I recently had the chance to visit the
Sistine Chapel and gaze on artistic masterpieces - particularly the most celebrated "paint job" in the history of ceilings! Whether Catholic or non-Catholic, theistic or atheistic, gazing on such scenes as Michelangelo's
Creation of Adam and
Creation of Eve can be absolutely inspiring and lead to a profound appreciation for God's own artistic masterpieces (i.e., each human being from the moment that the sperm joins the egg, until natural death)! Respect for the sanctity of human life is not some sort of sectarian, "Catholic thing" but a mandate written on all of our hearts.
For Catholics and those with the same cycle of liturgical readings, the Creation of Eve was also recalled
on October 7th. Recognizing his true partner among God's creations, Adam is ecstatic: “
This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!" The reading concludes: "
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body."
Almost since the beginning, men have messed up the leaving the "father and mother," clinging to the wife and becoming "one body" arrangement; they've betrayed their wives and dallied in sexual sins of all sorts. Yet when leaders asked for marital loopholes in the
Gospel reading for October 7th, Jesus called humanity back to the "leaving the 'father and mother,' clinging to the wife and becoming 'one body' arrangement."
In 1968, Pope Paul VI issued a
letter on the sanctity of human life, also calling humanity back to that "leaving the 'father and mother,' clinging to the wife and becoming 'one body' arrangement." Largely because it confirmed that contraceptives were to be rejected (even by married couples),
Humanae Vitae was rejected in its entirety by countless Catholics (including many nuns, priests, and bishops). Forty-four years later, Paul VI's warnings about destroyed marriages/families, widespread disregard for human life, and governments attempting to impose coercive population control seem prophetic.
Early in his own pontificate, the late John Paul the Great, dedicated five years of general audiences to getting humanity to appreciate his predecessor's message (Those audiences are known as his
Theology of the Body.). More recently, the Vatican issued an instruction,
Dignitas Personae, which reiterated that each new human being is owed uncompromising respect and has the right to originate in the loving embrace of mom and dad, who are married to each other.
Some Catholics try erroneously to infer that Catholic teachings about the sanctity of human life and marriage/family are just for "conservatives," while more hip Catholics can focus on "social teaching." Such misunderstanding and/or misrepresenation is abundantly evident in an op ed by our former congressman (cf,
Patrick Murphy, The Catholic Vote: Honor Our Nation's Highest Ideals, 10/5/12). Though he speaks of the "
sanctity of life" and describes himself as a "
faithful Catholic," Patrick Murphy had a 0% pro life voting record as a member of the 111th Congress (
National Catholic Register, 12/7/10).
If he is receptive to learning the truth, a study of the Vatican's
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church would make clear to Patrick that Catholic teachings on human life, marriage/family, and social issues are absolutely interconnected! While he singles Paul Ryan out for criticism, it is ironic that Ryan has shown an appreciation of - and familiarity with - the Compendium (cf.,
Paul Ryan, Applying Our Enduring Truths to Our Defining Challenge, 4/25/12).
Recent comments by our archbishop seem to anticipate Patrick Murphy's errors:
- "I certainly can’t vote for somebody who’s either pro-choice or pro-abortion....Jesus tells us very clearly that if we don’t help the poor, we’re going to go to hell. Period. There’s just no doubt about it. That has to be a foundational concern of Catholics and of all Christians. But Jesus didn’t say the government has to take care of them, or that we have to pay taxes to take care of them. Those are prudential judgments. Anybody who would condemn someone because of their position on taxes is making a leap that I can’t make as a Catholic....to say that it’s somehow intrinsically evil like abortion doesn’t make any sense at all" (Archbishop Chaput, 9/14/12).
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