2. The human person is called to a fullness of life
that exceeds this earthly life,
for it consists in sharing God's life
even in its temporal phase.
Life in time
is the fundamental condition,
the initial stage and an integral part
of the entire unified process of human existence.
This process is enlightened by the promise
and renewed by the gift of divine life,
which will reach its fullness in eternity.
Life on earth is not in ultimate,
but a penultimate reality,
a sacred reality entrusted to us
and to be brought to perfection
in the gift of ourselves to God
and to our sisters and brothers.
The Gospel of Life has a profound echo
in the heart of every person,
fulfilling all the heart's expectations
while even surpassing them.
Every person open to truth and goodness
and led by the light of reason and grace
can come to recognize
- in the natural law written in the heart (Rom 2:14-l 5) -
the sacred value of human life from its beginning to its end
and the right to have it respected.
It is upon this right
that every human community is founded.
Believers in Christ have a special duty
to defend and promote this right
because "by the incarnation,
the Son of God has united himself in some fashion
with every human being" (GS 22).
The church feels called to proclaim this "gospel"
to the peoples of all times.
The living human person is the way for the church.
New Threats to Human Life

3. Every threat to human dignity is felt in the church’s heart.
It affects its faith and engages its mission
of proclaiming the Gospel of Life -
a proclamation especially pressing
because of the new threats
to the life of individuals and peoples,
especially where life is weak and defenseless.
Next to the old scourges
of poverty, hunger, disease, violence, and war,
new threats are arising at an alarming scale.
I repeat the words of the Second Vatican Council
condemning crimes and attacks against human life:
"-whatever is opposed to life itself
such as any type of murder, genocide,
abortion, euthanasia, or willful self-destruction;
-whatever violates the integrity of the human person
such as mutilation,
torments indicted on body or mind,
attempts to coerce the will itself;
-whatever insults human dignity,
such as subhuman living conditions,
arbitrary imprisonment, deportation,
slavery, prostitution,
the selling of women and children;
- as well as disgraceful working conditions,
where people are treated
as mere tools for profit,
rather than as free and responsible persons ...
all these things and others of their kind
are infamies indeed.
They poison human society,
but they do more harm to those who practice them
than to those who suffer from injury.
Moreover they am a supreme dishonor
to the Creator" (GS 27).

4. But this disturbing state of affairs is expanding.
Scientific and technological progress gave rise to new forms
of attacks on the dignity of the human being.
A new cultural climate is growing and taking hold,
giving crimes against life an even more sinister character.
Broad sectors of public opinion
justify crimes against life
in the name of the rights of individual freedom,
claiming not only exemption from punishment,
but even authorization by the state,
so that they can be done with total freedom
and with the assistance of health-care systems.
The fact that many countries decided
- against their own constitutions -
not to punish these practices against life and even to legalize them
is a disturbing symptom and a grave cause of moral decline.
Choices once considered criminal
are gradually becoming socially acceptable.
Certain sectors of the medical profession
are increasingly willing to carry out these acts.
Demographic, social, and family problems
are left open to false and deceptive solutions.
The end result is tragic:
not only are human lives still to be born
or in their final stage destroyed,
but the distinction between good and evil is darkened.
In Communion with All the Bishops of the World

5. The Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals in April 1991
was devoted to the threats to human life today.
The cardinals unanimously asked me to reaffirm
with the authority of the successor of Peter
the value of human life and its inviolability.
That is why I wrote a letter to each of my brother bishops,
a letter at Pentecost 1991,
to help me to draw up a specific document.
I am grateful for the answers I received.
Just as a century ago the church came to the defense
of the oppressed working classes,
the church feels now in duty bound
to speak out for those who have no voice.
There is a multitude of weak and defenseless people,
unborn children in particular,
whose right to life is trampled upon.
The church cannot remain silent today
when the social justices of the past
are being compounded in many regions of the world
with even more serious forms of injustice and oppression,
though these developments arc being presented
as elements of progress in view of a new world order.
This encyclical appeals in the name of God to everyone
to repent and to protect, love, and serve every human life.

6. Together with all my brothers and sisters in the faith,
I wish to meditate once more and proclaim the Gospel of Life.
I pray that a general commitment
to support the family will reappear,
as the family will always remain the "sanctuary of life."
Let us together offer this world new signs of hope,
affirming a new culture of life
and building a civilization of truth and love.

I. The Voice of Your Brother's Blood

Cries to Me from the Ground:
Present-Day Threats to Human Life
"Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him" (Gn 4:8):

The Roots of Violence against Life

7. God did not make death;
God created humankind
in the image of God's own eternity... (Wis 1:13-14, 2:23-24).
Death came into the world
as a result of the devil's envy (cf. Gn 3: l, 4-5)
and the sin of our first parents (cf. Gn 2:17, 3:17-19).
And death entered it in a violent way
through the killing of Abel by his brother Cain (Gn 4:8).
This first page in the book of Genesisis
rewritten daily in the book of human history.

