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
25 March 1995
1. The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus'
message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached
with dauntless fidelity as "good news" to the people of every age and
culture. At the dawn of salvation, it is the Birth of a Child which is
proclaimed as joyful news: "I bring you good news of a great joy which
will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a
Saviour, who is Christ the Lord" (Lk 2:10-11). The source of this
"great joy" is the Birth of the Saviour; but Christmas also reveals the
full meaning of every human birth, and the joy which accompanies the Birth of
the Messiah is thus seen to be the foundation and fulfilment of joy at every
child born into the world (cf. Jn 16:21).When he presents the heart of his
redemptive mission, Jesus says: "I came that they may have life, and have
it abundantly" (Jn 10:10). In truth, he is referring to that
"new" and "eternal" life which consists in communion with
the Father, to which every person is freely called in the Son by the power of
the Sanctifying Spirit. It is precisely in this "life" that all the
aspects and stages of human life achieve their full significance.
The incomparable worth of the human person
2. Man is called to a fullness of life which
far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence, because it consists in
sharing the very life of God. The loftiness of this supernatural vocation
reveals the greatness and the inestimable value of human life even in its
temporal phase. Life in time, in fact, is the fundamental condition, the
initial stage and an integral part of the entire unified process of human
existence. It is a process which, unexpectedly and undeservedly, is enlightened
by the promise and renewed by the gift of divine life, which will reach its
full realization in eternity (cf. 1 Jn 3:1-2). At the same time, it is
precisely this supernatural calling which highlights the relative character of
each individual's earthly life. After all, life on earth is not an
"ultimate" but a "penultimate" reality; even so, it remains
a sacred reality entrusted to us, to be preserved with a sense of
responsibility and brought to perfection in love and in the gift of ourselves
to God and to our brothers and sisters. The Church knows that this Gospel of
life, which she has received from her Lord, 1 has a profound and persuasive
echo in the heart of every person-believer and non-believer alike-because it
marvellously fulfils all the heart's expectations while infinitely surpassing
them. Even in the midst of difficulties and uncertainties, every person sincerely
open to truth and goodness can, by the light of reason and the hidden action of
grace, come to recognize in the natural law written in the heart (cf. Rom
2:14-15) the sacred value of human life from its very beginning until its end,
and can affirm the right of every human being to have this primary good
respected to the highest degree. Upon the recognition of this right, every
human community and the political community itself are founded. In a special
way, believers in Christ must defend and promote this right, aware as they are
of the wonderful truth recalled by the Second Vatican Council: "By his
incarnation the Son of God has united himself in some fashion with every human
being".2
This saving event reveals to humanity not only
the boundless love of God who "so loved the world that he gave his only
Son" (Jn 3:16), but also the incomparable value of every human person.The
Church, faithfully contemplating the mystery of the Redemption, acknowledges
this value with ever new wonder.3 She feels called to proclaim to the people of
all times this "Gospel", the source of invincible hope and true joy
for every period of history. The Gospel of God's love for man, the Gospel of
the dignity of the person and the Gospel of life are a single and indivisible
Gospel.For this reason, man-living man-represents the primary and fundamental
way for the Church. 4
3. Every individual, precisely by reason of the
mystery of the Word of God who was made flesh (cf. Jn 1:14), is entrusted to
the maternal care of the Church. Therefore every threat to human dignity and
life must necessarily be felt in the Church's very heart; it cannot but affect
her at the core of her faith in the Redemptive Incarnation of the Son of God,
and engage her in her mission of proclaiming the Gospel of life in all the
world and to every creature (cf. Mk 16:15).Today this proclamation is
especially pressing because of the extraordinary increase and gravity of
threats to the life of individuals and peoples, especially where life is weak
and defenceless. In addition to the ancient scourges of poverty, hunger,
endemic diseases, violence and war, new threats are emerging on an alarmingly
vast scale. The Second Vatican Council, in a passage which retains all its
relevance today, forcefully condemned a number of crimes and attacks against
human life. Thirty years later, taking up the words of the Council and with the
same forcefulness I repeat that condemnation in the name of the whole Church,
certain that I am interpreting the genuine sentiment of every upright
conscience: "Whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of
murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or wilful self-destruction, whatever
violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted
on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human
dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment,
deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well
as disgraceful working conditions, where people are treated as mere instruments
of gain rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and
others like them are infamies indeed. They poison human society, and they do
more harm to those who practise them than to those who suffer from the injury.
Moreover, they are a supreme dishonour to the Creator".5
4. Unfortunately, this disturbing state of
affairs, far from decreasing, is expanding: with the new prospects opened up by
scientific and technological progress there arise new forms of attacks on the
dignity of the human being. At the same time a new cultural climate is
developing and taking hold, which gives crimes against life a new and-if
possible-even more sinister character, giving rise to further grave concern:
broad sectors of public opinion justify certain crimes against life in the name
of the rights of individual freedom, and on this basis they claim not only
exemption from punishment but even authorization by the State, so that these
things can be done with total freedom and indeed with the free assistance of
health-care systems. All this is causing
a profound change in the way in which life and relationships between people are
considered. The fact that legislation in many countries, perhaps even departing
from basic principles of their Constitutions, has determined not to punish
these practices against life, and even to make them altogether legal, is both a
disturbing symptom and a significant cause of grave moral decline. Choices once
unanimously considered criminal and rejected by the common moral sense are
gradually becoming socially acceptable. Even certain sectors of the medical
profession, which by its calling is directed to the defence and care of human
life, are increasingly willing to carry out these acts against the person. In
this way the very nature of the medical profession is distorted and
contradicted, and the dignity of those who practise it is degraded. In such a
cultural and legislative situation, the serious demographic, social and family
problems which weigh upon many of the world's peoples and which require
responsible and effective attention from national and international bodies, are
left open to false and deceptive solutions, opposed to the truth and the good
of persons and nations. The end result of this is tragic: not only is the fact
of the destruction of so many human lives still to be born or in their final
stage extremely grave and disturbing, but no less grave and disturbing is the
fact that conscience itself, darkened as it were by such widespread
conditioning, is finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish between good
and evil in what concerns the basic value of human life.
5. The Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals
held in Rome on 4-7 April 1991 was devoted to the problem of the threats to
human life in our day. After a thorough and detailed discussion of the problem
and of the challenges it poses to the entire human family and in particular to
the Christian community, the Cardinals unanimously asked me to reaffirm with
the authority of the Successor of Peter the value of human life and its
inviolability, in the light of present circumstances and attacks threatening it
today. In response to this request, at Pentecost in 1991 I wrote a personal
letter to each of my Brother Bishops asking them, in the spirit of episcopal
collegiality, to offer me their cooperation in drawing up a specific document 6
I am deeply grateful to all the Bishops who replied and provided me with
valuable facts, suggestions and proposals. In so doing they bore witness to
their unanimous desire to share in the doctrinal and pastoral mission of the
Church with regard to the Gospel of life. In that same letter, written shortly
after the celebration of the centenary of the Encyclical Rerum Novarum, I drew
everyone's attention to this striking analogy: "Just as a century ago it
was the working classes which were oppressed in their fundamental rights, and
the Church very courageously came to their defence by proclaiming the
sacrosanct rights of the worker as a person, so now, when another category of
persons is being oppressed in the fundamental right to life, the Church feels
in duty bound to speak out with the same courage on behalf of those who have no
voice. Hers is always the evangelical cry in defence of the world's poor, those
who are threatened and despised and whose human rights are violated" 7
Today there exists a great multitude of weak and defenceless human beings,
unborn children in particular, whose fundamental right to life is being
trampled upon. If, at the end of the last century, the Church could not be
silent about the injustices of those times, still less can she be silent today,
when the social injustices of the past, unfortunately not yet overcome, are
being compounded in many regions of the world by still more grievous forms of
injustice and oppression, even if these are being presented as elements of
progress in view of a new world order. he present Encyclical, the fruit of the
cooperation of the Episcopate of every country of the world, is therefore meant
to be a precise and vigorous reaffirmation of the value of human life and its
inviolability, and at the same time a pressing appeal addressed to each and
every person, in the name of God: respect, protect, love and serve life, every
human life! Only in this direction will you find justice, development, true
freedom, peace and happiness! May these words reach all the sons and daughters
of the Church! May they reach all people of good will who are concerned for the
good of every man and woman and for the destiny of the whole of society!
6. In profound communion with all my brothers
and sisters in the faith, and inspired by genuine friendship towards all, I
wish to meditate upon once more and proclaim the Gospel of life, the splendour
of truth which enlightens consciences, the clear light which corrects the
darkened gaze, and the unfailing source of faithfulness and steadfastness in
facing the ever new challenges which we meet along our path. As I recall the
powerful experience of the Year of the Family, as if to complete the Letter
which I wrote "to every particular family in every part of the
world",8 I look with renewed confidence to every household and I pray that
at every level a general commitment to support the family will reappear and be
strengthened, so that today too-even amid so many difficulties and serious
threats-the family will always remain, in accordance with God's plan, the
"sanctuary of life".9To all the members of the Church, the people of
life and for life, I make this most urgent appeal, that together we may offer
this world of ours new signs of hope, and work to ensure that justice and
solidarity will increase and that a new culture of human life will be affirmed,
for the building of an authentic civilization of truth and love.
