A Classic by Chaput: Attn. CINOP - 3 of 4

A Classic by Chaput: Attn. CINOP – 3 of 4
In pursuit of the truth – www.cinopsbegone.com – Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Preface: In the light of Bart Stupak’s betrayal of the nation’s pro-life movement this past weekend: - by voting for the Senate’s abortion included Health Care Bill, the thoughts of Archbishop Chaput in his talk to the Cleveland Right to Life Center are most poignant.

“Of course, working to end abortion doesn’t absolve us from our obligations to the poor. It doesn’t excuse us from our duties to the disabled, the elderly and immigrants. In fact, it demands from us a much stronger commitment to materially support women who find themselves in a difficult pregnancy.

“All of these obligations are vital. God will hold us accountable if we ignore them. But none of these other duties can obscure the fact that no human rights are secure if the right to life is not. And unfortunately, abortion is no longer the major bioethical threat to that right in our culture. In fact, the right to life has never, at any time in the past, faced the range of challenges it faces right now, and will face in the immediate future. Physician-assisted suicide, cloning, genetic engineering and development in biotechnology will raise profoundly serious questions about the definition of “human nature” and the protection of human dignity in the years ahead.

“This raises a pressing question: What do those of us in pro-life work need to do in preparing for whatever lies ahead? Let me offer a few dos and don’t that might help guide us, and we can talk about them in greater depth during our discussion time.

“Here is the first don’t. DON’T LET DIVISIONS TAKE ROOT. Unity is a sign of God’s Spirit. Division is the sign of someone very different. St. Augustine said that we need to be united in the essentials, free in the debatables, and charitable in all things… As a bishop, I’ve been baffled by the energy wasted on internal pro-life bickering…

“Here is the second don’t. DON’T CREATE OR ACCEPT FALSE OPPOSITIONS.
Dialectical thinking – and by that I means the idea that most of our options involve “either/or” choices – is usually untrue and un-Christian. During the 2008 election, a number of new and so-called pro-life organizations argued we should stop fighting the legal struggle over abortion. Instead we should join with “pro-choice” supporters to “common ground.” Their argument was pretty simple. Why fight a losing battle on the legal front? Let’s drop the “divisive” political battle. Instead let’s all work together to tackle the economic and health issues that might eventually reduce abortions.

“The trouble is, Americans didn’t take the gradual, social improvement road to “reducing” racism. Quite the opposite. We passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Nor have I heard anyone to suggest that the best way to deal with murder, robbery sexual assault or domestic abuse it to improve the availability of health care and job training…

“Likewise, if we really believe that abortion is an intimate act of violence – and it is – then we can’t aim at anything less than ending abortion… Protecting the unborn child is not an either/or choice. It’s “both/and.” We need to help women facing problem pregnancies with good health care and economic support, and we need to pass laws that will end legal abortion. We need to do both…

“Here is the third don’t. DON’T HATE THE ADVERSARY. People who support so-called “abortion rights” are opponents to the cause of life. But they rarely understand the full gravity of what they are doing, and they are never our “enemies.” Our enemy is the EVIL ONE, not other human beings… We need to trust in the power of love, the true power of God. St. Irenaeus of Lyon warned the early Christians that we’ve sent like sheep into the midst of wolves. The moment we become wolves ourselves, we lose…
George H. Kubeck