Seminarians for Life
by Eric Bowman with James Reutter
[printed in LAY WITNESS, January, 2002]
I stood in awe as the late Cardinal John O' Connor of New
York began his Mass, "In the name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit." Some 600 seminarians responded with
a resounding "Amen!" In his last Seminarians' Mass for Life,
a tradition celebrated each year at the anniversary of the
U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, the Cardinal electrified
the men with his message exhorting us to put the Gospel into
action by defending the sacredness and dignity of human life.
Seminarian Life Link
A new generation of seminarians is already beginning to take
up that mission of proclaiming the Gospel of life. Having
banded together to form Seminarian Life Link, a group of Catholic
seminarians are prayerfully and actively supporting one another
in making that Gospel a cornerstone of their spiritual formation
and priestly identity.
The idea of this national group arose in the spring of 1999
after Fr. Frank Pavone, co-founder of Priests for Life, gave
a presentation to diocesan seminarians at Mount St. Mary's
of the West in Cincinnati, Ohio. These seminarians were eager
to find out what they could do to promote life. Fr. Pavone
challenged them to "think big." They did. Several months later
they approached him with the idea of forming Seminarian Life
Link, convinced of the dire need to bear witness to the truth
that all human life is created in the image and likeness of
God. Seminarian Life Link was officially launched this past
year.
This organization of seminarians takes its lead from the
Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, who has made engaging culture
a cornerstone of his papacy. Most of today's seminarians are
products of the post-Roe era and are keenly aware that nothing
less than a radical transformation of this society is necessary.
We must evangelize our culture with the good news of the beauty
and gift of life. We know there are many firmly rooted obstacles
which the Church must confront head on.
Recognizing the Challenge
Foremost among these obstacles is a radical loss of a sense
of sacrifice. In a "me-first" way of life, which measures
success primarily in terms of personal and individual fulfillment,
children are seen less as gifts in themselves than as a means
to self-fulfillment. Is human life a unique and sacred gift,
divinely authored, to be treasured above all others? Or is
it just another commodity to be owned, controlled, or manipulated
at the whim of parents? Sadly, the latter view represents
today's America.
What necessarily follows from this is a loss of the sense
of gratitude for the precious gift of life.
The U.S. Supreme Court's tragically misguided Roe v. Wade
decision of January 22, 1973, sanctioned the destruction of
innocent life inside the womb. This downward slide accelerated
when the Stenberg v. Carhart decision of June 28, 2000, further
degraded America by authorizing the destruction of the partially
born child.
New biotechnologies combine with this life-as-commodity norm
to create the existing problems of in vitro fertilization
and embryonic stem cell research, and prospects for even more
direct attacks on the dignity of life such as human cloning.
The majority of the medical community and a substantial portion
of the general public fail to see a distinction between true
therapy and medical advances on the one hand, and a callous
disregard for the dignity of life on the other. Nowhere is
that clearer than in the current debate over embryonic stem
cell research, where embryonic human beings -- endowed with
an infinite soul and eternal capacity for union with God --
are dismissed as medical waste.
The spiritual life of the mother is at great risk as well.
Firmly entrenched in the popular culture is the lie that abortion
causes no short or long-term harm to the mother. Nobody knows
the real extent of the damage abortion does to women, but
more research is uncovering more damage. For example, Dr.
David Reardon of the Elliot Institute has found that 60 percent
of post-abortive women experience suicidal tendencies with
over 28 percent actually making an attempt on their lives!
Nearly 50 percent begin or increase drug or alcohol abuse
after having an abortion. Over 90 percent report damage to
their self-esteem (Reardon, 1997).
Bold and Compassionate
This tragedy cries out for a compassionate response from
the Church, and especially from her bishops, priests, and
seminarians. We are speaking not of a response of pessimism
and despair, but of hope in the power of Jesus Christ to transform
lives and, in turn, culture. We trust that His Church is the
guardian of truth, that the gates of hell will not prevail
against her, and that she has a crucial role to play in bringing
this transformation to the world. With compassion she must
address the spiritual needs of mothers victimized by the culture
of death, while at the same time strongly counter the devaluation
of life and boldly witness to the truth.
This is the context in which Seminarian Life Link finds itself.
We recognize that today's seminarians must strike a difficult
balance between boldness and compassion, between hating the
sin and loving the sinner. As men preparing to be spiritual
fathers, we must be willing to sacrifice everything for the
children of God and be uncompromisingly persistent in providing
sound spiritual guidance even when it is resisted or ridiculed
by the culture.
Direct attacks against the dignity of life call for a direct
response. The first pro-life task of the seminarian is to
educate himself on the dignity and sacredness of life in the
doctrine and the tradition of the Church. Although many are
familiar with the landmark teachings of Pope Paul VI's Humanae
Vitae in 1968 and Pope John Paul II's Evangelium Vitae in
1995, fewer are aware of the critically important teachings
on current issues set forth in Donum Vitae ("Gift of Life,"
1987). This document instructs the faithful on the dignity
of procreation and its proper context within marriage, and
exposes the errors of artificial technologies that attack
God's plan for procreation such as in vitro fertilization.
Seminarian Life Link encourages a two-pronged response from
its future priests: First, to encourage one another to boldly
preach the Gospel of life by addressing the difficult pro-life
issues at the pulpit; and second, to bring the Gospel values
home to where the faithful live. Years of theological study,
prayer, and reading on the pro-life ethic in which the seminarian
engages must be translated into concrete guidance for the
people in his care. He must convincingly explain how the individual's
decisions on these life issues need to be informed and guided
by the Gospel values of self-sacrificial love and the indissolubility
of marriage.
This formation of the faithful is the basis of our participation
in the pro-life mission of the Church -- to translate the
truth about life into compassionate action in the family and
workplace. Especially important is extending this compassion
to post-abortive women. Doubly victimized, they suffer the
pain of being coerced into procuring an abortion and then
find no support by a society that denies their pain. The seminarians'
response mirrors that of Christ in His encounter with the
woman caught in adultery. Being pro-life must encompass Christ's
forgiveness and echo His words, "Neither do I condemn you."
A New Hope
As future priests, we need to prepare for a ministry of reconciliation
in bringing Christ's mercy to the world. Women whose lives
have been wounded by the culture of death need reconciliation,
beginning with reconciling the woman to herself and then to
the Church. The post-abortive woman typically suffers a severe
psychological trauma which stems from strong feelings of guilt.
These feelings often derive from a sense of being beyond forgiveness
and can lead to defensiveness and denial.
Organizations such as Project Rachel provide a model of how
seminarians can reach out to the post-abortive woman with
the compassion of Christ, breaking through defensive walls
to heal a wounded soul. Seminarian Life Link encourages its
members to cooperate actively with these organizations that
bring the mercy of God the Father to His people.
The gruesome persecutions of the early Christian martyrs
brought new life to the Church through the transforming power
of witness to Christ's truth. The 20th century's culture of
death will give way to a new hope for the Church as the Gospel
of life takes root and transforms the culture. The Church
is the harbinger of hope in Jesus Christ's power to conquer
all evil and to expose the errors of the culture of death
that strike at the People. of God. It is the privilege of
Seminarian Life Link to be part of the Church's great mission.
Mr. Bowman and Mr. Reutter are seminarians currently studying
for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. For further information
on Seminarian Life Link, write Eric Bowman, c/o Mount St.
Mary's Seminary of the West, 6616 Beechmont Ave., Cincinnati,
OH 45230, or visit www.abortabortion org. |