8. Cain was angry with Abel because
-for a reason not further explained -
God preferred Abel's sacrifice,
without interrupting the bond God had with Cain.
God admonishes him, reminding Cain of his freedom
in the face of sin:
"Its desire is for you,
but you must master it" (Gn 4:7).
Envy and anger have the upper hand,
and Cain kills his own brother.
Every murder is a violation
of the "spiritual" kinship
uniting humankind in one great family
in which all share the same fundamental good:
equal personal dignity.
Not infrequently the kinship "of flesh and blood"
is also violated, when threats to life
arise between parents and children
or in the wider context of the family or kinship,
as happens in abortion
or when euthanasia is encouraged or practiced.
At the root of every act of violence
is a concession to the "thinking" of the evil one,
"who was a murderer from the beginning" (Jn 8:44).
When God asks him about Abel's fate,
Cain arrogantly eludes the question:
"I do not know, am I my brother's keeper?" (Gn 4:9).
He tries to cover up his crime with a lie,
just like all kinds of ideologies try to justify and disguise
the most atrocious crimes against human beings,
refusing to accept responsibility for their brothers and sisters.
Symptoms include
the lack of solidarity toward society's weakest members,
such as the elderly, immigrants, and children,
and the indifference often found
in the relations between the world's peoples
even when basic values as survival, freedom, and peace are involved.

9. God cannot leave crime unpunished.
Among the "sins that cry for justice"
the church has included willful murder as the first.
Life, especially human life, belongs to God;
whoever attacks human life attacks God's very self
Cain is cursed by God and by the earth;
he will live in the wilderness and desert.
Murderous violence changes humanity’s environment.
From being the garden of Eden,
a place of plenty, interpersonal harmony,
and friendship with God,
the earth becomes the "Land of Nod" (Gn 4:16),
a place of scarcity, loneliness, and separation from God.
Uncertainty and restlessness will follow Cain forever.
Yet God, always merciful even when punishing,
"puts a mark on Cain, lest anyone who came upon him
should kill him" (Gn 4:15).
Not even murderers lose their personal dignity,
and God pledges to guarantee this,
showing the paradoxical mystery
of God's merciful justice.
As Saint Ambrose writes:
"God, who preferred the correction
rather than the death of the sinner,
did not desire that a homicide be punished
by the exaction of another act of homicide."*
"What have you done?"(Gn 4:10):

The Eclipse of the Value of Life

10. The Lord said to Cain:
"What have you done?
The voice of your brother's blood
is crying to me from the ground" (Gn 4:10).
The Lord's question
is addressed to the people of today
to make them realize the extent
of the attacks against human life
that continue to mark human history,
to discover their causes,
and to ponder their consequences.
Some come from nature,
made worse by the culpable indifference and negligence
of those who could remedy them.
*'De Cain et Abel II, 10, 38.
Others are the results of violence,
hatred, and conflicting interests,
leading to war, slaughter, and genocide.
How can we fail to consider
the violence against life done to millions,

especially against children
forced into poverty, malnutrition, and hunger
because of the unjust distribution of resources
between peoples and social classes?
What of the violence not only in wars,
but in the scandalous arms trade?
What about death caused
by reckless tampering with the world's ecological balance,
the spread of drugs,
or the promotion of sexual activity -
morally unacceptable and involving grave risks to life?

It is impossible to catalogue completely
the threats to human life today.

11. Here we will pay particular attention
to those attacks affecting life in its earliest and final stages,
attacks that present new characteristics
and that raise extraordinarily serious questions.
It is not only that those attacks tend no longer
to be considered as 'crimes,"
but that they paradoxically assume the nature of "rights,"
to the point that states
are called upon to give them legal recognition
and provide the free services of health-care personnel.
Such attacks strike human life
at the time of its greatest frailty,
when it lacks any means of self-defense;
and even more seriously they strike
at the very heart and with the complicity
of the family, by its nature the "sanctuary of life."
How did this happen?
There are many factors to be taken into account:
the profound crisis of culture that generates skepticism
as regards ethics, rights, and duties;
the interpersonal and existential problems
that leave individuals, couples, and families alone;
the situations of acute poverty, anxiety, frustration, pain,
and especially violence against women.
All this explains, at least in part,
in "eclipse" of the value of life,
though conscience does not cease to point to it
as a sacred and inviolable value,
as is shown by the use of innocuous medical terms
to distract attention from what is involved.

12. This moral uncertainty can in some way be explained
by the gravity of today’s social problems,
sometimes mitigating the responsibility of individuals,
but it is no less true that we are confronted
by a true structure of sin,
which takes the form of a "culture of death."
This culture denies solidarity
and is fostered by currents that encourage a society
that is excessively concerned with efficiency.
It is in a certain sense
a war of the powerful against the poor.
A life that would require greater acceptance, love, and care
is considered useless and an intolerable burden
and is therefore rejected in one way or another.
A disabled or ill person compromises
the well-being of those more favored
and is looked upon as an enemy to be resisted or eliminated.
This "conspiracy against life" damages not only individuals
in their personal, family, and group relations,
but also distorts the relations between peoples and states.