CHAPTER I
The voice of your brother's blood cries to me
from the ground
Present-day threats to human life
"Cain rose up against his brother Abel,
and killed him" (Gen 4:8):
the roots of violence against life
7.God did not make death, and he does not
delight in the death of the living. For he has created all things that they
might exist ... God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of
his own eternity, but through the devil's envy death entered the world, and
those who belong to his party experience it" (Wis 1:13-14; 2:23-24).The
Gospel of life, proclaimed in the beginning when man was created in the image
of God for a destiny of full and perfect life (cf. Gen 2:7; Wis 9:2-3), is contradicted
by the painful experience of death which enters the world and casts its shadow
of meaninglessness over man's entire existence. Death came into the world as a
result of the devil's envy (cf. Gen 3:1,4-5) and the sin of our first parents
(cf. Gen 2:17, 3:17-19). And death entered it in a violent way, through the
killing of Abel by his brother Cain: "And when they were in the field,
Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him" (Gen 4:8).This
first murder is presented with singular eloquence in a page of the Book of
Genesis which has universal significance: it is a page rewritten daily, with
inexorable and degrading frequency, in the book of human history. Let us
re-read together this biblical account which, despite its archaic structure and
its extreme simplicity, has much to teach us. "Now Abel was a keeper of
sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to
the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought of the
firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for
Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had not regard. So Cain
was very angry, and his countenance fell. The Lord said to Cain, ?Why are you
angry and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be
accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; its desire
is for you, but you must master it'.
"Cain said to Abel his brother, ?Let us go
out to the field'. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his
brother Abel, and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, ?Where is Abel your
brother?' He said, ? I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?' And the Lord
said, ?What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me
from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its
mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you till the ground,
it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a fugitive and a
wanderer on the earth'. Cain said to the Lord, ?My punishment is greater than I
can bear. Behold, you have driven me this day away from the ground; and from
your face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the
earth, and whoever finds me will slay me'. Then the Lord said to him, ?Not so!
If any one slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold'. And the Lord
put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him. Then Cain went
away from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of
Eden" (Gen 4:2-16).
8. Cain was "very angry" and his
countenance "fell" because "the Lord had regard for Abel and his
offering" (Gen 4:4-5). The biblical text does not reveal the reason why
God prefers Abel's sacrifice to Cain's. It clearly shows however that God,
although preferring Abel's gift, does not interrupt his dialogue with Cain. He
admonishes him, reminding him of his freedom in the face of evil: man is in no
way predestined to evil. Certainly, like Adam, he is tempted by the malevolent
force of sin which, like a wild beast, lies in wait at the door of his heart,
ready to leap on its prey. But Cain remains free in the face of sin. He can and
must overcome it: "Its desire is for you, but you must master it"
(Gen 4:7).Envy and anger have the upper hand over the Lord's warning, and so
Cain attacks his own brother and kills him. As we read in the Catechism of the
Catholic Church: "In the account of Abel's murder by his brother Cain,
Scripture reveals the presence of anger and envy in man, consequences of
original sin, from the beginning of human history. Man has become the enemy of
his fellow man".10 Brother kills brother. Like the first fratricide, every
murder is a violation of the "spiritual" kinship uniting mankind in
one great family, 11 in which all share the same fundamental good: equal
personal dignity. Not infrequently the kinship "of flesh and blood"
is also violated; for example when threats to life arise within the
relationship between parents and children, such as happens in abortion or when,
in the wider context of family or kinship, euthanasia is encouraged or
practised. At the root of every act of violence against one's neighbour there
is a concession to the "thinking" of the evil one, the one who
"was a murderer from the beginning" (Jn 8:44). As the Apostle John
reminds us: "For this is the message which you have heard from the
beginning, that we should love one another, and not be like Cain who was of the
evil one and murdered his brother" (1 Jn 3:11-12). Cain's killing of his
brother at the very dawn of history is thus a sad witness of how evil spreads
with amazing speed: man's revolt against God in the earthly paradise is
followed by the deadly combat of man against man. After the crime, God
intervenes to avenge the one killed. Before God, who asks him about the fate of
Abel, Cain, instead of showing remorse and apologizing, arrogantly eludes the
question: "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" (Gen 4:9).
"I do not know": Cain tries to cover up his crime with a lie. This
was and still is the case, when all kinds of ideologies try to justify and
disguise the most atrocious crimes against human beings. "Am I my
brother's keeper?": Cain does not wish to think about his brother and
refuses to accept the responsibility which every person has towards others. We
cannot but think of today's tendency for people to refuse to accept
responsibility for their brothers and sisters. Symptoms of this trend include
the lack of solidarity towards society's weakest members-such as the elderly,
the infirm, immigrants, children- and the indifference frequently found in
relations between the world's peoples even when basic values such as survival,
freedom and peace are involved.
9. But God cannot leave the crime unpunished:
from the ground on which it has been spilt, the blood of the one murdered
demands that God should render justice (cf. Gen 37:26; Is 26:21; Ez 24:7-8).
From this text the Church has taken the name of the "sins which cry to God
for justice", and, first among them, she has included wilful murder. 12
For the Jewish people, as for many peoples of antiquity, blood is the source of
life. Indeed "the blood is the life" (Dt 12:23), and life, especially
human life, belongs only to God: for this reason whoever attacks human life, in
some way attacks God himself. Cain is cursed by God and also by the earth,
which will deny him its fruit (cf. Gen 4:11-12). He is punished: he will live
in the wilderness and the desert. Murderous violence profoundly changes man's
environment. From being the "garden of Eden" (Gen 2:15), a place of
plenty, of harmonious interpersonal relationships and of friendship with God,
the earth becomes "the land of Nod" (Gen 4:16), a place of scarcity,
loneliness and separation from God. Cain will be "a fugitive and a
wanderer on the earth" (Gen 4:14): uncertainty and restlessness will
follow him forever. And yet God, who is always merciful even when he punishes,
"put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him" (Gen
4:15). He thus gave him a distinctive sign, not to condemn him to the hatred of
others, but to protect and defend him from those wishing to kill him, even out
of a desire to avenge Abel's death. Not even a murderer loses his personal
dignity, and God himself pledges to guarantee this. And it is precisely here
that the paradoxical mystery of the merciful justice of God is shown forth. As
Saint Ambrose writes: "Once the crime is admitted at the very inception of
this sinful act of parricide, then the divine law of God's mercy should be
immediately extended. If punishment is forthwith inflicted on the accused, then
men in the exercise of justice would in no way observe patience and moderation,
but would straightaway condemn the defendant to punishment. ... God drove Cain
out of his presence and sent him into exile far away from his native land, so
that he passed from a life of human kindness to one which was more akin to the
rude existence of a wild beast. God, who preferred the correction rather than
the death of a sinner, did not desire that a homicide be punished by the
exaction of another act of homicide".13
"What have you done?" (Gen 4:10): the
eclipse of the value of life
10. The Lord said to Cain: "What have you
done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground"
(Gen 4:10).The voice of the blood shed by men continues to cry out, from
generation to generation, in ever new and different ways. The Lord's question:
"What have you done?", which Cain cannot escape, is addressed also to
the people of today, to make them realize the extent and gravity of the attacks
against life which continue to mark human history; to make them discover what
causes these attacks and feeds them; and to make them ponder seriously the
consequences which derive from these attacks for the existence of individuals
and peoples.
Some threats come from nature itself, but they
are made worse by the culpable indifference and negligence of those who could
in some cases remedy them. Others are the result of situations of violence,
hatred and conflicting interests, which lead people to attack others through
murder, war, slaughter and genocide. And how can we fail to consider the
violence against life done to millions of human beings, especially children,
who are forced into poverty, malnutrition and hunger because of an unjust
distribution of resources between peoples and between social classes? And what
of the violence inherent not only in wars as such but in the scandalous arms
trade, which spawns the many armed conflicts which stain our world with blood?
What of the spreading of death caused by reckless tampering with the world's
ecological balance, by the criminal spread of drugs, or by the promotion of
certain kinds of sexual activity which, besides being morally unacceptable,
also involve grave risks to life? It is impossible to catalogue completely the
vast array of threats to human life, so many are the forms, whether explicit or
hidden, in which they appear today!
11. Here though we shall concentrate particular
attention on another category of attacks, affecting life in its earliest and in
its final stages, attacks which present new characteristics with respect to the
past and which raise questions of extraordinary seriousness. It is not only
that in generalized opinion these attacks tend no longer to be considered as
"crimes"; paradoxically they assume the nature of "rights",
to the point that the State is called upon to give them legal recognition and
to make them available through the free services of health-care personnel. Such
attacks strike human life at the time of its greatest frailty, when it lacks
any means of self-defence.
