Pope Francis Calls On Believers to Protect Creation, Especially Defenseless Unborn Lives
Eliminating defenseless human lives is always wrong. Yet even the New York Times has written recently that fears of a "population bomb" are completely unfounded; these policies are simply another progressive move to "cure the abuses" of our planet, without fully considering the facts.
An unfortunate example of this is the tragic abortion rate among the women of the Yazidis religious community. Whole groups of women who have been victimized and raped are having abortions imposed on them as a part of an extensive reproductive health strategy. A beautiful and unique culture could become extinct in the name of reproductive control.
Pope Francis objects to population control, calling out those "those who view men and women and all their interventions as no more than a threat, jeopardizing the global ecosystem," driven by a "refusal to face the issues."
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The Pontiff states his views clearly in Laudato Si': "The disappearance of a culture can be just as serious as, or even more serious, than the disappearance of a species of plant or animal."
This moral call by Pope Francis challenges each of us to examine our lifestyle, whether it be how we treat the environment, wildlife, the poor, the victimized, or the unborn.
He further states,
"We have only one heart, and the same wretchedness which leads us to mistreat an animal will not be long in showing itself in our relationships with other people. Every act of human cruelty towards any creature is contrary to human dignity."
If endangered animals have detailed strategies for conservation and protected safe zones, then why not humans? Are we willing as a society to heed the Pope's call — having a full, open dialogue about what it means to be good stewards of every created life?
Yet there will be no conversation when the media continues to shut out the undercover Planned Parenthood videos. There's no dialogue when elected representatives refuse to listen to their constituents asking them to protect the most vulnerable pre-born lives who feel pain.
The Pope's visit to America will no doubt bring millions of religious and non-religious people to listen to his teachings. His encyclical encourages a conversation on our responsibility as citizens of this earth in protecting our environment. But that protection encompasses all life that many fail to see in equal measures.
While celebrities mourn the fate of Cecil the Lion, the videos exposing Planned Parenthood highlight all the more how humans debase God-given life. It starts with moral outrage — knowing the difference between right and wrong. Then the outcry over Cecil surely points us to the dignity of all created life.
If we truly believe that it is our responsibility to care for the world around us and to treat every life humanely and without suffering, than we must acknowledge where we as a society fail to measure up.
Pope Francis reminds us that we are God's image-bearers, with the responsibility of being caretakers of His created earth and the dignity that He bestows upon all creation:
"The Creator can say to each one of us: 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you' (Jeremiah 1:5).
"We were conceived in the heart of God, and for this reason each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary."
Reprinted with permission from Bound4LIFE.
