Respect Life

by Jim Corder

During the month of October the Catholic Church takes the opportunity to support and honor all life. If taken out of context, or when poorly explained, the position of the Church may seem to be limited to a stance against abortion -- but that is not the whole story. There is much more to the notion of respecting life.

Every Life Is Sacred

The teaching of the Church is that all life is sacred.

Every human life, from the moment of conception until death, is sacred because the human person has been willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of the living and holy God. (# 2319 Catechism of the Catholic Church)

Life begins at conception. Life should end of natural causes. While we should not allow someone to suffer, the Church does not call for extending life through artificial and extraordinary means. Unless it is likely to improve the quantity and quality of life, using such means is not necessary. Since God is the author of all life, we are called to respect all life from conception until a natural death -- and even the bodies of the dead are to be treated with dignity.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church has a large section of content dealing with this issue of respecting life. While two pages are dedicated to the issue of abortion, some twelve and a half pages deal with the others issues of respecting life. Why does one aspect of this issue get so much attention, while the rest sits in the background?

Abortion Is Not The Only Issue

Here is my opinion as to why most people focus on respect for the unborn: It is an easy place to start. Since we must begin somewhere, why not at the beginning of life? That just seems to make sense. I can start by defending the unborn -- who cannot defend themselves -- and then move on from there.

The question we must ask ourselves, however, is "have we moved beyond abortion to the other issues?" I believe that as a Church we have fallen short.

When you look at the Catechism and the pages on Respecting Life, you will find something very interesting. Those remaining dozen or so pages on Respect for Human Life deal with very complicated ideas. Issues such as defending oneself, homicide, suicide, euthanasia, respecting the dignity of a person, respecting the health of a person, respecting a person and scientific research, respecting another's body, respect for the dead, peace and avoiding war.

The Complexities of Respecting Life

These issues are much more complex, yet they are just as consistent with, and important to, the Church's position. It may take a lot more prayer, understanding and patience to be able to work to make this type of respect a reality in our world today, but that is what we have been called to do.

Let's not ever settle for what is easy and simple.
Let's only settle for what is right!

Life Applications:

What comes to mind when you hear the words "respect life"?

How does respecting the dignity of a person equate to respecting life?

What did you do to support Respect for Life Month?

Copyright 2002 by Jim Corder   
All rights reserved.