Even more serious is the fact that, most often,
those attacks are carried out in the very heart of and with the complicity of
the family-the family which by its nature is called to be the "sanctuary
of life". How did such a situation come about? Many different factors have
to be taken into account. In the background there is the profound crisis of
culture, which generates scepticism in relation to the very foundations of
knowledge and ethics, and which makes it increasingly difficult to grasp
clearly the meaning of what man is, the meaning of his rights and his duties.
Then there are all kinds of existential and interpersonal difficulties, made
worse by the complexity of a society in which individuals, couples and families
are often left alone with their problems. There are situations of acute
poverty, anxiety or frustration in which the struggle to make ends meet, the
presence of unbearable pain, or instances of violence, especially against
women, make the choice to defend and promote life so demanding as sometimes to
reach the point of heroism. All this explains, at least in part, how the value
of life can today undergo a kind of "eclipse", even though conscience
does not cease to point to it as a sacred and inviolable value, as is evident
in the tendency to disguise certain crimes against life in its early or final
stages by using innocuous medical terms which distract attention from the fact
that what is involved is the right to life of an actual human person.
12. In fact, while the climate of widespread
moral uncertainty can in some way be explained by the multiplicity and gravity
of today's social problems, and these can sometimes mitigate the subjective
responsibility of individuals, it is no less true that we are confronted by an
even larger reality, which can be described as a veritable structure of sin.
This reality is characterized by the emergence of a culture which denies
solidarity and in many cases takes the form of a veritable "culture of death".
This culture is actively fostered by powerful cultural, economic and political
currents which encourage an idea of society excessively concerned with
efficiency. Looking at the situation from this point of view, it is possible to
speak in a certain sense of a war of the powerful against the weak: a life
which would require greater acceptance, love and care is considered useless, or
held to be an intolerable burden, and is therefore rejected in one way or
another. A person who, because of illness, handicap or, more simply, just by
existing, compromises the well-being or life-style of those who are more
favoured tends to be looked upon as an enemy to be resisted or eliminated. In
this way a kind of "conspiracy against life" is unleashed. This conspiracy
involves not only individuals in their personal, family or group relationships,
but goes far beyond, to the point of damaging and distorting, at the
international level, relations between peoples and States.
13. In order to facilitate the spread of
abortion, enormous sums of money have been invested and continue to be invested
in the production of pharmaceutical products which make it possible to kill the
fetus in the mother's womb without recourse to medical assistance. On this
point, scientific research itself seems to be almost exclusively preoccupied
with developing products which are ever more simple and effective in
suppressing life and which at the same time are capable of removing abortion
from any kind of control or social responsibility. It is frequently asserted
that contraception, if made safe and available to all, is the most effective
remedy against abortion. The Catholic Church is then accused of actually
promoting abortion, because she obstinately continues to teach the moral
unlawfulness of contraception. When looked at carefully, this objection is
clearly unfounded. It may be that many people use contraception with a view to
excluding the subsequent temptation of abortion. But the negative values
inherent in the "contraceptive mentality"-which is very different
from responsible parenthood, lived in respect for the full truth of the
conjugal act-are such that they in fact strengthen this temptation when an
unwanted life is conceived. Indeed, the pro- abortion culture is especially
strong precisely where the Church's teaching on contraception is rejected.
Certainly, from the moral point of view contraception and abortion are
specifically different evils: the former contradicts the full truth of the
sexual act as the proper expression of conjugal love, while the latter destroys
the life of a human being; the former is opposed to the virtue of chastity in
marriage, the latter is opposed to the virtue of justice and directly violates
the divine commandment "You shall not kill". But despite their
differences of nature and moral gravity, contraception and abortion are often
closely connected, as fruits of the same tree. It is true that in many cases
contraception and even abortion are practised under the pressure of real- life
difficulties, which nonetheless can never exonerate from striving to observe
God's law fully. Still, in very many other instances such practices are rooted
in a hedonistic mentality unwilling to accept responsibility in matters of
sexuality, and they imply a self-centered concept of freedom, which regards
procreation as an obstacle to personal fulfilment. The life which could result
from a sexual encounter thus becomes an enemy to be avoided at all costs, and
abortion becomes the only possible decisive response to failed contraception. The
close connection which exists, in mentality, between the practice of
contraception and that of abortion is becoming increasingly obvious. It is
being demonstrated in an alarming way by the development of chemical products,
intrauterine devices and vaccines which, distributed with the same ease as
contraceptives, really act as abortifacients in the very early stages of the
development of the life of the new human being.
14. The various techniques of artificial
reproduction, which would seem to be at the service of life and which are
frequently used with this intention, actually open the door to new threats
against life. Apart from the fact that they are morally unacceptable, since
they separate procreation from the fully human context of the conjugal act, 14
these techniques have a high rate of failure: not just failure in relation to
fertilization but with regard to the subsequent development of the embryo,
which is exposed to the risk of death, generally within a very short space of
time. Furthermore, the number of embryos produced is often greater than that
needed for implantation in the woman's womb, and these so-called "spare
embryos" are then destroyed or used for research which, under the pretext
of scientific or medical progress, in fact reduces human life to the level of
simple "biological material" to be freely disposed of. Prenatal
diagnosis, which presents no moral objections if carried out in order to
identify the medical treatment which may be needed by the child in the womb,
all too often becomes an opportunity for proposing and procuring an abortion.
This is eugenic abortion, justified in public opinion on the basis of a
mentality-mistakenly held to be consistent with the demands of
"therapeutic interventions"-which accepts life only under certain
conditions and rejects it when it is affected by any limitation, handicap or
illness. Following this same logic, the point has been reached where the most
basic care, even nourishment, is denied to babies born with serious handicaps
or illnesses. The contemporary scene, moreover, is becoming even more alarming
by reason of the proposals, advanced here and there, to justify even
infanticide, following the same arguments used to justify the right to
abortion. In this way, we revert to a state of barbarism which one hoped had
been left behind forever.
15. Threats which are no less serious hang over
the incurably ill and the dying. In a social and cultural context which makes
it more difficult to face and accept suffering, the temptation becomes all the
greater to resolve the problem of suffering by eliminating it at the root, by
hastening death so that it occurs at the moment considered most suitable.
Various considerations usually contribute to such a decision, all of which
converge in the same terrible outcome. In the sick person the sense of anguish,
of severe discomfort, and even of desperation brought on by intense and
prolonged suffering can be a decisive factor. Such a situation can threaten the
already fragile equilibrium of an individual's personal and family life, with
the result that, on the one hand, the sick person, despite the help of
increasingly effective medical and social assistance, risks feeling overwhelmed
by his or her own frailty; and on the other hand, those close to the sick person
can be moved by an understandable even if misplaced compassion. All this is
aggravated by a cultural climate which fails to perceive any meaning or value
in suffering, but rather considers suffering the epitome of evil, to be
eliminated at all costs. This is especially the case in the absence of a
religious outlook which could help to provide a positive understanding of the
mystery of suffering. On a more general level, there exists in contemporary
culture a certain Promethean attitude which leads people to think that they can
control life and death by taking the decisions about them into their own hands.
What really happens in this case is that the individual is overcome and crushed
by a death deprived of any prospect of meaning or hope. We see a tragic expression
of all this in the spread of euthanasia-disguised and surreptitious, or
practised openly and even legally. As well as for reasons of a misguided pity
at the sight of the patient's suffering, euthanasia is sometimes justified by
the utilitarian motive of avoiding costs which bring no return and which weigh
heavily on society. Thus it is proposed to eliminate malformed babies, the
severely handicapped, the disabled, the elderly, especially when they are not
self-sufficient, and the terminally ill. Nor can we remain silent in the face
of other more furtive, but no less serious and real, forms of euthanasia. These
could occur for example when, in order to increase the availability of organs
for transplants, organs are removed without respecting objective and adequate
criteria which verify the death of the donor.
16. Another present-day phenomenon, frequently
used to justify threats and attacks against life, is the demographic question.
This question arises in different ways in different parts of the world. In the
rich and developed countries there is a disturbing decline or collapse of the
birthrate.
The poorer countries, on the other hand,
generally have a high rate of population growth, difficult to sustain in the
context of low economic and social development, and especially where there is
extreme underdevelopment. In the face of over- population in the poorer
countries, instead of forms of global intervention at the international
level-serious family and social policies, programmes of cultural development
and of fair production and distribution of resources-anti-birth policies
continue to be enacted. Contraception, sterilization and abortion are certainly
part of the reason why in some cases there is a sharp decline in the birthrate.
It is not difficult to be tempted to use the same methods and attacks against
life also where there is a situation of "demographic explosion". The
Pharaoh of old, haunted by the presence and increase of the children of Israel,
submitted them to every kind of oppression and ordered that every male child
born of the Hebrew women was to be killed (cf. Ex 1:7-22). Today not a few of
the powerful of the earth act in the same way. They too are haunted by the
current demographic growth, and fear that the most prolific and poorest peoples
represent a threat for the well-being and peace of their own countries.
