Sunday, September 6, 2015

PARTICULARLY SERIOUS AND DEPLORABLE

Note: Because of the potential for confusion as to which "archbishop" I was originally referring to in this post (I was referring to Apuron), I am amending this post to just focus on the issue: the lack of emphasis on protecting life in the womb in a conference entitled "Safeguarding the Dignity of Every Human Person."

I am sure that the visiting bishop from the Philippines had nothing to do with the planning of the event or the visual presentation, but only offered his remarks on what was placed in front of him.

The main thing is that there is simply nothing comparable to the attack on the "Dignity of Every Human Person" both in terms of the unborn's helplessness and innocence and the sheer number of children slaughtered by abortion. There are 4000 per day in the United States alone.

There simply is NO "Safeguarding the Dignity of Every Human Person" if we do not first safeguard life at its most vulnerable.

This why our Church condemns abortion as an especially grievous sin. Gaudium et Spes called it "an abominable crime." In Evangelium Vitae John Paul II wrote: "Among all the crimes which can be committed against life, procured abortion has characteristics making it particularly serious and deplorable.

Abortion is "particularly serious and deplorable" because the degree of innocence and helplessness of the victim is absolute. The child cannot run and cannot even cry - though videos like the Silent Scream show the child screaming in its mother's womb as the abortionist's weapons rip her limb from limb. 



Abortion is so grave that it stands out all by itself in Canon 1398:
Can. 1398 A person who procures a completed abortion incurs a latae sententiae excommunication.
The Canon immediately before it addresses homicide and bodily mutilation but even these horrible mortal sins do not incur automatic excommunication.

This is why the killing of the unborn cannot be just one "life issue" on a list of life issues or merely "implied" by a general reference to children on a list beginning with "The Earth." 

From the presentation at the Catechetical Conference

Perhaps the most recent and notable affirmation that the Church regards abortion as the gravest of sins is the pope's recent granting permission to priests to forgive the sin of abortion during the upcoming Jubilee of Mercy.

The sin is so grave that only the pope or a bishop can forgive it, or as the pope just demonstrated, a priest who is authorized to do so. This is because a person who has an abortion, participates in an abortion, or supports an abortion is automatically excommunicated and only the pope or a bishop has the authority to lift excommunications.

Note: There is actually more to this. Church law regards abortion as both a mortal sin and a crime. The crime is the real reason for excommunication and there appears to be a debate as to what degree the woman who has the child aborted is also guilty of the crime. This discussed more here

For more about abortion on Guam visit www.Esperansa.org


*****

By the way, when I questioned why there was this "Earth First" bent at the conference which was supposed to address "the dignity of every human person" I was told "no planet no people." It's cute. And I've heard the cliche many times. But in God's view - since the earth was created for man and not the other way around, it should be: "no people, no reason for the planet." But the quip did remind me of something the late senator and pro-life champion Elizabeth Arriola was quoted as saying and I will copy it here:

"Let me tell you, at the rate Guam Memorial Hospital is aborting children, between 400-600 a year, and most of them are not even reported. Where are the lives that we are going to protect and preserve? Here we go talking about indigenous rights and self-determination. What good is all that if we don't have our followers to follow and enjoy the fruits of our labor, of this generation's labor, of your labor and my labor to fix this island and have autonomous rights to govern our people?"

 - quoted in: Asian/Pacific Islander American Women: A Historical Anthology, pg. 372, edited by Shirley Hume, Gail M. Nomura

Obviously this great woman knew that there was no sense in saving anything if we were going to permit the wanton killing of unborn children.

4 comments:

  1. This list has the stench of Sr Marian Arroyo to it. She has tried on several occasions to push her green agenda upon the Archdiocese, but has failed miserably in her primary job at the Chancery to promote pastoral ministry.
    This conference and the "Run for the Son" 5k are about all her group can show as accomplishments. And for this they spend how much?
    The conference is her baby and that warped list is her doing.

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    1. Yes,Marian Arroyo stamp all over that list. Stuff she picked up at Belmont. Impressionable.

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  2. Marian Arroyo is a thorn in the sisters of Mercy of the Americas in Guam. The mercy
    Sisters very much loved respected. Unfortunately this does not include Marian
    Arroyo who lives off the fat of the land by spending her life sucking up to
    Apuron for almost 25 years. Best thing Marian Arroyo can do is to re study the life
    Of the founder of the sisters of mercy and learn from her spirituality. She loved and
    Cared for the poor. She did not spend her religious life draining the finances of the
    People of God for personal gain. Marian Arroyo you need to resign also. I would
    Suggest back to Belmont NC to live a formal convent religious life where bells wake
    You to pray, eat, and sleep. This way you will be less of a damage to the church under
    A Mother General who will bring discipline and respect to your life as a sister. You
    Dear woman do not represent the spirit of mercy of your founder.

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  3. Sister Marian is one who craves for attention, She likes to take credit and enjoys the lime light of attention for the hard work that others perform. As head of the division of pastoral ministries, she has done nothing since she took over this office in terms of providing pastoral ministries for the archdiocese or any of the parishes that she supposedly directs. The Conference is the work of her staff and countless volunteers who give of their time, efforts and talents. She is there only to collect the attention and the credit at the end. "For Sure For sure" Claros is pretty much birds of the same feather, hardly at the office but collects a day's wages for nothing doing. "Of Course of Course" it should be named office of No Pastoral Ministries.

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