Life Issues Formation Program

What is the consistent ethic of life? Theologian Kenneth Overberg, SJ explains it this way: A comprehensive ethical system that links together many different issues by focusing attention on the basic value of life It rules out contradictory moral positions on issues involving human life – we cannot be against abortion but in favor of the death penalty, we cannot work against poverty but support euthanasia

What is the consistent ethic of life? It is not sufficient to be pro-life on some issues; we must be pro-life on all issues “If we are consistent, we must speak and act concerning abortion and euthanasia but also concerning welfare and immigration, sexism and racism, cloning and health-care reform, trade agreements and sweatshops, the buying and selling of women for prostitution, genocide and many other issues.”

Formulation of a Consistent Ethic of Life The idea of a consistent ethic of life was first articulated by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago in the 1980’s. Bernardin was serving as chair of the Pro-Life Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Cardinal Bernardin Let’s consider some highlights of Bernardin’s Gannon lecture at Fordham University A Consistent Ethic of Life: An American-Catholic Dialogue

Cardinal Bernardin At the time of this lecture, the US Bishops had recently issued the pastoral letter The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response on war and nuclear weapons In this pastoral letter the same ethical principle that underlies the wrongness of abortion -- namely, that the directly intended taking of innocent human life is wrong -- was applied to the case of war

Cardinal Bernardin “…the connection drawn between Catholic teaching on war and Catholic teaching on abortion. Both, of course, must be seen in light of an attitude of respect for life. The more explicit connection is based on the principle which prohibits the directly intended taking of innocent human life. The principle is at the heart of Catholic teaching on abortion. …the same principle yields the most stringent, binding, and radical conclusion of the pastoral letter: that directly intended attacks on civilian centers are always wrong.”

Cardinal Bernardin “The use of this principle exemplifies the meaning of a consistent ethic of life. The principle which structures both cases, war and abortion, needs to be upheld in both places. It cannot be successfully sustained on one count and simultaneously eroded in a similar situation.” The terminology “seemless garment” is used to express the idea that respecting life is an attitude that we must have across the board. And Bernardin talked about yet other life issues in his lecture

Cardinal Bernardin “Asking these questions along the spectrum of life from womb to tomb creates the need for a consistent ethic of life. For the spectrum of life issues cuts across the issues of genetics, abortion, capital punishment, modern warfare and the care of the terminally ill.”

Cardinal Bernardin “We [US Bishops] have also opposed the death penalty because we do not think its use cultivates an attitude of respect for life in society. The purpose of proposing a consistent ethic of life is to argue that success on any one of the issues threatening life requires a concern for the broader attitude in society about respect for human life.”

Cardinal Bernardin Bernardin also established a connection between the “right to life” and “quality of life” issues: “If one contends, as we do, that the right of every fetus to be born should be protected by civil law and supported by civil consensus, then our moral, political and economic responsibilities do not stop at the moment of birth. Those who defend the right to life of the weakest among us must be equally visible in support of the quality of life of the powerless among us: the old and the young, the hungry and the homeless, the undocumented immigrant and the unemployed worker. Such a quality of life posture translates

Cardinal Bernardin into specific political and economic positions on tax policy, employment generation, welfare policy, nutrition and feeding programs, and health care. Consistency means that we cannot have it both ways. We cannot urge a compassionate society and vigorous public policy to protect the rights of the unborn and then argue that compassion and significant public programs on behalf of the needy undermine the moral fiber of the society or are beyond the proper scope of governmental responsibility.”

Beyond Cardinal Bernardin A consistent ethic of life is not limited to Cardinal Bernardin. It has been endorsed by the bishops of the United States.

US Bishops on a Consistent Ethic of Life “Adopting a consistent ethic of life, the Catholic Church promotes a broad spectrum of issues ‘seeking to protect human life and promote human dignity from the inception of life to its final moment.’ Opposition to abortion and euthanasia does not excuse indifference to those who suffer from poverty, violence and injustice. Any politics of human life must work to resist the violence of war and the scandal of capital punishment. Any politics of human dignity must seriously address issues of racism, poverty, hunger, employment, education, housing and health care. Therefore, Catholics should eagerly involve themselves as advocates for the weak and marginalized in all these areas.” Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics A Statement by the Catholic Bishops of the United States, no. 23.

Beyond Cardinal Bernardin A consistent ethic of life has also been adopted internationally, by the Catholic Bishops of New Zealand (see readings)

Bishops of New Zealand Note the range of issues included in their statement on a consistent ethic of life Protection of the environment Discrimination Poverty (the number one killer in the world!) The arms race War as a means of settling disputes Abortion Euthanasia Death penalty

John Paul II and Evangelium Vitae While Evangelium Vitae does not use the phrase “consistent ethic of life,” the content of the encyclical affirms it. ---theologian Kenneth Overberg, SJ

Evangelium Vitae Although extended attention is given to abortion and euthanasia, a wide spectrum of life issues are also mentioned. “Other [threats] are the result of situations of violence, hatred and conflicting interests, which lead people to attack others through murder, war, slaughter, and genocide.” (no. 10)

Evangelium Vitae “And how can we fail to consider the violence against life done to millions of human beings, especially children, who are forced into poverty, malnutrition and hunger because of an unjust distribution of resources between peoples and between social classes? And what of the violence inherent not only in wars as such but in the scandalous arms trade, which spawns the many armed conflicts which stain our world with blood? What of the spreading of death caused by reckless tampering with the world’s ecological balance, by the criminal spread of drugs, or by the promotion of certain kinds of sexual activity which…involve grave risks to life? It is impossible to catalogue completely the vast array of threats to human life, so many are the forms, whether explicit or hidden, in which they appear today!” (no. 10)

Evangelium Vitae Also discussed are Assisted reproductive technologies which involve the death/destruction of embryos Experimentation on embryos Contraception and sterilization as responses to expanding populations Death penalty

The bottom line… To recognize the broad scope of the Church’s concern with life issues.

Our Project Through the remainder of this course we will study various issues which form part of the Church’s consistent ethic of life.

Acknowledgments Pictures in this power point were obtained from the following sources: Cardinal Bernardin USCCB logo concordpastor.blogspot.com New Zealand Bishops Conference John Paul II catholicknight.blogspot.com