Consequently, rather than wishing to face and
solve these serious problems with respect for the dignity of individuals and
families and for every person's inviolable right to life, they prefer to
promote and impose by whatever means a massive programme of birth control. Even
the economic help which they would be ready to give is unjustly made
conditional on the acceptance of an anti-birth policy.
17. Humanity today offers us a truly alarming
spectacle, if we consider not only how extensively attacks on life are
spreading but also their unheard-of numerical proportion, and the fact that
they receive widespread and powerful support from a broad consensus on the part
of society, from widespread legal approval and the involvement of certain
sectors of health-care personnel. As I emphatically stated at Denver, on the
occasion of the Eighth World Youth Day, "with time the threats against
life have not grown weaker. They are taking on vast proportions. They are not
only threats coming from the outside, from the forces of nature or the “Cains”
who kill the “Abels”; no, they are scientifically and systematically programmed
threats. The twentieth century will have been an era of massive attacks on
life, an endless series of wars and a continual taking of innocent human life.
False prophets and false teachers have had the greatest success".15 Aside
from intentions, which can be varied and perhaps can seem convincing at times,
especially if presented in the name of solidarity, we are in fact faced by an
objective "conspiracy against life", involving even international
Institutions, engaged in encouraging and carrying out actual campaigns to make
contraception, sterilization and abortion widely available. Nor can it be
denied that the mass media are often implicated in this conspiracy, by lending
credit to that culture which presents recourse to contraception, sterilization,
abortion and even euthanasia as a mark of progress and a victory of freedom,
while depicting as enemies of freedom and progress those positions which are
unreservedly pro-life.
"Am I my brother's keeper?" (Gen 4:9): a perverse idea of freedom
18. The panorama described needs to be
understood not only in terms of the phenomena of death which characterize it
but also in the variety of causes which determine it. The Lord's question:
"What have you done?" (Gen 4:10), seems almost like an invitation
addressed to Cain to go beyond the material dimension of his murderous gesture,
in order to recognize in it all the gravity of the motives which occasioned it
and the consequences which result from it. Decisions that go against life
sometimes arise from difficult or even tragic situations of profound suffering,
loneliness, a total lack of economic prospects, depression and anxiety about
the future. Such circumstances can mitigate even to a notable degree subjective
responsibility and the consequent culpability of those who make these choices
which in themselves are evil. But today the problem goes far beyond the
necessary recognition of these personal situations. It is a problem which
exists at the cultural, social and political level, where it reveals its more
sinister and disturbing aspect in the tendency, ever more widely shared, to
interpret the above crimes against life as legitimate expressions of individual
freedom, to be acknowledged and protected as actual rights. In this way, and
with tragic consequences, a long historical process is reaching a
turning-point. The process which once led to discovering the idea of
"human rights"-rights inherent in every person and prior to any
Constitution and State legislation-is today marked by a surprising
contradiction. Precisely in an age when the inviolable rights of the person are
solemnly proclaimed and the value of life is publicly affirmed, the very right
to life is being denied or trampled upon, especially at the more significant
moments of existence: the moment of birth and the moment of death. On the one
hand, the various declarations of human rights and the many initiatives
inspired by these declarations show that at the global level there is a growing
moral sensitivity, more alert to acknowledging the value and dignity of every
individual as a human being, without any distinction of race, nationality,
religion, political opinion or social class.On the other hand, these noble
proclamations are unfortunately contradicted by a tragic repudiation of them in
practice. This denial is still more distressing, indeed more scandalous, precisely
because it is occurring in a society which makes the affirmation and protection
of human rights its primary objective and its boast. How can these repeated
affirmations of principle be reconciled with the continual increase and
widespread justification of attacks on human life? How can we reconcile these
declarations with the refusal to accept those who are weak and needy, or
elderly, or those who have just been conceived? These attacks go directly
against respect for life and they represent a direct threat to the entire
culture of human rights. It is a threat capable, in the end, of jeopardizing
the very meaning of democratic coexistence: rather than societies of
"people living together", our cities risk becoming societies of
people who are rejected, marginalized, uprooted and oppressed. If we then look
at the wider worldwide perspective, how can we fail to think that the very
affirmation of the rights of individuals and peoples made in distinguished
international assemblies is a merely futile exercise of rhetoric, if we fail to
unmask the selfishness of the rich countries which exclude poorer countries
from access to development or make such access dependent on arbitrary
prohibitions against procreation, setting up an opposition between development
and man himself? Should we not question the very economic models often adopted
by States which, also as a result of international pressures and forms of
conditioning, cause and aggravate situations of injustice and violence in which
the life of whole peoples is degraded and trampled upon?
19. What are the roots of this remarkable
contradiction?
We can find them in an overall assessment of a
cultural and moral nature, beginning with the mentality which carries the
concept of subjectivity to an extreme and even distorts it, and recognizes as a
subject of rights only the person who enjoys full or at least incipient
autonomy and who emerges from a state of total dependence on others. But how
can we reconcile this approach with the exaltation of man as a being who is
"not to be used"? The theory of human rights is based precisely on
the affirmation that the human person, unlike animals and things, cannot be
subjected to domination by others. We must also mention the mentality which
tends to equate personal dignity with the capacity for verbal and explicit, or
at least perceptible, communication. It is clear that on the basis of these
presuppositions there is no place in the world for anyone who, like the unborn
or the dying, is a weak element in the social structure, or for anyone who
appears completely at the mercy of others and radically dependent on them, and
can only communicate through the silent language of a profound sharing of
affection. In this case it is force which becomes the criterion for choice and
action in interpersonal relations and in social life. But this is the exact
opposite of what a State ruled by law, as a community in which the
"reasons of force" are replaced by the "force of reason",
historically intended to affirm. At another level, the roots of the
contradiction between the solemn affirmation of human rights and their tragic
denial in practice lies in a notion of freedom which exalts the isolated
individual in an absolute way, and gives no place to solidarity, to openness to
others and service of them. While it is true that the taking of life not yet
born or in its final stages is sometimes marked by a mistaken sense of altruism
and human compassion, it cannot be denied that such a culture of death, taken
as a whole, betrays a completely individualistic concept of freedom, which ends
up by becoming the freedom of "the strong" against the weak who have
no choice but to submit. It is precisely in this sense that Cain's answer to
the Lord's question: "Where is Abel your brother?" can be
interpreted: "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" (Gen 4:9).
Yes, every man is his "brother's keeper", because God entrusts us to
one another. And it is also in view of this entrusting that God gives everyone
freedom, a freedom which possesses an inherently relational dimension. This is
a great gift of the Creator, placed as it is at the service of the person and
of his fulfilment through the gift of self and openness to others; but when
freedom is made absolute in an individualistic way, it is emptied of its original
content, and its very meaning and dignity are contradicted. There is an even
more profound aspect which needs to be emphasized: freedom negates and destroys
itself, and becomes a factor leading to the destruction of others, when it no
longer recognizes and respects its essential link with the truth.
When freedom, out of a desire to emancipate
itself from all forms of tradition and authority, shuts out even the most
obvious evidence of an objective and universal truth, which is the foundation
of personal and social life, then the person ends up by no longer taking as the
sole and indisputable point of reference for his own choices the truth about
good and evil, but only his subjective and changeable opinion or, indeed, his
selfish interest and whim.
20. This view of freedom leads to a serious
distortion of life in society. If the promotion of the self is understood in
terms of absolute autonomy, people inevitably reach the point of rejecting one
another. Everyone else is considered an enemy from whom one has to defend
oneself. Thus society becomes a mass of individuals placed side by side, but
without any mutual bonds. Each one wishes to assert himself independently of
the other and in fact intends to make his own interests prevail. Still, in the
face of other people's analogous interests, some kind of compromise must be
found, if one wants a society in which the maximum possible freedom is
guaranteed to each individual. In this way, any reference to common values and
to a truth absolutely binding on everyone is lost, and social life ventures on
to the shifting sands of complete relativism. At that point, everything is
negotiable, everything is open to bargaining: even the first of the fundamental
rights, the right to life. This is what is happening also at the level of
politics and government: the original and inalienable right to life is
questioned or denied on the basis of a parliamentary vote or the will of one
part of the people-even if it is the majority. This is the sinister result of a
relativism which reigns unopposed: the "right" ceases to be such,
because it is no longer firmly founded on the inviolable dignity of the person,
but is made subject to the will of the stronger part. In this way democracy,
contradicting its own principles, effectively moves towards a form of
totalitarianism.
The State is no longer the "common
home" where all can live together on the basis of principles of
fundamental equality, but is transformed into a tyrant State, which arrogates
to itself the right to dispose of the life of the weakest and most defenceless
members, from the unborn child to the elderly, in the name of a public interest
which is really nothing but the interest of one part.
