Pope condemns abortion as product of 'throwaway culture'

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“In all its phases and at every age, human life is always sacred and always of quality. And not as a matter of faith, but of reason and science!” the pope said Sept. 20 to a gathering of Catholic gynecologists.

Pope Francis characterized abortion as a product of a “widespread mentality of profit, the ‘throwaway culture,’ which has today enslaved the hearts and minds of so many.”

That mentality, he said, “calls for the elimination of human beings, above all if they are physically or socially weaker. Our response to that mentality is a decisive and unhesitating ‘yes’ to life.”

“Every unborn child, though unjustly condemned to be aborted, has the face of the Lord, who even before his birth, and then as soon as he was born, experienced the rejection of the world,” he said. “And every old person, even if infirm and at the end of his days, carries with him the face of Christ. They must not be thrown away!”

catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1303991.htm
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Well, I feel more relaxed already 😃

Now let’s see if we can get a discussion about this to be just as large as the thread I started yesterday on the interview. Let’s see if we can get a positive topic to generate the same response as a controversy.
 
AdvanceAlways said:
Let’s see if we can get a positive topic to generate the same response as a controversy.
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My contribution is only that I find it important whom the Pope is addressing. Catholic gynecologists. And how he appealed with natural law, reason and justice. Many have a trusting relationship with women. The vocation they have is there to help women and these topics can come up. They relationship they have is vital.
 
Pope: Spread the Gospel of life
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday received members of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations who are in Rome on the occasion of their 10th International Conference on Catholicism and Maternal Healthcare. Lydia O’Kane reports
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Following a greeting to conference participants, Pope Francis went on to address those gathered in three succinct points.
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Firstly, he described what he called the paradoxical situation facing the medical profession today. On the one hand, the Pope said we see the progress of medicine, and those dedicated to the search for new cures.
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But, on the other hand, he noted, there is the danger that a doctor might lose his identity as a servant of life. Pope Francis explained, that “if you lose the personal and social sensitivity towards the acceptance of a new life, then other forms of acceptance that are valuable for society also wither away.” He continued by saying that the acceptance of life strengthens moral fiber, before adding that the final objective of the doctor is always the defense and promotion of life.
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In his second point, the Holy Father underlined that "the first right of the human person is his life”. He spoke of a “culture of waste”, which he said, now enslaves the hearts and minds of many. The cost of this, he continued, is the elimination of human beings, especially if they are physically or socially weaker. The Pope stressed that every child that is not born, but unjustly condemned to be aborted and very elderly person who is sick or at the end of his life bears the face of Christ.
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The Pope also underlined the important role Gynecologists have which requires study, a conscience and humanity.
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In his third and final point the Holy Father said the mandate of Catholic doctors is “to be witnesses and promoters of the “culture of life”. The Lord, he said is counting on you to spread the “Gospel of life.”
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Pope Francis concluded his remarks by saying, “there is no human life more sacred than another, as there is no human life more significant than another. The credibility of a health care system is measured not only for its efficiency, but also for the attention and love towards people, whose life is always sacred.
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Italian text of Pope Francis’ speech

vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/speeches/2013/september/documents/papa-francesco_20130920_associazioni-medici-cattolici_it.html
 
Well, this is good, but think the damage was already done in the Jesuit interview yesterday.
 
What?! I thought he said the other day we shouldn’t talk about abortion anymore!! 😉
 
McCall1981 said:
Well, this is good, but think the damage was already done in the Jesuit interview yesterday.
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I have to disagree. I know we don’t disagree to often 👍, but I really appreciate what the Pope said in that interview. After reading the whole interview and Jimmy Akins article, it is very clear that the Pope held firm the church’s teaching but is trying a new strategy. I think this new article proves that fact. For years we have done poor catechesis and poor evangelization. We have not taught the living faith of the gospel. When we fail there, all the moral issues just seem like arbitrary restrictions from a beuracratic and ancient institution. People need to know why! People need to to hear the gospel proclaimed and see it as the focus of Christianity. If the whole world became Catholic for Christ, these moral issues would go aside.

Even with the media’s distortion, people see through it quickly. But it is exciting that people are tuning in and hopefully finding Christ.

Jimmy Akins commentary : ncregister.com/daily-news/pope-francis-focuses-on-the-bigger-picture-with-new-interview/
 
:confused: I’m so confused, I thought he said we weren’t supposed to be talking about abortion so much?
 
