“Every human being is a child of God and therefore our brother or sister, to be welcomed and respected. May our society grasp this truth! Every human person would then be appreciated not for what he has, but for who he is, since in the face of every human being, without distinction of race or culture, God’s image shines forth. This is especially true of children. In the Holy Infant of Prague we contemplate the beauty of childhood and the fondness that Jesus Christ has always shown for little ones, as we read in the Gospel. Yet how many children are neither loved, nor welcomed nor respected! How many of them suffer violence and every kind of exploitation by the unscrupulous! May children always be accorded the respect and attention that are due to them: they are the future and the hope of humanity!” (Pope Benedict XVI, Prague, 26 September 2009)

Last year on this particular Sunday I wrote a note in the bulletin in my former parish about the fact that it was the Sunday when the Church honors the unborn and prays and works for their safety. It was an election year, and those issues were important. Unfortunately the unborn lost not just “political ground” in the election; many lost their lives as protective orders were repealed almost immediately after the inauguration and the so called “freedom” of abortion was made more available here and abroad. Well, it is not an election year, at least not as it pertains directly to abortion, so we can speak openly about this as a human and theological issue. The lines between the camps are drawn and will likely never change. Two fundamentally different and irreconcilable positions exist. Those who view the unborn simply as “human tissue” and that the choice of life for a child depends on the desire of the parents. For them, it is a clear matter of choice, there is only one person involved, the mother. Yet we cannot help but note the inherent hypocrisy in places where abortion is most readily accessible and without even minimal restrictions, which are the same states who prosecute those who murder expectant mothers for double murders. Opposite this there is the position of the Church that life begins when the cells of the parents unite and conception occurs. As Jesus was carried in the womb of his Blessed Mother, John the Baptist who recognized him and leapt in the womb of his mother Elizabeth was obviously very much alive. Quit a trick for “a mass of cells”. The scripture also says “you called me from my mother’s womb.” And “before I was born you knew me.” For us, a child is a child, without question.

After I wrote the article in the bulletin last year, a woman sent me a letter that said many nice things, and then added a question about the Church’s position. She basically said shouldn’t the Church be more pro-active in helping the children born in unplanned pregnancies? Is it right to spend so much attention on opposing abortion and not as much on helping the mothers who make the right choice? She had a point. We need to do both. And we are doing both. And we can do more of both. The amazing woman who wrote me that letter passed away a couple of weeks ago after a battle of many years with brain cancer. After her letter I had a clearer perspective that being pro-life means opposing abortion and working to support children. The parish held a baby shower for Birth Right, a wonderful organization. The school children collected diapers for a shelter for at risk woman and infants.

So once again we look at the sad fact that many, many children are killed each year because they are not planned, they are inconvenient, or they simply are not wanted, the worst excuse, because many people seek children who are unable to bear them. So we pray for the unborn, and we pray that those who govern may have a change of heart, that they may come to see the child in the womb as precious in God’s sight, that those to whom God calls while still in their mother’s womb, those God names before they are born may come to see the light of day, and receive the protection they deserve. And may all of us work more diligently to support those who make the right choice, the choice for life.

Fr. Doug

CHURCH OF SAINT ROSE
603 Seventh Avenue
Belmar , New Jersey   07719

Phone:  (732) 681-0512          Fax:  (732) 280-3107