13. To facilitate the spread of abortion
enormous sums of money arc invested in the production
of ever more simple and effective pharmaceuticals
to kill the fetus in the mother's womb
without recourse to medical assistance,
thus removing abortion
from any kind of control or social responsibility.
It is often said that contraception
is the most effective remedy against abortion.
And the Catholic Church is then accused
of actually promoting abortion
because it obstinately continues to teach
the moral unlawfulness of contraception.
The objection is unfounded.
It may be that many use contraception
to exclude the consequent temptation of abortion.
But the negative values inherent in the "contraceptive mentality"
-very different from responsible parenthood -
in fact strengthen this temptation
when an unwanted life is conceived.
The pro-abortion culture is especially strong
where the church teaching on abortion is rejected.
Contraception and abortion are different evils,
but they are closely connected as fruits of the same tree.
It is true that in many cases contraception and abortion
are practiced under the pressure of real-life situations,
which nevertheless can never exonerate people from striving
to obey God's law fully.
Yet often such practices are rooted
in a hedonistic mentality
that is unwilling to accept responsibility
in matters of sexuality;
it implies a self-centered concept of freedom
that regards procreation as an obstacle
to personal self-fulfillment.
The close connection between contraception and abortion
is demonstrated in an alarming way
by the development of chemical products,
intra-uterine devices, and vaccines
-distributed with the same case as contraceptives-
that really induce abortions in the very early stages
of the development of human life.

14. The various techniques of artificial reproduction,
which would seem to be at the service of life
and frequently used with that intention,
actually open the door to new threats against life.
Apart from the fact that they are morally unacceptable
because they separate procreation
from the fully human context of the conjugal act,
these techniques have a high rate of failure.
The resulting embryo is exposed to the risk of death
generally within a very short period of time.
The number of embryos produced is often greater
than that needed,
and the so-called spare embryos are destroyed
or used for research,
which reduces human life to simple "biological material."
Prenatal diagnosis, which presents no moral objections
if done in order to identify medical treatment
needed by the child in the womb,
all too often becomes a reason for a "eugenic" abortion,
mistakenly held to be consistent
with the demands of "therapeutic interventions,"
which accept life only under certain conditions
and reject it when it is affected
by any limitation, disability, or illness.
The point has even been reached
that with the same logic basic care and nourishment are denied
to babies born with serious disability or illness.
The proposals advanced here and there to justify infanticide,
following the same arguments used to justify the right to abortion,
are even more alarming.

15. No less serious threats hang over the incurably ill and dying
as the attempt is made to eliminate suffering at the root
by hastening death so that it comes at a suitable moment.
Various considerations usually contribute to such a decision:
the sense of anguish and frailty in the sick person
and the misplaced compassion
of those close to the sick person.
All this is aggravated by a culture
that considers suffering the epitome of evil,
failing to see any meaning or value in it,
especially in the absence of a religious outlook.
On a more general level contemporary culture
leads people to think that they can control life and death
by taking the decisions about them into their own hands.
A tragic expression of all this is the spread of euthanasia,
justified by the motive of avoiding costs
that bring no return and weigh heavily on society.
Euthanasia is proposed
to eliminate malformed babies,
the disabled, the elderly,
and the terminally ill.
There am even more furtive
but no less serious forms of euthanasia
to increase the availability of organs for transplants,
without respecting the objective criteria
for verifying the death of the donor.

16. Demography is often used to justify attacks against life.
In the rich countries
there is a disturbing decline or collapse of the birth rate,
while poorer countries generally have a high rate
of population growth,
difficult to sustain because of their poverty.
In the face of this overpopulation in poorer countries
- instead of program of development
and a fair distribution of production and resources-
anti-birth policies are enacted.
Contraception, sterilization, and abortion
are certainly part of the reason for the sharp decline in the birth rate,
and it is not difficult to be tempted to use the same means
where there is a "demographic explosion."
Some of the powerful of the earth
act like the pharaoh of old,
who, haunted by the birth rate of Israel,
ordered every male child born of Hebrew women to be killed.
They, too, fear that the growth of the poorest people
are a threat for their well-being
and the peace of their own countries.
They prefer to promote and impose
a massive program of birth control,
and even the help they would be willing to give is
on the unjust condition of accepting an anti-birth policy.

17. Humanity today offers us a truly alarming spectacle,
if we consider the scientifically
and systematically organized attacks on life,
done with the approval of certain health-care personnel.
We are in fact faced by a "conspiracy against life."
The mass media arc often implicated in this conspiracy,
presenting contraception, sterilization, abortion, and even euthanasia
as a mark of progress and a victory of freedom,
while describing those who arc pro-life
as enemies of progress and freedom.

