Dear deaconjohn,
I
wanted to share with you this great article LifeSiteNews.com just
published about the conference Human Life International is presenting
this October in Omaha, Nebraska in partnership with the Nebraska
Bishops' Pro-Life Office and the Archdiocese of Omaha Respect Life
Apostolate. Life, Dignity, and Disability: A Faith that Welcomes will truly be a unique and exciting conference that you won't want to miss.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Father Shenan J. Boquet
President, Human Life International
Abortion the 'greatest threat' to the disabled: organizer of 'Life, Dignity, & Disability' conference
By Peter Baklinski(
LifeSiteNews.com)
In a culture that kills for convenience, one of the most threatened
populations is the disabled, according to one of the organizers of a
conference on "
Life, Dignity, & Disability" to be held in Omaha, Nebraska October 18-19.
Already
many disabled, including up to 90% of children diagnosed with Down
syndrome, never see the light of day, thanks to prenatal diagnosis and
legalized abortion. But, according to Arland Nichols, the Director of
Education and Evangelization at Human Life International, the practice
of aborting the disabled leads invariably to a "dehumanizing of disabled
persons" that will in turn lead to "policies, programs and mentalities"
that will harm those already born members of the disability
community.
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The impressive list of speakers at the conference in Omaha
include Bishop James D. Conley, Peter Kreeft, Joseph Pearce, Fr. Shenan
Boquet and more.
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Instead of
killing the disabled, they deserve our "love, respect, support, and
recognition of their full and authentic dignity as human beings made in
the image and likeness of God," Nichols told LifeSiteNews.com.
Nichols
said that abortion is the biggest threat that the disabled community
faces today. Calling abortion the "silent killer" of the disabled, he
said that major national disability groups advocating for the disability
community will not speak out against abortion targeting the youngest of
the disabled for fear of political backlash or losing donors.
But
they do so at their own peril, he added, since when people justify
killing persons in the womb because they are disabled, there is nothing
logically stopping them from killing a disabled person outside the womb.
The idea of culling the
disabled is not an idea that is buried in the history books about the
horrors of the Nazi's eugenics programs.
A U.K. politician this year called for disabled
children to be "put down"
who place too great a burden on health care services. Meanwhile, last
month a family of an autistic boy received an anonymous hate letter that
suggested the family move or
"euthanize" him. In June a 14-year-old severely autistic boy was
murdered with a kitchen knife when his mother decided that his "emotional condition had deteriorated" and made him 'unfit to live'.
Nichols
said that the problem boils down to people having a "utilitarian
viewpoint" of the human person, namely that a human person only has
"worth and "dignity" insofar as he or she is "useful" and contributes
"meaningfully" to society.
"Persons
who are disabled do not fit that sort of standard," he said. "They are
seen as a 'burden', as someone who can be discarded, as someone who's
family even have an obligation to discard because of the burden they
will place on society."
The
conference, organized with the Nebraska Bishops' Pastoral Plan for
Pro-Life Activities and the Archdiocese of Omaha Respect Life
Apostolate, will shed light on relevant issues related to life, dignity,
and disabilities and provide practical guidance for pastoral care.
The
event is designed for clergy and religious, parents and caregivers,
pro-life activists, and those who desire to explore, learn, and live out
the social teaching of the Catholic Church.
In addition to Nichols, the impressive
list of speakers include Bishop James D. Conley, Peter Kreeft, Joseph Pearce, Fr. Shenan Boquet and more.
Pope John Paul II once said: "A society will be judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members..."
For
Nichols, the meaning behind these words is simple: "We are called to
treat the least among us as though they are - and in God's eyes they are
- the greatest among us."
Find out more information about "Life, Dignity, & Disability"
here.
