For many Americans the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey was welcomed with joy and relief. We feel that a “people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” and upon this land that had been so gloom-ridden by the evil of abortion, “a light has shone” (Isaiah 9:2). For many Catholics and people of good will, both Roe and Casey had been a “yoke that burdened us, a pole on our shoulders, the rod of our taskmasters” that seemed to work so powerfully against our efforts at seeking justice for the most innocent and vulnerable; but by God’s grace it has been smashed (cf. Isaiah 9:4). For the first time since 1973, for our country January 22nd is a day from which “anguish has taken wing and darkness is dispelled” (Isaiah 9:1). We are especially mindful of God’s goodness and power in all of this, and we rejoice in Him.
While a light has shone on the highest court in our land, many people still walk in darkness as regards the dignity of human life. Good laws make good citizens, but laws alone are not enough to build a just society – a society is only as just as the people who build it. We continue to pray and offer sacrifice that hearts will be softened and minds opened to the dignity of all human life – from the moment of natural conception to natural death. Many states are actively working to enshrine abortion in the law, and many citizens favor such laws and will vote to ensure they are ratified. We see in all this that just laws are not enough: a flourishing democracy requires virtuous citizens who are committed to truth and justice. Without these virtuous citizens, our country will not be wanting for oppression or tyranny, because we will have succumbed to the oppression of a tyranny of our own making, and the very thing the United States of America was established to evade will have found its foothold in the errors of its citizens. We must keep working diligently, so that more hearts and minds might place themselves at the service of life, and only then will a true culture of life arise in our nation.
In all this, we should remember that the issue of abortion is not primarily political, but an issue that has affected and continues to affect countless human lives. Abortion is a human issue before it is a political one; while politics divides, our common humanity is what unites us, and it is our humanity which prompts us to always act with compassion in this regard. We must be mindful of all women – and men – who have been wounded by abortion, for whom there seemed no way forward and who perhaps made a decision they later regretted for fear that there was nothing else they could do. We can only imagine the depths of their desperation, the intensity of the pressures they faced from within and without, and the grief that now weighs so heavily on their hearts. We must pray for their healing, that they may find peace. When mistakes have been made – even very grave ones – and guilt awakens, it does little good to prod at the individual’s regret, which in many cases is already so burdensome. The past cannot be changed, and so compassionate, merciful love is the only way those who have been affected by abortion can find hope, and we who are at the service of life must also be at the service of love for those who are suffering. There is an even greater need, now that Roe has been overruled, to be a source of compassion and strength for those women and men who still find themselves facing a difficult pregnancy, who will not – thanks be to God – have ready access to abortion, yet now need the support of the community as they welcome their precious child into the world. As Catholics, we should find ways to support and accompany these persons.
Equally important in the “fight for the right to life”, but perhaps less present to our minds, is the promotion of the virtue of chastity. Chasity is the virtue by which sexual desires are regulated and integrated within the person: “The chaste person maintains the integrity of the powers of life and love placed in him. This integrity ensures the unity of the person; it is opposed to any behavior that would impair it. It tolerates neither a double life nor duplicity in speech” (Catechism 2338). In many cases, it is sexual immorality flowing from unchastity that gives rise to the “unwanted pregnancies” that so often result in abortion. As Catholics, we must commit to being witnesses to the God-given purpose of human sexuality and try to live it more faithfully in whatever state in life God has called us. God established human sexuality as His means of bringing new life into the world, and this purpose cannot be undermined without compromising the individual in his or her integrity. Every sexual act that is not open to human life, that artificially or deliberately compromises the procreative purpose of sex, or sees the creation of human life as an “accidental and unintended effect” must be diligently avoided, lest we commit grave sin, the fundamental connection between sexuality and procreation be obscured in our consciences, and our witness to life be undermined by “a double life or duplicity in speech”. To live chastely requires perseverance, a profound spirit of trust and hope, and humble reliance on God’s grace, especially in prayer and the Sacraments. We are each called to place ourselves more readily at the service of life and love, and to the extent we do this in our own lives, living our vocations with integrity and generosity, we will see that the darkness of gloom will continue to scatter by the light of truth and grace. May God bless you in the week ahead and may Mother Mary lead you more deeply into the Sacred and Merciful Heart of Jesus. I remain,
Affectionately Yours in Christ,
Fr. Hess