"Am I my brother’s keeper?" (Gn 4:9): A Perverse Idea of Freedom

18. The Lord's question to Cain, "What have you done?"
reaches beyond the murder itself
to his motives and their consequences.
Decisions that go against life
sometimes arise from difficult or even tragic situations
and profound suffering, loneliness, poverty, depression,
and anxiety about the future-
circumstances that can mitigate considerably
subjective responsibility and consequent culpability.
But today the problem goes far beyond
these personal situations.
It is a problem at the cultural, social, and political levels,
where these crimes against life tend to be interpreted
as legitimate expressions of personal freedom.
In this way the process that led to the discovery
of the idea of "human rights" is reaching a turning point
and is marked by a surprising contradiction.
In an age when the rights of the person are proclaimed
and the value of life publicly affirmed,
the very right to life is trampled upon and denied
at the moments of birth and death.
On one hand there is a growing moral sensitivity
alert to the value of every individual as a human being
without any distinction of race, nationality, religion,
political opinion, or social class.
On the other hand these proclamations
are contradicted in practice.
How can these solemn affirmations
be reconciled with the widespread attacks on human life
and the refusal to accept those
who are weak, needy, elderly, or just conceived?
These attacks go directly against respect for life;
they threaten the very meaning of democratic coexistence,
and our cities risk becoming societies of people
who are rejected, marginalized, uprooted, and oppressed,
instead of communities of "people living together."
How can we fail to see
that the solemn affirmation of human rights
in distinguished international assemblies
is a merely futile exercise
when the selfishness of the rich countries is not unmasked,
when their help to poorer countries
is made dependent on birth control?
Should we not question the economic models,
often adopted by states,
that cause and aggravate injustice and violence,
degrading whole peoples?

19. The roots of this contradiction can be found
in the mentality of a culture and morality
that - to begin with - carries the concept of subjectivity
to an extreme,
distorting it by recognizing the rights only of those
who enjoy full or incipient autonomy
and who emerge from a state of total dependency on others.
How can we reconcile this approach
with the exaltation of the human person
as one who is "not to be used"?
The theory of human rights is based precisely
on the affirmation that the human person
- unlike animals and things -
cannot be subjected to domination by others.
In this mentality one tends to equate personal dignity
with verbal explicit, or at least perceptible communication.
In this world there is no place for the unborn or dying
or for anyone at the mercy of others and totally dependent on them,
capable of communicating through the silent language
of profound sharing of affection.
In this case it is force
that decides in interpersonal relations and social life -
the exact opposite of what a state ruled by law
should affirm.
Another root of this contradiction
between affirmation and practice
lies in a notion of freedom
that exalts the individual in an absolute way
giving no place to solidarity, openness to others,
or service of them, asking like Cain:
"Am I my brother's keeper?"
Yes, human beings are their brother's and sister's keepers.
God entrusts us to one another.
Our freedom has a relational dimension;
we find our fulfillment through the gift of self to others.
Freedom destroys itself
and leads to the destruction of others
when it no longer respects its link
to the objective truth about good and evil
but refers only to a persons subjective opinion,
selfish interest, and whim.

20. This view of freedom leads to the point
of rejecting one another.
Everyone else is an enemy from whom one has to defend oneself.
Society becomes a mass of individuals only,
and individuals want only their own interests to prevail.
Any reference to common values and a binding truth is lost,
social life ventures onto the shifting sands of complete relativism.
Everything becomes negotiable, even the right to life.
The same happens at the level of politics and government.
The right to life is denied on the basis of a parliamentary vote
or the will of one part of the people - even if it is a majority.
"Right" ceases to be such, as it is no longer firmly founded
on the inviolable dignity of the human person
but is subject to the will of the stronger party.
In this way democracy moves toward
a form of totalitarianism.
The state is no longer a "common home."
It arrogates to itself the right to dispose of the life
of the weakest and most defenseless members,
from the unborn child to the elderly,
in the name of a public interest
that really is nothing but the interest of one part.
Democratic legality seems to be maintained,
but what we have is only the tragic caricature of legality.
To claim the right to abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia
and to recognize that right in law
means to attribute to human freedom
a perverse and evil significance:
that of an absolute power over others and against others.
It is the death of true freedom.

"And from your face I shall be hidden" (Gn 4:14): The Eclipse
of the Sense of God and the Human Being

21. The deepest roots of the struggle
between the "culture of life" and the "culture of death"
lie even deeper thin ties perverse idea of freedom.
At the heart of this human tragedy lies
the eclipse of the sense of God and of the human being
typical of secularism,
sometimes putting even Christian communities to the test.
When the sense of God is lost,
the sense of humanity tends to be lost as well,
just as the systematic violation of the moral law
darkens our capacity to discern God.
Cain, having killed Abel, is afraid
that he will have to "hide his face" from God
and that his fault is "greater than he can bear."
It is only before God
that one can admit one's sin and recognize its seriousness.

22. "When God is forgotten,
the creature itself becomes unintelligible" (GS 36).
We are no longer able to see ourselves
as "mysteriously different" from other creatures.
We are reduced - though at a high stage of perfection -
to being a "thing," no longer able to grasp
our "transcendent" character.
Life is no longer considered a splendid gift from God,
but rather life becomes a mere thing,
subject to our control and manipulation.
Birth and death, too, become things
to be merely "possessed" or "rejected."
Once all reference to God has been removed,
everything else becomes distorted.
Nature itself, from being mater (mother),
is reduced to "matter,"
subject to every kind of manipulation.
The very idea that there is a truth of creation
and a plan of God for life that must be acknowledged
tends to disappear in the direction
a certain technical and scientific way of thinking
appears to be taking.
Something similar seems to happen
when in their concern about this "freedom without law"
some people are led to a "law without freedom";
they consider it unlawful to interfere with nature,
practically making it into God,
Losing contact with God
is the deepest root of modem humanity's confusion.
By "living as if God did not exist"
we lose sight not only of God,
but also of the mystery of the world
and the mystery of our own being.