The appearance of the strictest respect for
legality is maintained, at least when the laws permitting abortion and
euthanasia are the result of a ballot in accordance with what are generally
seen as the rules of democracy. Really, what we have here is only the tragic
caricature of legality; the democratic ideal, which is only truly such when it
acknowledges and safeguards the dignity of every human person, is betrayed in
its very foundations: "How is it still possible to speak of the dignity of
every human person when the killing of the weakest and most innocent is
permitted? In the name of what justice is the most unjust of discriminations
practised: some individuals are held to be deserving of defence and others are
denied that dignity?" 16 When this happens, the process leading to the
breakdown of a genuinely human co-existence and the disintegration of the State
itself has already begun.To claim the right to abortion, infanticide and
euthanasia, and to recognize that right in law, means to attribute to human
freedom a perverse and evil significance: that of an absolute power over others
and against others. This is the death of true freedom: "Truly, truly, I
say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin" (Jn 8:34).
"And from your face I shall be
hidden" (Gen 4:14):
the eclipse of the sense of God and of man
21. In seeking the deepest roots of the
struggle between the "culture of life" and the "culture of
death", we cannot restrict ourselves to the perverse idea of freedom
mentioned above. We have to go to the heart of the tragedy being experienced by
modern man: the eclipse of the sense of God and of man, typical of a social and
cultural climate dominated by secularism, which, with its ubiquitous tentacles,
succeeds at times in putting Christian communities themselves to the test.
Those who allow themselves to be influenced by this climate easily fall into a
sad vicious circle: when the sense of God is lost, there is also a tendency to
lose the sense of man, of his dignity and his life; in turn, the systematic
violation of the moral law, especially in the serious matter of respect for
human life and its dignity, produces a kind of progressive darkening of the
capacity to discern God's living and saving presence. Once again we can gain
insight from the story of Abel's murder by his brother. After the curse imposed
on him by God, Cain thus addresses the Lord: "My punishment is greater
than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me this day away from the ground; and
from your face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and wanderer on the
earth, and whoever finds me will slay me" (Gen 4:13-14). Cain is convinced
that his sin will not obtain pardon from the Lord and that his inescapable
destiny will be to have to "hide his face" from him. If Cain is
capable of confessing that his fault is "greater than he can bear",
it is because he is conscious of being in the presence of God and before God's
just judgment. It is really only before the Lord that man can admit his sin and
recognize its full seriousness. Such was the experience of David who, after
"having committed evil in the sight of the Lord", and being rebuked
by the Prophet Nathan, exclaimed: "My offences truly I know them; my sin
is always before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned; what is evil in
your sight I have done" (Ps 51:5-6).
22. Consequently, when the sense of God is
lost, the sense of man is also threatened and poisoned, as the Second Vatican
Council concisely states: "Without the Creator the creature would
disappear ... But when God is forgotten the creature itself grows
unintelligible".17 Man is no longer able to see himself as
"mysteriously different" from other earthly creatures; he regards
himself merely as one more living being, as an organism which, at most, has
reached a very high stage of perfection. Enclosed in the narrow horizon of his
physical nature, he is somehow reduced to being "a thing", and no
longer grasps the "transcendent" character of his "existence as
man". He no longer considers life as a splendid gift of God, something
"sacred" entrusted to his responsibility and thus also to his loving
care and "veneration". Life itself becomes a mere "thing",
which man claims as his exclusive property, completely subject to his control
and manipulation. Thus, in relation to life at birth or at death, man is no
longer capable of posing the question of the truest meaning of his own
existence, nor can he assimilate with genuine freedom these crucial moments of
his own history. He is concerned only with "doing", and, using all
kinds of technology, he busies himself with programming, controlling and dominating
birth and death. Birth and death, instead of being primary experiences
demanding to be "lived", become things to be merely
"possessed" or "rejected".
Moreover, once all reference to God has been
removed, it is not surprising that the meaning of everything else becomes
profoundly distorted. Nature itself, from being "mater" (mother), is
now reduced to being "matter", and is subjected to every kind of
manipulation. This is the direction in which a certain technical and scientific
way of thinking, prevalent in present-day culture, appears to be leading when
it rejects the very idea that there is a truth of creation which must be
acknowledged, or a plan of God for life which must be respected. Something
similar happens when concern about the consequences of such a "freedom
without law" leads some people to the opposite position of a "law
without freedom", as for example in ideologies which consider it unlawful
to interfere in any way with nature, practically "divinizing" it.
Again, this is a misunderstanding of nature's dependence on the plan of the
Creator. Thus it is clear that the loss of contact with God's wise design is
the deepest root of modern man's confusion, both when this loss leads to a
freedom without rules and when it leaves man in "fear" of his
freedom.By living "as if God did not exist", man not only loses sight
of the mystery of God, but also of the mystery of the world and the mystery of
his own being.
23. The eclipse of the sense of God and of man
inevitably leads to a practical materialism, which breeds individualism,
utilitarianism and hedonism. Here too we see the permanent validity of the
words of the Apostle: "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God,
God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct" (Rom 1:28). The values
of being are replaced by those of having. The only goal which counts is the
pursuit of one's own material well-being. The so-called "quality of
life" is interpreted primarily or exclusively as economic efficiency,
inordinate consumerism, physical beauty and pleasure, to the neglect of the
more profound dimensions-interpersonal, spiritual and religious-of existence.
In such a context suffering, an inescapable burden of human existence but also
a factor of possible personal growth, is "censored", rejected as
useless, indeed opposed as an evil, always and in every way to be avoided. When
it cannot be avoided and the prospect of even some future well-being vanishes,
then life appears to have lost all meaning and the temptation grows in man to
claim the right to suppress it. Within this same cultural climate, the body is
no longer perceived as a properly personal reality, a sign and place of
relations with others, with God and with the world. It is reduced to pure
materiality: it is simply a complex of organs, functions and energies to be
used according to the sole criteria of pleasure and efficiency.
Consequently, sexuality too is depersonalized
and exploited: from being the sign, place and language of love, that is, of the
gift of self and acceptance of another, in all the other's richness as a
person, it increasingly becomes the occasion and instrument for self-assertion
and the selfish satisfaction of personal desires and instincts. Thus the
original import of human sexuality is distorted and falsified, and the two
meanings, unitive and procreative, inherent in the very nature of the conjugal
act, are artificially separated: in this way the marriage union is betrayed and
its fruitfulness is subjected to the caprice of the couple. Procreation then
becomes the "enemy" to be avoided in sexual activity: if it is
welcomed, this is only because it expresses a desire, or indeed the intention,
to have a child "at all costs", and not because it signifies the
complete acceptance of the other and therefore an openness to the richness of
life which the child represents.In the materialistic perspective described so
far, interpersonal relations are seriously impoverished. The first to be harmed
are women, children, the sick or suffering, and the elderly. The criterion of
personal dignity-which demands respect, generosity and service-is replaced by
the criterion of efficiency, functionality and usefulness: others are
considered not for what they "are", but for what they "have, do
and produce". This is the supremacy of the strong over the weak.
24. It is at the heart of the moral conscience
that the eclipse of the sense of God and of man, with all its various and
deadly consequences for life, is taking place. It is a question, above all, of
the individual conscience, as it stands before God in its singleness and
uniqueness. 18 But it is also a question, in a certain sense, of the
"moral conscience" of society: in a way it too is responsible, not
only because it tolerates or fosters behaviour contrary to life, but also because
it encourages the "culture of death", creating and consolidating
actual "structures of sin" which go against life. The moral
conscience, both individual and social, is today subjected, also as a result of
the penetrating influence of the media, to an extremely serious and mortal
danger: that of confusion between good and evil, precisely in relation to the
fundamental right to life. A large part of contemporary society looks sadly
like that humanity which Paul describes in his Letter to the Romans. It is composed
"of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth" (1:18): having
denied God and believing that they can build the earthly city without him,
"they became futile in their thinking" so that "their senseless
minds were darkened" (1:21); "claiming to be wise, they became
fools" (1:22), carrying out works deserving of death, and "they not
only do them but approve those who practise them" (1:32). When conscience,
this bright lamp of the soul (cf. Mt 6:22-23), calls "evil good and good
evil" (Is 5:20), it is already on the path to the most alarming corruption
and the darkest moral blindness.And yet all the conditioning and efforts to
enforce silence fail to stifle the voice of the Lord echoing in the conscience
of every individual: it is always from this intimate sanctuary of the
conscience that a new journey of love, openness and service to human life can
begin.
"You
have come to the sprinkled blood" (cf. Heb 12: 22, 24):
signs of
hope and invitation to commitment
25. "The voice of your brother's blood is
crying to me from the ground" (Gen 4:10). It is not only the voice of the
blood of Abel, the first innocent man to be murdered, which cries to God, the
source and defender of life. The blood of every other human being who has been
killed since Abel is also a voice raised to the Lord. In an absolutely singular
way, as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, the voice of the
blood of Christ, of whom Abel in his innocence is a prophetic figure, cries out
to God: "You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God ...
to the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more
graciously than the blood of Abel" (12:22, 24).It is the sprinkled blood.
A symbol and prophetic sign of it had been the blood of the sacrifices of the
Old Covenant, whereby God expressed his will to communicate his own life to
men, purifying and consecrating them (cf. Ex 24:8; Lev 17:11). Now all of this
is fulfilled and comes true in Christ: his is the sprinkled blood which
redeems, purifies and saves; it is the blood of the Mediator of the New
Covenant "poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Mt
26:28).
