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Dear deaconjohn,
It can be difficult to actively
engage in the fight for life, marriage and family. You may make great
friends in the trenches, but outside of them you are less likely to
receive a friendly reception.
We
also recognize this difficulty as an opportunity for grace. It's a
chance to mortify our pride and detach ourselves to some degree from
worldly concerns. What you lose in "cool points" you gain in the
infinitely more valuable grace if you offer up your difficulties for the
glory of God.
Following our
Lord, we become a sign of contradiction for a culture that seeks more
and more to make evil seem good, and good, evil.
But
I have to say that this week has been harder than most. First we lost a
great man and a great judge with the unexpected death of Supreme Court
Justice Antonin Scalia. The already-confused Court lost perhaps its
greatest mind and certainly one of its leading advocates of judicial
modesty, restraint, and respect for the Constitution. We pray for his
soul, for peace and healing for those closest to him, and for our
country. The chairman of HLI's board of directors, Stu Nolan, shared his thoughts in HLI's Truth and Charity Forum on the gifts that Justice Scalia has left the nation and the pro-life movement.
Next,
on his return flight from Mexico, the Holy Father made one of his
strongest condemnations yet of abortion, which was very heartening.
Right after this, however, Pope Francis made some comments about
contraception and the Zika virus that were immediately interpreted as
opening the door to the use of contraceptives in some cases. Within
minutes every major media outlet said basically that Church teaching on
contraception had changed.
We
put out a statement clarifying relevant teaching and expressing our hope
that an official clarification would soon be forthcoming. What happened
instead was the Vatican spokesman in an interview with Vatican Radio
this morning said that the Holy Father did intend to say that in some
"emergency" cases "condoms or contraception" would be acceptable for
couples who had undergone a "serious discernment." You can see our revised statement here.
Brothers
and sisters, prayer is sorely needed. It is fitting that these events
happen in the penitential season of Lent. More and more we realize how
much we rely on God, and how turning away from Him and His law results
not in more freedom, as we are so often told, but in greater slavery as
the results of our society's poor choices multiply.
Let
us not forget that God is good. He is Love. He is Justice. Even here,
He is calling us to get rid of all that separates us from Him, to share
in the suffering of Our Lord even in the small events and larger trials
of our lives.
Yes, God is
good! As Padre Pio said, "Pray, hope, and don't worry." How much do we
trust in Our Heavenly Father? Let's pray that we trust more.
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Sincerely yours in Christ,
Father Shenan J. Boquet
President, Human Life International
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