23. The eclipse of the sense of God and ourselves
leads to materialism, which breeds
individualism, utilitarianism, and hedonism.
There is a switch from "being" to "having."
The only goal is the pursuit
of one's own material well-being.
So-called quality of life is primarily seen
as economic efficiency, inordinate consumerism,
physical beauty, and pleasure,
to the neglect of the more profound interpersonal,
spiritual, and religious dimensions of existence.
In such a context suffering is an inescapable burden.
When it cannot be avoided,
life appears to have lost all meaning,
and the temptation grows to claim the right
to suppress it.
In this climate the body is reduced
to a complex of organs, functions, and energies
to be used for pleasure and efficiency.
Sexuality, too, is depersonalized and exploited.
From being the sign of love
it becomes a means of self-assertion
The unitive and procreative meanings
inherent in the very nature of the conjugal act
are distorted and falsified.
Procreation becomes an "enemy" to be avoided.
If a child is welcomed it is because one desires a child "at all costs,"
and not because one is open to the richness of the other,
the richness the life of the child represents.
Others are not considered for what they "are,"
but for what they "have."

24. The eclipse of the sense of God and humanity
is at the heart of the individual conscience,
but it is also a question of the "moral conscience" of society.
It too is responsible,
because it tolerates or fosters the "culture of death,"
creating and consolidating actual "structures of sin."
Good and evil are confused
precisely in relation to the fundamental right to life.
Yet all the efforts to silence it
fail to stifle the voice of the Lord
in the conscience of every individual,
and it is from there that a new journey of love can begin.

"You have come to the sprinkled blood" (cf. Heb 12:22, 24):
Signs of Hope and Invitation to Commitment

25. The blood of every human being,
and not only the voice of the blood of Abel,
cries to God, the source and defender of life.
The voice of the blood of Christ
cries out in an absolutely singular way.
This is "the sprinkled blood" that redeems, purifies, and saves,
crying out more graciously than the blood of Abel.
It expresses and requires a more radical justice,
and above all it implores mercy.
The blood of Christ, revealing the Father's love,
shows how precious humanity is in God's eyes
and how priceless is the value of human life.
As we sing at the Easter Vigil:
"How precious must the human being be
in the eyes of the Creator,
if we gained so great a Redeemer."
Christ's blood reveals to us our greatness
and our vocation: the sincere gift of self.
Whoever drinks this blood in the Eucharist
is drawn into the dynamism of Jesus' love and gift of life,
bringing to fulfillment in us the original vocation to love,
which belongs to everyone.
It is from this blood of Christ
that we draw the strength to commit ourselves
to promoting life.
That blood is our hope,
as "death is swallowed up in victory" (I Cor. 15:54-55).

26. It would be one-sided, therefore, and discouraging,
if we condemned the threats to life
without accompanying them
by the presentation of the positive signs at work
in humanities present situation.
It is often hard to see those positive signs,
perhaps because the media do not give them sufficient attention.
But many initiatives
to help the weak and defenseless have sprung up;
many married couples are willing to accept children;
many families arc willing to accept abandoned children
and others who have been left alone.
Centers in support of life offer moral and material assistance
to mothers in difficulties tempted to have recourse to abortion.
Medical science continues to discover remedies
for the unborn and the terminally ill.
Agencies bring the benefits of the most advanced medicine
to countries afflicted by poverty and endemic diseases.
National and international associations of physicians
bring quick relief to peoples
affected by disasters, epidemics, and wars,
though a just international distribution of medical resources
is still far from being a reality.
All are signs of a growing solidarity
and a greater respect for life.

27. Initiatives are taken to raise social awareness
in defense of life where laws permit abortion and euthanasia.
When those movements - in accordance with their principles -
act resolutely but without violence,
they promote a wider consciousness of the value of life.
How can we fail to mention
the daily gestures of unselfish love and care
that countless people make,
guided by the example of Jesus
"the good Samaritan" (cf. Lk 10:29-37).
The church has always been in the front line
of providing this charitable help.
In their love for God
so many of her sons and daughters
have dedicated themselves
-in traditional and ever new forms -
to the weak and needy.
Among these signs of hope
is also the ever growing sensitivity
that opposes war
as a means of resolving conflicts between nations,
and finds effective "nonviolent" means
to counter armed aggression.
Then there is evidence of a growing opposition
to the death penalty,
even when such a penalty is seen as a kind of
"legitimate defense" on the part of society.
Modem society has the means of effectively suppressing crime
by rendering criminals harmless
without definitively denying them the chance to reform.
Another welcome sign is the growing attention paid to
the quality of life and ecology
and the reawakening of a reflection on issues of bioethics
and ethical problems affecting human life.

28. We find ourselves in the midst of a conflict
that affects us all
with the inescapable responsibility of choosing
to be unconditionally pro-life.
Moses' invitation rings loud and clear:
"I have set before you life and death,
blessing and curse; therefore choose life,
that you and your descendants may live" (Dt 30:15, 19).
This call urges us to give our own existence
a bask orientation that finds its full meaning
when nourished by faith in Christ, who dwelt among us
that "they may have life
and have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10).