This blood, which flows from the pierced side
of Christ on the Cross (cf. Jn 19:34), "speaks more graciously" than
the blood of Abel; indeed, it expresses and requires a more radical
"justice", and above all it implores mercy, 19 it makes intercession
for the brethren before the Father (cf. Heb 7:25), and it is the source of
perfect redemption and the gift of new life. The blood of Christ, while it
reveals the grandeur of the Father's love, shows how precious man is in God's
eyes and how priceless the value of his life. The Apostle Peter reminds us of
this: "You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from
your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the
precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot" (1
Pt 1:18-19). Precisely by contemplating the precious blood of Christ, the sign
of his self-giving love (cf. Jn 13:1), the believer learns to recognize and
appreciate the almost divine dignity of every human being and can exclaim with
ever renewed and grateful wonder: "How precious must man be in the eyes of
the Creator, if he ?gained so great a Redeemer' (Exsultet of the Easter Vigil),
and if God ?gave his only Son' in order that man ?should not perish but have
eternal life' (cf. Jn 3:16)!". 20 Furthermore, Christ's blood reveals to
man that his greatness, and therefore his vocation, consists in the sincere gift
of self. Precisely because it is poured out as the gift of life, the blood of
Christ is no longer a sign of death, of definitive separation from the
brethren, but the instrument of a communion which is richness of life for all.
Whoever in the Sacrament of the Eucharist drinks this blood and abides in Jesus
(cf. Jn 6:56) is drawn into the dynamism of his love and gift of life, in order
to bring to its fullness the original vocation to love which belongs to
everyone (cf. Gen 1:27; 2:18-24). It is from the blood of Christ that all draw
the strength to commit themselves to promoting life. It is precisely this blood
that is the most powerful source of hope, indeed it is the foundation of the
absolute certitude that in God's plan life will be victorious. "And death
shall be no more", exclaims the powerful voice which comes from the throne
of God in the Heavenly Jerusalem (Rev 21:4). And Saint Paul assures us that the
present victory over sin is a sign and anticipation of the definitive victory
over death, when there "shall come to pass the saying that is written:
?Death is swallowed up in victory'. ?O death, where is your victory? O death,
where is your sting?' " (1 Cor 15:54-55).
26. In effect, signs which point to this
victory are not lacking in our societies and cultures, strongly marked though
they are by the "culture of death". It would therefore be to give a
one-sided picture, which could lead to sterile discouragement, if the
condemnation of the threats to life were not accompanied by the presentation of
the positive signs at work in humanity's present situation.
Unfortunately it is often hard to see and
recognize these positive signs, perhaps also because they do not receive
sufficient attention in the communications media. Yet, how many initiatives of
help and support for people who are weak and defenceless have sprung up and
continue to spring up in the Christian community and in civil society, at the
local, national and international level, through the efforts of individuals,
groups, movements and organizations of various kinds! There are still many
married couples who, with a generous sense of responsibility, are ready to
accept children as "the supreme gift of marriage".21 Nor is there a
lack of families which, over and above their everyday service to life, are
willing to accept abandoned children, boys and girls and teenagers in
difficulty, handicapped persons, elderly men and women who have been left
alone. Many centres in support of life, or similar institutions, are sponsored
by individuals and groups which, with admirable dedication and sacrifice, offer
moral and material support to mothers who are in difficulty and are tempted to
have recourse to abortion. Increasingly, there are appearing in many places
groups of volunteers prepared to offer hospitality to persons without a family,
who find themselves in conditions of particular distress or who need a
supportive environment to help them to overcome destructive habits and discover
anew the meaning of life. Medical science, thanks to the committed efforts of
researchers and practitioners, continues in its efforts to discover ever more
effective remedies: treatments which were once inconceivable but which now
offer much promise for the future are today being developed for the unborn, the
suffering and those in an acute or terminal stage of sickness. Various agencies
and organizations are mobilizing their efforts to bring the benefits of the
most advanced medicine to countries most afflicted by poverty and endemic
diseases. In a similar way national and international associations of
physicians are being organized to bring quick relief to peoples affected by
natural disasters, epidemics or wars. Even if a just international distribution
of medical resources is still far from being a reality, how can we not recognize
in the steps taken so far the sign of a growing solidarity among peoples, a
praiseworthy human and moral sensitivity and a greater respect for life?
27. In view of laws which permit abortion and
in view of efforts, which here and there have been successful, to legalize
euthanasia, movements and initiatives to raise social awareness in defence of
life have sprung up in many parts of the world. When, in accordance with their
principles, such movements act resolutely, but without resorting to violence, they
promote a wider and more profound consciousness of the value of life, and evoke
and bring about a more determined commitment to its defence. Furthermore, how
can we fail to mention all those daily gestures of openness, sacrifice and
unselfish care which countless people lovingly make in families, hospitals,
orphanages, homes for the elderly and other centres or communities which defend
life? Allowing herself to be guided by the example of Jesus the "Good
Samaritan" (cf. Lk 10:29-37) and upheld by his strength, the Church has
always been in the front line in providing charitable help: so many of her sons
and daughters, especially men and women Religious, in traditional and ever new
forms, have consecrated and continue to consecrate their lives to God, freely
giving of themselves out of love for their neighbour, especially for the weak
and needy. These deeds strengthen the bases of the "civilization of love
and life", without which the life of individuals and of society itself
loses its most genuinely human quality. Even if they go unnoticed and remain
hidden to most people, faith assures us that the Father "who sees in
secret" (Mt 6:6) not only will reward these actions but already here and
now makes them produce lasting fruit for the good of all.Among the signs of
hope we should also count the spread, at many levels of public opinion, of a
new sensitivity ever more opposed to war as an instrument for the resolution of
conflicts between peoples, and increasingly oriented to finding effective but
"non-violent" means to counter the armed aggressor. In the same
perspective there is evidence of a growing public opposition to the death
penalty, even when such a penalty is seen as a kind of "legitimate
defence" on the part of society. Modern society in fact has the means of
effectively suppressing crime by rendering criminals harmless without
definitively denying them the chance to reform.Another welcome sign is the
growing attention being paid to the quality of life and to ecology, especially
in more developed societies, where people's expectations are no longer
concentrated so much on problems of survival as on the search for an overall
improvement of living conditions. Especially significant is the reawakening of
an ethical reflection on issues affecting life. The emergence and ever more
widespread development of bioethics is promoting more reflection and
dialogue-between believers and non-believers, as well as between followers of
different religions- on ethical problems, including fundamental issues
pertaining to human life.
28. This situation, with its lights and
shadows, ought to make us all fully aware that we are facing an enormous and
dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life, the "culture of
death" and the "culture of life". We find ourselves not only
"faced with" but necessarily "in the midst of" this
conflict: we are all involved and we all share in it, with the inescapable
responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life. For us too Moses'
invitation rings out loud and clear: "See, I have set before you this day
life and good, death and evil. ... I have set before you life and death,
blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may
live" (Dt 30:15, 19).
This invitation is very appropriate for us who
are called day by day to the duty of choosing between the "culture of
life" and the "culture of death". But the call of Deuteronomy
goes even deeper, for it urges us to make a choice which is properly religious
and moral. It is a question of giving our own existence a basic orientation and
living the law of the Lord faithfully and consistently: "If you obey the
commandments of the Lord your God which I command you this day, by loving the
Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his
statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live ... therefore choose life,
that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his
voice, and cleaving to him; for that means life to you and length of days"
(30:16,19-20).The unconditional choice for life reaches its full religious and
moral meaning when it flows from, is formed by and nourished by faith in
Christ.
Nothing helps us so much to face positively the
conflict between death and life in which we are engaged as faith in the Son of
God who became man and dwelt among men so "that they may have life, and
have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10). It is a matter of faith in the Risen Lord,
who has conquered death; faith in the blood of Christ "that speaks more
graciously than the blood of Abel" (Heb 12:24).With the light and strength
of this faith, therefore, in facing the challenges of the present situation,
the Church is becoming more aware of the grace and responsibility which come to
her from her Lord of proclaiming, celebrating and serving the Gospel of life.
CHAPTER II
I came that they may have life
The Christian message concerning life
"The
life was made manifest, and we saw it" (1 Jn 1:2):
with our
gaze fixed on Christ, "the Word of life"
29. Faced with the countless grave threats to
life present in the modern world, one could feel
overwhelmed by sheer powerlessness: good can never be powerful enough to
triumph over evil! At such times the People of God, and this includes every
believer, is called to profess with humility and courage its faith in Jesus
Christ, "the Word of life" (1 Jn 1:1). The Gospel of life is not
simply a reflection, however new and profound, on human life. Nor is it merely
a commandment aimed at raising awareness and bringing about significant changes
in society. Still less is it an illusory promise of a better future. The Gospel
of life is something concrete and personal, for it consists in the proclamation
of the very person of Jesus. Jesus made himself known to the Apostle Thomas,
and in him to every person, with the words: "I am the way, and the truth,
and the life" (Jn 14:6). This is also how he spoke of himself to Martha,
the sister of Lazarus: "I am the resurrection and the life; he who
believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and
believes in me shall never die" (Jn 11:25-26). Jesus is the Son who from
all eternity receives life from the Father (cf. Jn 5:26), and who has come
among men to make them sharers in this gift: "I came that they may have
life, and have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10).Through the words, the actions
and the very person of Jesus, man is given the possibility of
"knowing" the complete truth concerning the value of human life. From
this "source" he receives, in particular, the capacity to "accomplish"
this truth perfectly (cf. Jn 3:21), that is, to accept and fulfil completely
the responsibility of loving and serving, of defending and promoting human
life. In Christ, the Gospel of life is definitively proclaimed and fully given.
