioethical issues cited by the world of media to which people are getting used to. Nevertheless, they appeal to the human imagination when the Church remembers her duty not only to proclaim the Gospel of life to the world, but also to advocate the (sometimes lonely) elementary human rights of a tiny human developing under the mother's heart. "Is it fair to hire a hired killer to destroy human life?" - Pope Francis asked rhetorically, answering the question whether there were justified reasons for terminating the pregnancy (Francis interview for the program "Salvados" on Spanish TV La Sexta, April 1, 2019). "To terminate a pregnancy means to kill someone" - added the Pope, thus justifying that the protection of life is one of the key values of Christianity and ... humanity (Wednesday audience at the Vatican, October 10, 2018:
Every Christian-Catholic (layperson, priest, bishop) for whom the matter of protecting life is indifferent, or even passively participates in the abortion procedure, or supports the so-called Catholics who openly support abortion, is a representative of the civilization of death.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george