Why abortion trumps ‘social justice’
Los Angeles archbishop answers the question in his weekly newspaper column
Writing in the Jan. 20 edition of the archdiocesan newspaper The Tidings, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez says abortion can never play second fiddle to ‘social justice’ as a moral issue for Catholics.
The archbishop said he often hears the questions, “Why does the Church still bother trying to change people’s hearts and minds on abortion? Wouldn’t our time and resources be better spent on pressing issues such as poverty, social justice and peace?”
And he replies: “These are good and sincere questions. For me, the answer is a matter of truth and first principles. The truth is true whether our society acknowledges it or not. And we always want to make sure we are living in the truth and not living a lie or a delusion.”
Archbishop Gomez compared the struggle against abortion to similar long battles in the country’s history against slavery and segregation, and noted that the humanity of the unborn child is “a truth of biology, not theology; a truth of science, not religion.”
“Our country was founded on a great moral truth -- that all men and women are created equal and are born with God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” wrote Archbishop Gomez. “Roe v. Wade turned this beautiful truth inside out. The Supreme Court, in effect, said that our rights do not come from God but instead are bestowed by government -- by courts and legislatures.”
“But that’s not the truth,” wrote the archbishop. “And if our rights are not endowed by God, then they are subject to the random whims of those who hold political power. The strong get to decide what is right and wrong, who has rights and who does not, who gets to live and who does not.”
“So that is why the Church will always remain at the center of this great struggle for the right to life in our time,” Archbishop Gomez continued. “The right to life is the foundation of every other right and liberty in our society. Of course, we are always working for justice and peace. But we can never ‘disconnect’ this vital work from our defense of innocent life and human dignity.”
To read the archbishop’s commentary in its entirety, Click Here. http://www.the-tidings.com/
