The protagonists of the world of
politics, economics and social communications must do "what is in their
power to promote a culture which respects human life, to provide
favourable conditions and support networks for the reception and development of life.
"
At the beginning of Advent, as the Church prepares to welcome the
infant Jesus, this is the appeal launched by Benedict XVI, who presided
at the Vigil for the unborn, that the entire Catholic community
celebrates at the beginning of this liturgical time.
In a St Peter's Basilica in which, from time to time, the cries
of small babies could be heard, the Pope once again asked politics and
culture to defend children.
"Believing in Jesus Christ - he said - also means
having a new outlook on man, a look of trust and hope. Moreover,
experience itself and reason show that the human being is a subject
capable of discernment, self-conscious and free, unique and
irreplaceable, the summit of all earthly things, that must be recognized
in his innate value and always accepted with respect and love. He has
the right not to be treated as an object of possession or something to
manipulate at will, not to be reduced to a mere instrument for the
benefit of others and their interests. The human person is a good in and
of himself and his integral development should always be sought. Love
for all, if it is sincere, naturally tends to become a preferential
attention to the weakest and poorest. In this vein we find the Church's
concern for the unborn, the most fragile, the most threatened by the
selfishness of adults and the darkening of consciences. The Church
continually reiterates what was declared by the Second Vatican Council
against abortion and all violations of unborn life: "from the moment of
its conception life must be guarded with the greatest care ".
However, there are " are cultural tendencies that
seek to anesthetize consciences with misleading motivations. With regard
to the embryo in the womb, science itself highlights its autonomy
capable of interaction with the mother, the coordination of biological
processes, the continuity of development, the growing complexity of the
organism. This is not an accumulation of biological material, but a new
living being, dynamic and wonderfully ordered, a new unique human being.
So was Jesus in Mary's womb, so it was for all of us in our mother’s
womb…there is no reason not to consider him a person from conception”.
"Unfortunately – concluded the Pope - even after
birth, the lives of children continue to be exposed to abandonment,
hunger, poverty, disease, abuse, violence or exploitation. The many
violations of their rights that are committed in the world sorely hurt
the conscience of every man of good will. Before the sad landscape of
the injustices committed against human life, before and after birth, I
make mine Pope John Paul II’s passionate appeal to the responsibility of
each and every individual: " respect, protect, love and serve life,
every human life! Only in this direction will you find justice,
development, true freedom, peace and happiness!"(Encyclical Evangelium vitae,
5). I urge the protagonists of politics, economic and social
communications to do everything in their power to promote a culture
which respects human life, to provide favourable conditions and support
networks for the reception and development of life”.
SIC: AN/INT'L