II. I Came That They May Have Life:
The Christian Message concerning Life

"The life was made manifest, and we saw it" (1 Jn l.-2):
With Our Gaze Fixed on Christ, "The Word of Life"

29. Faced with threats to life
one might feel overwhelmed and powerless.
At such a time we should profess our faith in Jesus Christ.
The Gospel of Life consists in the proclamation of the person of Jesus,
who made himself known by saying
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6).
Jesus told Martha, Lazarus' sister
"I am the resurrection and the life"' (Jn 11:25-26).
Through the words, the actions, and the very person of Jesus Christ,
we are given the complete truth concerning the value of human life,
loving, serving, defending, and promoting it.
In Christ the Gospel of Life
-already present in the Old Testament -
and written in the heart of every man and woman,
is definitively proclaimed and fully given.

30. Hence, with our eyes fixed on the Lord Jesus,
we wish to hear from him once again "the words of God" (Jn 3:34)
and meditate anew on the Gospel of Life.
"The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become
my salvation" (Ex 15:2). Life Is Always a Good

31. In the Old Testament Israel discovered
the preciousness of its life in the eyes of God
in the events of the Exodus,
the center of the Old Testament faith experience.
When Israel was threatened by extermination,
the Lord was revealed as savior.
Thus coming to know the value of its own existence,
Israel grew in its understanding
of the meaning and value of life itself.
It is the problem of suffering
that puts this faith to the test.
But even when this darkness is deepest
faith points to a trusting acknowledgment of the mystery:

"I know that you can do all things
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted" (Job 42:2).

"The name Jesus...has made this man strong" (Acts 3:16):
In the Uncertainties of Human Life, Jesus Brings Life’s
Meaning to Fulfillment

32. The experience of Israel is renewed
in the experience of all the "poor"
who meet Jesus of Nazareth.
All who suffer because their lives am in some way "diminished"
hear the good news of God's concern for them,
realizing that their lives, too, are a gift
carefully guarded in the hands of the Father (cf. Mt 6:25-34).
The crowds of the sick and the outcasts who follow him
find in his words and deeds
a revelation of the great value of their lives.
From the beginning the church proclaims Christ
as the one who "went about doing good
and healing all who were oppressed by the devil" (Acts 10:38).
The words and deeds of Jesus and the church
affect every person’s life
in its moral and spiritual dimensions.
In an encounter with Jesus
we discover the authenticity of our own existence.

33. From beginning to end Jesus' life is marked by uncertainty.
It is accepted with a joyful "yes" by Mary,
but others look for the child "to destroy him" (Mt 2:13).
Life's contradictions and risks
were fully accepted by Jesus;
he lived poverty throughout his life
until the culminating moment of the cross.
It is by his death that he revealed the value of life
inasmuch as in his self-giving on the cross
he becomes the source of new life for all (cf. Jn 12:32).
On his journey through life,
he is guided by the certainty
that his life is in the hands of his Father:
"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit" (Lk 23:46).
Truly great must be the value of human life
if the Son of God has taken it up,
and made it the instrument of the salvation of all humanity.

"Called... to be conformed to the image of his Son"
(Rom 8:28-29): God’s Glory Shines on the Face of
Every Man and Woman

34. Life is always a good. Why is life a good?
This question is found everywhere in the Bible,
and from the very first pages
it receives a powerful and amazing answer.
Man and woman, formed from the dust of the earth,
are traces of God's glory!
All is created in relation to them,
all things am made subject to them,
and they are bonded in a special way to their Creator:
"Let us make man and woman in our image,
after our likeness" (Gn 1:26).
Man and woman alone, among all visible creatures
are "capable of knowing and loving their Creator" (GS 12).
The life bestowed on us is much more than mere existence in time;
it is a drive toward fullness of life.
It is the seed of an existence
that transcends the very limits of time.

35. In the Bible's second account of creation,
God breathes into the human being.
Made by God and bearing within ourselves God's breath,
we are naturally drawn to God,
and our hearts will remain restless until they rest in God.
The glory of God shines on the face of man and woman.
In them the Creator found rest.

36. Sin marred God's plan.
Humanity rebels against its Creator
and ends up worshiping creatures,
not only deforming the image of God in themselves
but also replacing relationships of communion
by distrust, indifference, hostility, and murderous hatred.
At the coming of the Son of God in flesh
God's image shines forth anew,
being the perfect image of the Father.
The plan given to Adam finds its fulfillment in Christ,
All who commit themselves to Christ are given the fullness of life;
the divine image is restored, renewed,
and brought to perfection in them.


"Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die" (Jn 11-26):
The Gift of Eternal Life

37. The life the Son of God came to bring
cannot be reduced to our earthly life.
Sometimes Jesus refers to the life
he came to bring simply as "life."
At other times he speaks of "eternal life,"
evoking a perspective beyond time.
The life Jesus promises is eternal
because it is a full participation in the life
of the one who is the "Eternal One."
To know God and God's Son is to accept
the loving communion of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit
into one's own life.

38. Eternal life is the life of God's very self
and at the same time the life of the children of God.
Here the Christian truth about life becomes most sublime.
Consequences arise from this for human life here on earth,
in which eternal life already springs forth.
Our instinctive love for life
finds a new breadth and depth
in the divine dimensions of this good.
Our love for life cannot be reduced to self-expression
and relationships with others;
it develops in a joyful awareness
that life can become the place where God is manifest to us,
where we meet and enter into communion with God.