This is the Gospel which, already present in the Revelation of the Old
Testament, and indeed written in the heart of every man and woman, has echoed
in every conscience "from the beginning", from the time of creation
itself, in such a way that, despite the negative consequences of sin, it can also
be known in its essential traits by human reason. As the Second Vatican Council
teaches, Christ "perfected revelation by fulfilling it through his whole
work of making himself present and manifesting himself; through his words and
deeds, his signs and wonders, but especially through his death and glorious
Resurrection from the dead and final sending of the Spirit of truth. Moreover,
he confirmed with divine testimony what revelation proclaimed: that God is with
us to free us from the darkness of sin and death, and to raise us up to life
eternal".22
30. Hence, with our attention fixed on the Lord
Jesus, we wish to hear from him once again "the words of God" (Jn
3:34) and meditate anew on the Gospel of life. The deepest and most original
meaning of this meditation on what revelation tells us about human life was
taken up by the Apostle John in the opening words of his First Letter:
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands,
concerning the word of life-the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and
testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father
and was made manifest to us-that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also
to you, so that you may have fellowship with us" (1:1-3).In Jesus, the
"Word of life", God's eternal life is thus proclaimed and given.
Thanks to this proclamation and gift, our physical and spiritual life, also in
its earthly phase, acquires its full value and meaning, for God's eternal life
is in fact the end to which our living in this world is directed and called. In
this way the Gospel of life includes everything that human experience and
reason tell us about the value of human life, accepting it, purifying it,
exalting it and bringing it to fulfilment.
"The Lord is my strength and my song, and
he has become my salvation" (Ex 15:2):
life is always a good
31. The fullness of the Gospel message about
life was prepared for in the Old Testament. Especially in the events of the
Exodus, the centre of the Old Testament faith experience, Israel discovered the
preciousness of its life in the eyes of God. When it seemed doomed to
extermination because of the threat of death hanging over all its newborn males
(cf. Ex 1:15-22), the Lord revealed himself to Israel as its Saviour, with the
power to ensure a future to those without hope. Israel thus comes to know
clearly that its existence is not at the mercy of a Pharaoh who can exploit it
at his despotic whim. On the contrary, Israel's life is the object of God's
gentle and intense love. Freedom from slavery meant the gift of an identity,
the recognition of an indestructible dignity and the beginning of a new
history, in which the discovery of God and discovery of self go hand in hand.
The Exodus was a foundational experience and a model for the future. Through
it, Israel comes to learn that whenever its existence is threatened it need
only turn to God with renewed trust in order to find in him effective help: "I
formed you, you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me"
(Is 44:21).Thus, in coming to know the value of its own existence as a people,
Israel also grows in its perception of the meaning and value of life itself.
This reflection is developed more specifically in the Wisdom Literature, on the
basis of daily experience of the precariousness of life and awareness of the
threats which assail it. Faced with the contradictions of life, faith is
challenged to respond. More than anything else, it is the problem of suffering
which challenges faith and puts it to the test. How can we fail to appreciate
the universal anguish of man when we meditate on the Book of Job? The innocent
man overwhelmed by suffering is understandably led to wonder: "Why is
light given to him that is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, who long
for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hid treasures?"
(3:20-21).
But even when the darkness is deepest, faith
points to a trusting and adoring acknowledgment of the "mystery":
"I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be
thwarted" (Job 42:2).Revelation progressively allows the first notion of
immortal life planted by the Creator in the human heart to be grasped with ever
greater clarity: "He has made everything beautiful in its time; also he
has put eternity into man's mind" (Ec 3:11). This first notion of totality
and fullness is waiting to be manifested in love and brought to perfection, by
God's free gift, through sharing in his eternal life.
"The
name of Jesus ... has made this man strong" (Acts 3:16):
in the
uncertainties of human life, Jesus brings life's meaning to fulfilment
32. The experience of the people of the
Covenant is renewed in the experience of all the "poor" who meet Jesus
of Nazareth. Just as God who "loves the living" (cf. Wis 11:26) had
reassured Israel in the midst of danger, so now the Son of God proclaims to all
who feel threatened and hindered that their lives too are a good to which the
Father's love gives meaning and value. "The blind receive their sight, the
lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the
poor have good news preached to them" (Lk 7:22). With these words of the
Prophet Isaiah (35:5-6, 61:1), Jesus sets forth the meaning of his own mission:
all who suffer because their lives are in some way "diminished" thus
hear from him the "good news" of God's concern for them, and they
know for certain that their lives too are a gift carefully guarded in the hands
of the Father (cf. Mt 6:25-34).It is above all the "poor" to whom
Jesus speaks in his preaching and actions. The crowds of the sick and the
outcasts who follow him and seek him out (cf. Mt 4:23-25) find in his words and
actions a revelation of the great value of their lives and of how their hope of
salvation is well-founded. The same thing has taken place in the Church's
mission from the beginning. When the Church proclaims Christ as the one who
"went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him" (Acts 10:38), she is conscious of being the bearer
of a message of salvation which resounds in all its newness precisely amid the
hardships and poverty of human life. Peter cured the cripple who daily sought
alms at the "Beautiful Gate" of the Temple in Jerusalem, saying:
"I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk" (Acts 3:6). By faith in Jesus, "the
Author of life" (Acts 3:15), life which lies abandoned and cries out for
help regains self-esteem and full dignity. The words and deeds of Jesus and
those of his Church are not meant only for those who are sick or suffering or
in some way neglected by society. On a deeper level they affect the very
meaning of every person's life in its moral and spiritual dimensions. Only
those who recognize that their life is marked by the evil of sin can discover
in an encounter with Jesus the Saviour the truth and the authenticity of their
own existence. Jesus himself says as much: "Those who are well have no
need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Lk 5:31-32).But the person who,
like the rich land-owner in the Gospel parable, thinks that he can make his
life secure by the possession of material goods alone, is deluding himself.
Life is slipping away from him, and very soon he will find himself bereft of it
without ever having appreciated its real meaning: "Fool! This night your
soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they
be?" (Lk 12:20).
33. In Jesus' own life, from beginning to end,
we find a singular "dialectic" between the experience of the
uncertainty of human life and the affirmation of its value. Jesus' life is
marked by uncertainty from the very moment of his birth. He is certainly
accepted by the righteous, who echo Mary's immediate and joyful "yes"
(cf. Lk 1:38). But there is also, from the start, rejection on the part of a
world which grows hostile and looks for the child in order "to destroy
him" (Mt 2:13); a world which remains indifferent and unconcerned about
the fulfilment of the mystery of this life entering the world: "there was
no place for them in the inn" (Lk 2:7). In this contrast between threats
and insecurity on the one hand and the power of God's gift on the other, there
shines forth all the more clearly the glory which radiates from the house at
Nazareth and from the manger at Bethlehem: this life which is born is salvation
for all humanity (cf. Lk 2:11).Life's contradictions and risks were fully
accepted by Jesus: "though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor,
so that by his poverty you might become rich" (2 Cor 8:9). The poverty of
which Paul speaks is not only a stripping of divine privileges, but also a sharing
in the lowliest and most vulnerable conditions of human life (cf. Phil 2:6-7).
Jesus lived this poverty throughout his life, until the culminating moment of
the Cross: "he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death
on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name" (Phil 2:8-9). It is precisely by his death that
Jesus reveals all the splendour and value of life, inasmuch as his
self-oblation on the Cross becomes the source of new life for all people (cf.
Jn 12:32). In his journeying amid contradictions and in the very loss of his
life, Jesus is guided by the certainty that his life is in the hands of the
Father. Consequently, on the Cross, he can say to him: "Father, into your
hands I commend my spirit!" (Lk 23:46), that is, my life. Truly great must
be the value of human life if the Son of God has taken it up and made it the
instrument of the salvation of all humanity!
