A little while ago, I was talking with someone about how the Church cares for the poor, works for justice in our world, and does all that we can to promote peace. I said that we do these things not because we’re “do gooders” or hippies, but because it is our responsibility as Christians.
I forget the context of the conversation, but it was a pretty standard response to whatever was asked, straight from Catholic Social Teaching 101. I will never forget the response:
But why should we care about this world? If we believe in heaven, who cares if people are poor or die? Shouldn’t our only focus be on getting souls into heaven?
Rarely am I caught off guard by a question, but this one certainly got me. I could see what the person was getting at, I could see why they would ask this, but there were just so many problems with that way of thinking that I didn’t know where to start. Luckily I have a good internal filter and regrouped, because my first thought was, “So, are you suggesting that we just mercy kill everyone who has a tough life so that we can ‘send them to heaven?'” That would not have been a pastorally appropriate response.
I can’t remember exactly what I said at the time, but it got me thinking, theologically, how to best answer this question. In this week’s Catholicism In Focus, I offer three reasons why we care about protecting life, and really, the entire physical world:
1. Creation was created by God, it is good in itself, and is a vessel for experiencing God.
2. The human person is more than just a “soul” or spiritual body, but is fundamentally a physical being.
3. Salvation is not simply an other-worldly experience, one completely removed from our reality.
Is this a complete list? By no means. But I think it offers a foundation for a Catholic view of the world that must be behind everything we do. Unless we accept these three points as a basis for our faith, we might struggle to understand much of what we do and why we do it, leading us to ask tragic questions like, “Why should we care about life at all?”
Breaking In The Habit 
There is a distinction between saying you are pro-life and being pro-life. For example, the Crusades were not pro-life. The support of slavery was not pro-life. The support for the death penalty (which changed under the present pope) was not pro-life. Even the policy against abortion is not pro-life when the mother’s life is in danger. The church supported the Vietnam invasion by the USA, which was immoral. Cardinal Spellman was a big backer of the war.
Exactly. 🌸
John you forgot ‘Just war’ turning a blind eye to the middle east death rates on civilian casualties until recently… 🌸 Pro life lmao
I am still confounded by the Church’s objection to contraception. There would not be any ABORTIONS, if there were the use of contraceptions. I know that some were in the OLD TESTAMENT “…it is better to put your seed in the belly of a whore, than to spill it on the ground….”
Humane Vitae, Trust me speaking as a woman, the introduction of contraception, and contraceptive mindset has arguably led to the greatest abuse of women since the beginning of time,worldwide women are no longer revered, respected and intrinsically valued for being a woman, a wife and mother.
Since the acceptance and promotion of contraception Women have become never before more maligned, objectified, trafficked, used and abused for financial gain, the porn industry is multi billion if not trillion industry, that has become so main stream, in terms of the vast influence it has popular trends in fashion, music, celebrity.culture.
Where is the LOVE? |Where is the romance? There is “hook ups”, one night stands, buddy sex,
Women no longer possess any insight and / or understanding into their own true value and worth, as a woman. the wonder of their own bodies, (a woman’s body, a woman’s wisdom)
It is truly sad to witness all those women among us prostituting themselves, and I mean main stream, everyday living, in the home, in the workplace, women selling themselves, bodies, minds, souls and spirits (short) in a concerted effort to be accepted as a “man” in a man’s world. Women deny themselves daily in pursuit of “having it all”, the perfect career, the house and the home. Appearance is absolutely everything. |There is no room for failure, weakness, not maintaining the perfect image……
We as a society have lost sight of WHO we truly are as WOMEN, our role in the family, the community and society as a whole,
When women denounce “motherhood”, when women do not know their own dignity, worth as a woman then it is little wonder that men do not give us the respect that our creation demands.
advise.
It is extraordinary to think/ponder and reflect that women alone have the power to change generation upon generation and fundamentally bring about a whole new civilization.
When a man loves a woman, and the son loves his mother .