"From one person in regard to another person I will demand
an accounting'"(Gn 9:5): Reverence and Love for Every
Human Life

39. Our life comes from God.
It is God's gift, image, and imprint,
a sharing in God's life.
Life is the Lord's; we cannot do with it what we will.
That is what God made clear to Noah after the flood:
"For your own life blood, too, I will demand an accounting,
and from one person in regard to another person
I will demand an accounting for human life" (Gn 9:5).
Human life is in God's loving hands.
God exercises power over life not arbitrarily
but as a caring mother who accepts,
nurtures, and takes care of her child.
Israel sees in the history of peoples
and the destiny of individuals
no mere chance or blind fate,
but the loving plan of God,
bringing together all the possibilities of life
and opposing the powers of death.

40. The sacredness of life gives rise to its inviolability,
written from the beginning in humanity’s heart and conscience,
in inviolability that is at the heart
of the "ten words" in the covenant of Sinai (cf. Ex 20:13):
"You shall not kill" (Ex 20:13),
thus prohibiting in Israel's later legislation
all personal injury inflicted on another (cf. Ex 21:12-27).
This sense of the value of life does not find as yet
the refinement found in the Sermon on the Mount,
for it provides severe forms of corporeal punishment
and even the death penalty.
It culminates in the positive commandment
obliging us to be responsible for our neighbor
as for ourselves:
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev 19:18).

41. In his answer to the rich young man’s question,
"Teacher, what good must I do, to have eternal life?"
Jesus reaffirms the commandment
"You shall not kill" in all its force.
Jesus asks his disciples to go even further:
"Every one who is angry with his brother or sister
shall be liable to judgment" (Mt 5:21-22).
The requirements already foreseen in the Old Testament
- to defend life when it is weakened or threatened,
in the case of foreigners, widows,
orphans, the sick, and the poor,
including children in the womb (cf. Ex 21:22, 22:20-26)
assume with Jesus new force and urgency.
A stranger is no longer a stranger,
as the parable of the good Samaritan shows (Lk 10:25-37).
Even an enemy ceases to be an enemy,
the height of this love is to pray for one's enemy,
and be in tune with the love of God,
who lets the "sun rise on the evil and on the good" (Mt 5:44-45).
We are required to show reverence and love
for every person and the life of every person:
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it"
(Gn l:28): Our Responsibility for Life

42. God entrusts to every person the task
of defending and promoting life.
Called to till and look after the garden of the world
we have a specific responsibility for the environment
in which we live.
It is the ecological question
-ranging from the preservation of the natural habitat
of the different species of animals and other forms of life
to "human ecology" properly speaking -
which finds in the Bible clear and strong ethical direction
leading to a solution
that respects the great good of life, of every life.
The dominion granted to humankind by the Creator
is not in absolute power.
The Creator imposed a limitation from the beginning,
symbolically expressed by the prohibition
"not to eat of the fruit of the tree" (cf Gn 2: 16-17).
We are subject not only to biological laws,
but also to moral ones.

43. God made humanity to share
in responsibility for human life as such,
a responsibility that reaches its highest point
in the giving of life through procreation by man and woman,
so participating in God's "creative work" (GS 50).
A new person born is born in the image and likeness of God.
"Indeed, God alone is the source of that 'image and likeness'
which is proper to the human being
as it was received in creation.
Begetting is the continuation of creation."*
Aware of this Eve exclaims
at the first birth of a human being on this earth:
"I have begotten a man with the help of God" (Gn 4: 1).
In procreation God's own image and likeness
is transmitted, thanks to the creation of the immortal soul.
As co-workers with God man and woman -joined in matrimony-
become partners in a divine undertaking,
but this task of accepting and serving life involves everyone,
above all when it is at its weakest.

"For you formed my inmost being'"(Ps 139:13):
The dignity of the Unborn Child

44. Human life is at its most vulnerable
when it enters this world
and when it leaves it to embark upon eternity.
The Old Testament does not say anything
about protecting human life at its beginning,
of life not yet born or of life nearing its end,
since attacking life in that way is completely foreign
to the way of thinking of the people of God.
In the Old Testament sterility is dreaded as a curse,
and numerous offspring are seen as a blessing.
This is more than anything else
because of the certainty that life has its origin in God.

Many biblical passages speak lovingly of conception,
of the forming of life in the mother’s womb,
and of the intimate connection between
the initial moment of life and the action of God the Creator.
*John Paul II, Letter to Families, 9; cf. Pius XII, Humani Generis (August 12, 1950).
"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you,
and before you were born, I consecrated you" (Jer 1:5).
"You have fashioned and made me....
You clothed me with skin and flesh,
you knit me together with bones and sinews.
You granted me life and steadfast love" (Job 10:8-12).
How can anyone think that this process of the unfolding of life
could be separated from the wise and loving work of the Creator
and left prey to human caprice?

45. The New Testament confirms the recognition
of the value of life from its very beginning.
The value of the person from the moment of conception
is celebrated in the meeting
between the Virgin Mary and Elizabeth,
and the meeting between the two children
they carry in the womb.
It is in their meeting that the redemptive power
of the presence of the Son of God becomes operative.
It is John in Elizabeth's womb
who, leaping for joy, recognizes the Lord
in Mary’s womb.