"Called
... to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Rom 8:28-29):
God's
glory shines on the face of man
34. Life is always a good. This is an
instinctive perception and a fact of experience, and man is called to grasp the
profound reason why this is so. Why is life a good? This question is found
everywhere in the Bible, and from the very first pages it receives a powerful
and amazing answer. The life which God gives man is quite different from the
life of all other living creatures, inasmuch as man, although formed from the
dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7, 3:19; Job 34:15; Ps 103:14; 104:29), is a
manifestation of God in the world, a sign of his presence, a trace of his glory
(cf. Gen 1:26-27; Ps 8:6). This is what Saint Irenaeus of Lyons wanted to
emphasize in his celebrated definition: "Man, living man, is the glory of
God".23 Man has been given a sublime dignity, based on the intimate bond
which unites him to his Creator: in man there shines forth a reflection of God
himself. The Book of Genesis affirms this when, in the first account of
creation, it places man at the summit of God's creative activity, as its crown,
at the culmination of a process which leads from indistinct chaos to the most
perfect of creatures. Everything in creation is ordered to man and everything
is made subject to him: "Fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion
over ... every living thing" (1:28); this is God's command to the man and
the woman. A similar message is found also in the other account of creation:
"The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it
and keep it" (Gen 2:15). We see here a clear affirmation of the primacy of
man over things; these are made subject to him and entrusted to his responsible
care, whereas for no reason can he be made subject to other men and almost
reduced to the level of a thing. In the biblical narrative, the difference
between man and other creatures is shown above all by the fact that only the
creation of man is presented as the result of a special decision on the part of
God, a deliberation to establish a particular and specific bond with the
Creator: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (Gen
1:26). The life which God offers to man is a gift by which God shares something
of himself with his creature.Israel would ponder at length the meaning of this
particular bond between man and God. The Book of Sirach too recognizes that
God, in creating human beings, "endowed them with strength like his own,
and made them in his own image" (17:3). The biblical author sees as part
of this image not only man's dominion over the world but also those spiritual
faculties which are distinctively human, such as reason, discernment between
good and evil, and free will: "He filled them with knowledge and
understanding, and showed them good and evil" (Sir 17:7). The ability to
attain truth and freedom are human prerogatives inasmuch as man is created in
the image of his Creator, God who is true and just (cf. Dt 32:4). Man alone,
among all visible creatures, is "capable of knowing and loving his
Creator".24 The life which God bestows upon man is much more than mere
existence in time. It is a drive towards fullness of life; it is the seed of an
existence which transcends the very limits of time: "For God created man
for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity" (Wis
2:23).
35. The Yahwist account of creation expresses
the same conviction. This ancient narrative speaks of a divine breath which is
breathed into man so that he may come to life: "The Lord God formed man of
dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and
man became a living being" (Gen 2:7).The divine origin of this spirit of
life explains the perennial dissatisfaction which man feels throughout his days
on earth. Because he is made by God and bears within himself an indelible
imprint of God, man is naturally drawn to God. When he heeds the deepest
yearnings of the heart, every man must make his own the words of truth
expressed by Saint Augustine: "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and
our hearts are restless until they rest in you".25 How very significant is
the dissatisfaction which marks man's life in Eden as long as his sole point of
reference is the world of plants and animals (cf. Gen 2:20). Only the
appearance of the woman, a being who is flesh of his flesh and bone of his
bones (cf. Gen 2:23), and in whom the spirit of God the Creator is also alive,
can satisfy the need for interpersonal dialogue, so vital for human existence.
In the other, whether man or woman, there is a reflection of God himself, the
definitive goal and fulfilment of every person."What is man that you are
mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?", the Psalmist
wonders (Ps 8:4). Compared to the immensity of the universe, man is very small,
and yet this very contrast reveals his greatness: "You have made him
little less than a god, and crown him with glory and honour" (Ps 8:5). The
glory of God shines on the face of man. In man the Creator finds his rest, as
Saint Ambrose comments with a sense of awe: "The sixth day is finished and
the creation of the world ends with the formation of that masterpiece which is
man, who exercises dominion over all living creatures and is as it were the
crown of the universe and the supreme beauty of every created being. Truly we
should maintain a reverential silence, since the Lord rested from every work he
had undertaken in the world. He rested then in the depths of man, he rested in
man's mind and in his thought; after all, he had created man endowed with
reason, capable of imitating him, of emulating his virtue, of hungering for
heavenly graces. In these his gifts God reposes, who has said: ?Upon whom shall
I rest, if not upon the one who is humble, contrite in spirit and trembles at
my word?' (Is 66:1-2). I thank the Lord our God who has created so wonderful a
work in which to take his rest".26
36. Unfortunately, God's marvellous plan was
marred by the appearance of sin in history. Through sin, man rebels against his
Creator and ends up by worshipping creatures: "They exchanged the truth
about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the
Creator" (Rom 1:25). As a result man not only deforms the image of God in
his own person, but is tempted to offences against it in others as well,
replacing relationships of communion by attitudes of distrust, indifference,
hostility and even murderous hatred. When God is not acknowledged as God, the
profound meaning of man is betrayed and communion between people is
compromised. In the life of man, God's image shines forth anew and is again
revealed in all its fullness at the coming of the Son of God in human flesh.
"Christ is the image of the invisible God" (Col 1:15), he
"reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature"
(Heb 1:3). He is the perfect image of the Father. The plan of life given to the
first Adam finds at last its fulfilment in Christ. Whereas the disobedience of
Adam had ruined and marred God's plan for human life and introduced death into
the world, the redemptive obedience of Christ is the source of grace poured out
upon the human race, opening wide to everyone the gates of the kingdom of life
(cf. Rom 5:12-21). As the Apostle Paul states: "The first man Adam became
a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit" (1 Cor
15:45).All who commit themselves to following Christ are given the fullness of
life: the divine image is restored, renewed and brought to perfection in them.
God's plan for human beings is this, that they should "be conformed to the
image of his Son" (Rom 8:29). Only thus, in the splendour of this image,
can man be freed from the slavery of idolatry, rebuild lost fellowship and
rediscover his true identity.
37. The life which the Son of God came to give
to human beings cannot be reduced to mere existence in time. The life which was
always "in him" and which is the "light of men" (Jn 1:4)
consists in being begotten of God and sharing in the fullness of his love:
"To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to
become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the
flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (Jn 1:12-13).Sometimes Jesus
refers to this life which he came to give simply as "life", and he
presents being born of God as a necessary condition if man is to attain the end
for which God has created him: "Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the
kingdom of God" (Jn 3:3). To give this life is the real object of Jesus'
mission: he is the one who "comes down from heaven, and gives life to the
world" (Jn 6:33). Thus can he truly say: "He who follows me ... will
have the light of life" (Jn 8:12).At other times, Jesus speaks of
"eternal life". Here the adjective does more than merely evoke a
perspective which is beyond time. The life which Jesus promises and gives is
"eternal" because it is a full participation in the life of the
"Eternal One". Whoever believes in Jesus and enters into communion
with him has eternal life (cf. Jn 3:15; 6:40) because he hears from Jesus the
only words which reveal and communicate to his existence the fullness of life.
These are the "words of eternal life" which Peter acknowledges in his
confession of faith: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of
eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the
Holy One of God" (Jn 6:68-69). Jesus himself, addressing the Father in the
great priestly prayer, declares what eternal life consists in: "This is
eternal life, that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
you have sent" (Jn 17:3). To know God and his Son is to accept the mystery
of the loving communion of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit into one's
own life, which even now is open to eternal life because it shares in the life
of God.
38. Eternal life is therefore the life of God
himself and at the same time the life of the children of God. As they ponder
this unexpected and inexpressible truth which comes to us from God in Christ,
believers cannot fail to be filled with ever new wonder and unbounded gratitude.
They can say in the words of the Apostle John:
"See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children
of God; and so we are. ... Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet
appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is" (1 Jn 3:1-2).Here the Christian truth about
life becomes most sublime. The dignity of this life is linked not only to its
beginning, to the fact that it comes from God, but also to its final end, to
its destiny of fellowship with God in knowledge and love of him. In the light
of this truth Saint Irenaeus qualifies and completes his praise of man:
"the glory of God" is indeed, "man, living man", but
"the life of man consists in the vision of God".27Immediate
consequences arise from this for human life in its earthly state, in which, for
that matter, eternal life already springs forth and begins to grow. Although
man instinctively loves life because it is a good, this love will find further
inspiration and strength, and new breadth and depth, in the divine dimensions
of this good. Similarly, the love which every human being has for life cannot
be reduced simply to a desire to have sufficient space for self-expression and
for entering into relationships with others; rather, it devel- ops in a joyous
awareness that life can become the "place" where God manifests
himself, where we meet him and enter into communion with him. The life which
Jesus gives in no way lessens the value of our existence in time; it takes it
and directs it to its final destiny: "I am the resurrection and the life
... whoever lives and believes in me shall never die" (Jn 11:25-26).
"From
man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting" (Gen 9:5):
reverence
and love for every human life
39. Man's life comes from God; it is his gift,
his image and imprint, a sharing in his breath of life. God therefore is the
sole Lord of this life: man cannot do with it as he wills. God himself makes
this clear to Noah after the Flood: "For your own lifeblood, too, I will
demand an accounting ... and from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand
an accounting for human life" (Gen 9:5).
The biblical text is concerned to emphasize how the sacredness of life has its foundation in God and in his creative activity: "For God made man in his own image" (Gen 9:6).Human life and death are thus in the hands of God, in his power: "In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind", exclaims Job (12:10). "The Lord brings to death and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up