Evangelium Vitae
Introduction
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
New threats to human life
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.
In communion with all
the Bishops of the world
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.
The 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".9
To 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.
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