Building a Culture of Life - Part 4

Building a Culture of Life - Part 4

Here is the next part of the pro-life resolution passed by the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus in August 2008:

"FURTHER RESOLVED, That we recognize that abortion not only results in the death of an unborn child, but also leads many post-abortive women and men into depression, anxiety and other emotional disturbances;"

My commentary:

We are called to care for not only the unborn children, but also for their parents. These are people who are most likely hurting in one way or another. Most women choose to abort their child because they feel like they have no choice; they do not see any way they could bring that child into the world. They think it's better to end that child's life than try to deal with the difficulties they will face throughout the pregnancy and young life of the child. This sounds like the same thought process that leads people to consider suicide - a lack of hope and lack of options.

After the abortion, she can't help but feel a loss. When she sees that there actually were other options available to her, she often despairs and feels terrible for killing her child. She becomes depressed; her relationships fall apart; she has trouble with her finances - in short, she suffers from Post-Abortion Syndrome.

While the "medical community" may debate whether or not there is such an illness, the tens of thousands of women and men who suffer from it know it is real. Was my baby a boy or a girl? What would he or she look like today? How old would my child be right now?

We need to support those groups that minister to these suffering women (and men, too!). One such group is called Silent No More (www.silentnomoreawareness.org). Their mission is to make the public aware of the devastation abortion brings to women, men, and their families. Their hope is that the emotional and physical pain of abortion will no longer be shrouded in secrecy and silence, but rather exposed and healed. This is a noble effort!

Abortion: One dead, one wounded. Let's end it!

Vivat Iesus!

Joe Healy

Building a Culture of Life - Part 3

Building a Culture of Life - Part 3

Here is the next part of the pro-life resolution passed by the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus in August 2008:

"FURTHER RESOLVED, That we will challenge our fellow Catholics who are elected officials to be true to the faith they claim to profess, by acting bravely and publicly in defense of life, affirming with Pope Benedict XVI that 'there can be no room for purely private religion.'"

My commentary:

We are called as Knights, Catholics, Christians, and people of good will to be beacons of light in society. One way to do that is to challenge our fellow Catholics and Christians to live the Gospel, including the Gospel of Life. While we all struggle to faithfully adhere to Christ's teachings, Catholics who hold public office have the added responsibility of leading those who are governed by them. They are also very visible examples of the Catholic faith in our world.

Pope John Paul II wrote in his encyclical The Gospel of Life that public leaders are, "[c]alled to serve the people and the common good, they have a duty to make courageous choices in support of life, especially through legislative measures. In a democratic system, where laws and decisions are made on the basis of the consensus of many, the sense of personal responsibility in the consciences of individuals invested with authority may be weakened. But no one can ever renounce this responsibility, especially when he or she has a legislative or decision-making mandate, which calls that person to answer to God, to his or her own conscience and to the whole of society for choices which may be contrary to the common good."

We need to help remind our Catholic public officials that they have the duty to defend and protect innocent human lives. We must send letters and e-mails, make phone calls, and even visit them in person, and always with Christian charity and as a gentleman Knight. We must also support those who defend innocent human life.

Vivat Iesus!

Joe Healy

Building a Culture of Life - Part 2

Building a Culture of Life - Part 2

Here is the next part of the pro-life resolution passed by the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus in August 2008:

"FURTHER RESOLVED, That we will continue our efforts to charitably inform, educate and motivate our brother Knights and fellow Catholics of the serious obligation they have to form their consciences so that they make sound moral judgments which support and defend life in all its stages."

My commentary:

Education is the cornerstone of any successful effort to promote a culture of life. Our post-modern culture has been mis-educated from early childhood through adulthood on life issues. Human life has been turned into a commodity to be used by the powerful to achieve certain ends (some good, some bad). We have to re-educate ourselves to see the inherent dignity in each and every human life, from conception to natural death, and treat each and every human life with the respect he or she deserves.

As Knights, we are especially called to be moral leaders in our churches and communities, so I encourage each and every one of you to become educated on life issues and help educate others. There are some great educational resources on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' prolife activities website: http://www.nccbuscc.org/prolife/.

Vivat Iesus,

Joe Healy

Building a Culture of Life - Part 1

Building a Culture of Life - Part 1

On August 7, 2008, the 126th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus passed a resolution entitled "Building a Culture of Life". I will present that resolution over the next few posts.

"NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That we renew our deep commitment to oppose any governmental action or policy that promotes abortion, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, euthanasia, assisted suicide and other offenses against life, and that we will continue to speak out to our elected representatives about the need to enact legislation to oppose these practices and protect human life from conception to natural death;"

This is the cornerstone of our pro-life commitment. We believe and affirm that a unique and eternal human person begins at the moment of conception, and it is at that point that a person is deserving of his or her rights. The unborn do not have a voice and we need to speak up for them, particularly in the voting booth and the public arena, just as we do for our children who are under the voting age of 18.

It is essential that we support and elect officials who have a deep and profound respect for all human life; who else would you trust with making decisions on your behalf? Who knows when YOU may be in a situation where the presiding officials deem you less than human and that YOU deserve to die? We already see it today when insurance companies decline to cover life-saving medical care and instead offer to cover life-ending "medication" because it costs them less.

We are called to be the leaven in society; now is the time to act!

You can view all of the resolutions online at http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/convention_2008/resolutions/index.html.

Vivat Iesus,

Joe Healy