Jon_S said:
I have to disagree. I know we don’t disagree to often 👍, but I really appreciate what the Pope said in that interview. After reading the whole interview and Jimmy Akins article, it is very clear that the Pope held firm the church’s teaching but is trying a new strategy. I think this new article proves that fact. For years we have done poor catechesis and poor evangelization. We have not taught the living faith of the gospel. When we fail there, all the moral issues just seem like arbitrary restrictions from a beuracratic and ancient institution. People need to know why! People need to to hear the gospel proclaimed and see it as the focus of Christianity. If the whole world became Catholic for Christ, these moral issues would go aside.

Even with the media’s distortion, people see through it quickly. But it is exciting that people are tuning in and hopefully finding Christ.

Jimmy Akins commentary : ncregister.com/daily-news/pope-francis-focuses-on-the-bigger-picture-with-new-interview/
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You said that people will see through the media’s distortion, but I don’t think they will. Yesterday millions of people read that the Pope said abortion and homosexuality are ok because the Church is finally changing it’s teachings. You and I and other informed Catholics know this isn’t true, but that doesn’t matter becasue millions of people now really believe it IS true.

In other words we can defend what the Pope said until we’re blue in the face, but it doesn’t matter what he said, what matters is what was communicated.

I’m glad he said these good things about abortion today, and I’m glad that thousands of people like us will read it. But the problem is that, rightly or wrongly, millions read the opposite yesterday.

But, who knows? Maybe I’m wrong and the Pope’s strategy will work. I certainly hope it does, I just don’t think it will.
 
McCall1981 said:
You said that people will see through the media’s distortion, but I don’t think they will. Yesterday millions of people read that the Pope said abortion and homosexuality are ok because the Church is finally changing it’s teachings. You and I and other informed Catholics know this isn’t true, but that doesn’t matter becasue millions of people now really believe it IS true.

In other words we can defend what the Pope said until we’re blue in the face, but it doesn’t matter what he said, what matters is what was communicated.

I’m glad he said these good things about abortion today, and I’m glad that thousands of people like us will read it. But the problem is that, rightly or wrongly, millions read the opposite yesterday.

But, who knows? Maybe I’m wrong and the Pope’s strategy will work. I certainly hope it does, I just don’t think it will.
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People hear what they want to hear, after time though the truth is revealed. If millions heard that yesterday it will be days or weeks not months before they realize they heard wrong. IMO
 
Interesting that he said these strong words on abortion today, right after the fallout from that interview. I wonder if it was connected.

I’m hoping it was and that this is a sign he’s going speak more strongly on the moral issues in the days to come. (I know I’m grasping at straws here, but it’s all I’ve got).
 
McCall1981 said:
You said that people will see through the media’s distortion, but I don’t think they will. Yesterday millions of people read that the Pope said abortion and homosexuality are ok because the Church is finally changing it’s teachings. You and I and other informed Catholics know this isn’t true, but that doesn’t matter becasue millions of people now really believe it IS true.
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But not for long. Eventually it will dawn on them that the truth has not changed, and will never change. It is eternal.

In fact, eventually this fiasco will only serve to highlight the truth. Be patient.
 
McCall1981 said:
Interesting that he said these strong words on abortion today, right after the fallout from that interview. I wonder if it was connected.

I’m hoping it was and that this is a sign he’s going speak more strongly on the moral issues in the days to come. (I know I’m grasping at straws here, but it’s all I’ve got).
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I think he’s taking the approach of:

You know what we teach about morality , now let’s talk about why you don’t trust in Jesus Christ.
 
McCall1981 said:
Interesting that he said these strong words on abortion today, right after the fallout from that interview. I wonder if it was connected.

I’m hoping it was and that this is a sign he’s going speak more strongly on the moral issues in the days to come. (I know I’m grasping at straws here, but it’s all I’ve got).
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I think you’re right. Actually, it has to be that way.

All of these bumbling and misinterpreted interviews only serve as opportunities to clarify the faith.

I’m starting to think of it as an effective teaching method.

Say something that can be distorted immensely, then after the chaos dies down, catechize clearly. You can reach the whole world that way, whereas if you simply started to preach without any controversy, very few would hear you.

I like it.🙂
 
Cider said:
:confused: I’m so confused, I thought he said we weren’t supposed to be talking about abortion so much?
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The pope, and Church, still oppose abortion, same-sex unions, and contraception. What he seemed to be asking was to change our approach. Instead of nagging, which doesn’t work, he wanted us to approach it differently, attract our flies with honey instead of vinegar, as it were.

I think he said what he did about abortion, because so many probably didn’t understand what he meant in the other interview and came away with a mistaken impression, something which he seems to be trying to rectify through these statements.
 
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