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At the Second Vatican Council, the Church proclaimed “a true contradiction cannot exist between the divine laws pertaining to the transmission of life and those pertaining to fostering authentic conjugal love (Gaudium et spes, 51).” Unfortunately, our contemporary culture has become a sign of such a contradiction. By separating the unitive dimension of spousal love from its procreative meaning, our society has paved the way for the murder of almost 45 million infants through abortion and countless more through the abortifacient action of contraceptives. Yet even more destructive than this is the unseen contempt for the workings of the human body, especially the beauty of the woman’s body which has been designed to reflect so intimately the creative and nurturing love of God. At the root of our current disrespect for the unborn child is contempt for the order of the human body which in its natural fruitfulness produces life. Our culture of death has turned the body itself into the ultimate enemy of human love and freedom. It has insisted that no one can be free to love unless he or she can at will dispose of the natural fruit of love – human life.
In 1968, Pope Paul VI issued a prophetic warning to those who would disregard the Church’s wise teaching that spousal love and reverence for life cannot be separated. He said that the use of contraceptives to avoid or postpone children would lead to marital infidelity, lessened regard and respect for women by men, and a general lowering of moral standards especially among the young who need incentives to keep the moral law. On a societal level, he saw the danger of empowering political authorities who care little for the precepts of moral law and even the possibility of a state imposing preferred methods of contraception on unwilling populations. Ironically, the widespread use of contraceptives in our own and other nations in the West has made the latter unnecessary. Finally, he envisioned a society chafing under the requirements of moral law giving into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate aspects of people’s lives.
In his World Day of Peace message for 2007, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI said, “The duty to respect the dignity of each human being, in whose nature the image of the Creator is reflected, means in consequence that the person can not be disposed of at will.” Not even all the wars of the 20th century taken together add up to such a slaughter as that which we have accomplished by the legalization of abortion. It is with great sadness that I say that such hatred for the dignity of the human body cannot go without devastating effects; such wanton disregard for human life cannot be accomplished without terrible cost; such hardness of heart cannot be endured without shame.
At this time, as we remember this terrible loss of innocent lives through abortion, I ask that you pray particularly for women who have been victimized through abortion and the families that have been deprived of a loving presence because of it. I ask also that you join the many faithful of the Diocese who will attend the March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Monday, January 22. Please join with them in prayer and solidarity for the success of all efforts to convince political leaders of the wrongfulness of abortion and policies that allow contraceptives that cause abortions. Pray also for those who find themselves trapped in the contraceptive way of life, and that our efforts to promote the theology of the body may help to raise up a generation who stand in awe of God’s precious gifts of love and life.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Joseph F. Martino, D.D., Hist.E.D.
Bishop of Scranton
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