Friday, October 20, 2017

A few days ago a high school girl wrote to ask me questions about abortion. She was writing a paper and wanted to “interview” me on the topic.

I was busy jumping planes and giving talks so my daughter-in-law Anna graciously — and brilliantly — answered the young lady for me. I think you will enjoy and appreciate her wise and charitable response.

E. B. writes: 

I am a high-schooler in Pennsylvania.  I am working on a research project about the Catholic Church’s views on abortion, and I was wondering whether you may be willing to share some interesting information about the Church’s role in the fight against abortion.

Do you think that the Church is winning its fight? How do Catholics justify themselves when they protest against abortion?  What are your personal opinions about abortion?

Anna responds:

Dear E. B.,

The Church defends all persons from the horror of abortion, which is the taking of an innocent life, because of her understanding of what a person is. Each and every person is a unique and non-repeatable body and soul created by God and made in His image.

Each person has a specific mission or vocation given by God that is meant to be fulfilled on this earth, thereby allowing us to return to and remain with Him forever in heaven. Every person is holy because God is holy. The taking of an innocent life is a grave evil and an affront to God who is the author and creator of life.

The Church, which is made up of persons, plays a significant role in defending against the evil of abortion. One only needs to contact the hundreds of pro-life crisis pregnancy centers and pro-life groups, that seek to support mothers and their babies through material, emotional and spiritual means to find millions of people showing heroic virtue as they provide aid. There are also hundreds of groups fighting on a political level for just laws to protect the unborn child in the womb and support the mother in providing the necessary material means to provide for her child, through government aid programs and child support laws.

It is an incredible tragedy, that a mother would ever feel she is in such a place of darkness and despair, that she must chose between her life and the life of her child. Followers of Christ and His Church seek to be a light for these mothers and a reminder of hope in their time of desperation. They enter into the darkness with the mothers and show them the way out.

The Followers of Christ become friends, mentors—the hands and feet of Christ—to these mothers and extend this help even further to the fathers, grandparents and siblings of the unborn child as needed.

I would encourage you to seek out some personal testimonies for your paper. Life site news may be a helpful resource: https://www.lifesitenews.com

The Church is and always will be winning the battle, because she teaches truth, who is Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ defeated the power of sin and death through His death and resurrection. The heart of the battle is about saving souls not about how popular an ideology is, so that even in what can appear to be the darkest hour, the Church is and always will be victorious.

Lastly, I would like to address adoption, which is often an overlooked and misunderstood option. When the Church promotes adoption, we must be deliberate in recognizing and addressing the tragedy of the situation. Adoption is a difficult and heroic choice because it is the breaking of one family in order to build another.

When we fail to recognize the agony, pain, and sacrifice of the birth mother we do her a great disservice. Only when we can enter into her cross and help her to carry such a heavy burden will we begin to see more women choosing this life giving option.

May God bless you as you write your paper!

Anna

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