SUNDAY, October 6 is the day on which the Archdiocese of Brisbane celebrates Respect Life Sunday or Sanctity of Life Sunday.
This year it falls just after some comments made by Pope Francis on various moral issues were given wide publicity.
It is not my intention to enter into the discussion regarding what Pope Francis meant and what he did not mean.
As the name of this Sunday suggests, the focus is our respect for human life, at all stages of life.
In particular we remember those lives which are most vulnerable – the unborn, the aged, the terminally ill, those suffering from disability and others.
One commentator on the Pope’s comments referred to the Church’s “rules”.
The Church does not make “rules” on life issues such as abortion and euthanasia. The Church teaches moral truth, namely the inherent dignity of the human person, and then calls upon us to respect that dignity.
We do not begin with issues such as abortion, as if they somehow fall down out of the sky.
We begin with human life.
The focus is not simply abortion or euthanasia or destructive research on human embryos.
The focus is respect for human life, for all human persons are made in the image and likeness of God.
As Pope Francis said to a group of doctors “persons have a dignity, they are worth more than things and they have no price.”
He went on to say: “Every unborn child, condemned unjustly to being aborted, has the face of the Lord, who before being born, and then when he was just born, experienced the rejection of the world. And every elderly person, even if he or she is sick or at the end of his or her days, bears in him/herself the face of Christ. They cannot be discarded.”
Saying “no” to abortion, euthanasia, and other practices disrespectful of human life, is only part of the story.
The Church says yes to life, and calls upon us to respect and support human life where we can.
A good example of this is the approach launched by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference several years ago.
The Bishops sponsored a symposium, called Walking with Love: Alternatives to Abortion.
The theme of the symposium was how can we assist pregnant women. This theme has continued.
In the Archdiocese of Brisbane we launched Walking with Love groups.
The idea was to have locally based groups prepared to support pregnant women.
The Walking with Love group at Aspley parish has supported nearly a hundred women through their pregnancies.
I recently participated in a workshop which introduced Walking with Love to the diocese of Armidale.
Other initiatives have also been undertaken by individuals and groups.
Pregnancy Crisis Inc which was launched in Brisbane and has spread further has helped many pregnant women and has established emergency accommodation for pregnant women.
There is also support for those who have been touched by an abortion in some way, such as Rachel’s Vineyard retreats.
In the area of care of the terminally ill, Catholic organisations have been in the forefront of offering high quality palliative care and home nursing care.
There are many ways in which we can demonstrate our respect for human life. Today we pray that all people might, as Blessed John Paul II said, “rediscover the ability to revere and honour every person” and show it by their actions.
Dr Ray Campbell is the director of the Queensland Bioethics Centre in Brisbane.
