Editor’ s Notes
Defend, Celebrate, and Protect Life by Fr. Richard Bayuk, c. pp. s., Editor
Speaking to those gathered for the recent 45th annual March for Life, President Trump said, " The March for Life is a movement born out of love. You love your families, you love your neighbors, you love our nation and you love every child— born and unborn— because you believe every life is sacred, that every child is a precious gift from God." Good on him for making an appearance and speaking to the marchers and especially for those words. Words that would have held more sway for me if they had been uttered in the first person singular or plural(“ I believe, we believe that every life is sacred.”)
I cannot know and don’ t want to judge what is in the hearts of those who“ march for life.” I do know, however, that for many people the focus is more anti-abortion than it is pro-life. I was heartened to hear the words of one marcher who said to a reporter that many marchers did so“ simply to promote the sanctity of life. We are in a moment in our country,” he said,“ where life is at a crisis— be it life in the womb, be it the life of immigrants, be it the African-American male. We have a life crisis happening in our country.”
Pro-life is just that. Pro-life. It means trying to reduce and ideally eliminate abortions and the situations that compel people to have them. It means lots of other things as well. Preventing hunger and poverty; supporting the terminally ill and the mentally ill; religious freedom for everyone, even non-Christians; LGBT people being able to live and work and worship as they desire; fighting racism, bigotry, and homophobia; fewer guns in the hands of people who shouldn’ t have them; a living wage and health care; an end to killing people who kill people; compassion for immigrants and refugees; working to combat climate change; elimination of nuclear weapons; working for peace; living justly.
It would do us all good to take a hard look at the policies of our local, state, and federal governments, the views of politicians we vote for, and yes, the teachings of whatever faith tradition we are a member of and we subscribe to— and then ask ourselves how they fit with the above list( which is not comprehensive, by the way). And then, wherever and whenever we see and experience something that is anti-life, we march or speak or write letters or vote or all of the above. Everyone gets to believe what they want to believe, and I’ m sure some readers will disagree with me, but I maintain we are not pro-life if we are in favor of nuclear weapons or the death penalty, or if we do not welcome the stranger or feed the hungry. continued on page 4
2 • The New Wine Press • February 2018