St. Joseph of the Lakes

In the Roman times a child was considered the possession of the father. It was only when the child came into its adulthood that it gained any “rights” over its life. Before that time came, the father could decide to destroy it at anytime and there would be no consequence to him. With both Jewish and Christian influences, society finally began recognizing that each person possessed the right to their life within themselves. This value was never seen as absolute and there have always been questions even within Christianity as to who really has a “right” over his/her life, thus the questions of just war and the death penalty continue to be raised. More recently, the Catholic Church has become even more consistent in its application of the right to life of each individual, and so it calls on governments to end their death penalties.

Of late, there have been several states that have modified their abortion policies allowing for very late term abortions. This permission causes me to recall the Roman practice of allowing the father to kill his child. It is as if the Judao-Christian values that at one point guided society are being set aside to embrace something much more cruel.

Christianity did not gain the influence of society by argument or coercion. For the first three hundred years of its existence individual followers lived in the midst of a society that did not value them, but they lived by their Christian values in spite of a society that lived with a different set of priorities. I believe we are returning to a time like those first three hundred years. It may not be through law or right argument that we will stop what strikes Christians as madness (the killing of an innocent child) but as it did for early Christians so now for us it can and will be through individual examples that will influence the decisions of others.

Thank you for your support of the Lifecare Center, and for all the donations of your aluminum cans that provide support for the Center. Thank you for embracing every pregnant woman and welcoming the children. Our actions will always speak louder than our words.