"I kept my faith even when I said, ‘I am greatly afflicted’"
(Ps 116:10): Life in Old Age and at Times of Suffering

46. It would be anachronistic to expect the Bible
to make reference to present-day issues concerning
respect for the elderly and sick,
or to condemn explicitly attempts to hasten their end by force.
In Holy Scripture old age is characterized by dignity
and surrounded by reverence.
In old age, how should we face
the inevitable decline of life?
How should we act in the face of death?
Our life is in the hands of God in life, in sickness, and in death;
we have to entrust ourselves completely
to the "good pleasure of the Most High."
Illness does not drive believers to despair,
but makes them cry out in hope:

"O Lord, my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have heated me" (Ps 30:2-3).

47. Jesus shows great concern for our bodily life.
In the mission he gives to his disciples
healing the sick goes hand in hand
with the proclamation of the Gospel.
The life of the body in its earthly state
is no absolute good;
we might even be asked to give it up for a greater good.
Jesus did not hesitate to sacrifice himself,
making his life an offering to the Father
and to those who belong to him (cf Jn 10:17).
So do John the Baptizer, Stephen,
and a countless host of martyrs.
No one, however, can arbitrarily choose
whether to live or to die;
the Creator is the absolute Master of such a decision.
It is in God that
"we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).

"All who hold her fast will live" (Bar 4:1):
From the Law of Sinai to the Gift of the Spirit

48. The truth of life is revealed by God's commandment.
It is not only ensured by the specific commandment
"You shall not kill";
the entire law of God serves to protect life.
God's covenant with God's people
is closely linked to the perspective of life.
God's commandment is the path of life.
"If you keep God's commandments,
then you shall live and multiply,
and the Lord God will bless you" (Dt 30:15-16).
What is at stake is not only the existence of the people of Israel,
but the whole world of today and tomorrow,
the existence of the whole of humanity.
It is thus that the law as a whole
fully protects human life.
It would be hard to be faithful to the commandment
"you shall not kill," without observing the other "words of life."
It is by listening to the word of God
that we are able to bring forth fruits of life and happiness:
"All who hold her fast will live,
and those who forsake her will die" (Bar 4:1).

49. Israel's history shows how difficult it is
to remain faithful to the law of life
inscribed in human hearts and given on Sinai.
The prophets remind people
that the Lord is the source of life,
pointing an accusing finger at those
who show contempt for life and violate people's rights.
But while condemning offenses against life,
the prophets are also concerned to awaken hope
for a new principle of life and a "new heart":
"A new heart I will give you,
and a new spirit I will put within you" (Ez 36:25-26).
It is in the coming of Jesus that the law is fulfilled
and the new heart given through his Spirit.
He does not deny the law but brings it to fulfillment,
summing up the law and the prophets
in the golden rule of mutual love (cf. Mt 7:12).
This is the new law,
"the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:2),
expressed fully in the example of Jesus,
who gave his life for his friends (cf. Jn 1 5:13),
the gift of self for one's brothers and sisters.

"They shall look upon him whom they have pierced"(Jn 19:37):
The Gospel of Life Is Brought to Fulfillment on The Tree
of the Cross

50. In the early afternoon of Good Friday
"there was darkness over the whole land" (Lk 23:44)
a symbol of the conflict between good and evil.
Today we find ourselves in a conflict
between the "culture of death" and the "culture of life."
This darkness does not overcome the glory of the cross.
Jesus is nailed on the cross, mocked, jeered, and insulted,
and yet amid all this, seeing him breathe his last,
the Roman centurion exclaims:
"Truly this man was the Son of God!" (Mk 15:39).
He asked his Father to forgive his persecutors;
he told the criminal:
"Today you will be with me in paradise" (Lk 23:43).
After his death tombs opened,
and people were raised (Mt 27:52).
The salvation wrought by Jesus
is the gift of life and resurrection.
By looking upon the one who was pierced
we meet the sure hope of finding freedom and redemption.

51. "When Jesus had received the vinegar,
he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head,
and gave up his spirit" (Jn 19:30).
This "giving up" of the spirit describes Jesus' death,
but it also seems to allude to the "gift of the Spirit"
by which Jesus ransoms us from death
and opens before us a new life.
It is the very life of God we now share,
the life which through the sacraments of the church
is continually given to God's children.
From the cross, the source of life,
the "people of life" is born and increases.
In this way Jesus proclaims that life finds its center,
its meaning, and its fulfillment when it is given up.
Let us learn not only to obey the commandment
not to kill human life,
but also to revere life, to love and to foster it.
III. You Shall Not Kill: God's Holy Law

"If you would enter life, keep the commandments"(Mt 19:17):
Gospel and Commandment

52. The first precept from the ten commandments
that Jesus quotes to the young man who asks him what to do is
"you shall not kill" (Mt 19:18).
God's commandment is never detached from God's love;
it is always a gift meant for our growth and joy.
The Gospel of Life is both a gift from God
and an exacting task for humanity.
In giving us life God demands that we
love, respect, and promote life.
We are rulers and lords not only over things,
but especially over ourselves,
and - in a certain sense - over the life we have received
and are able to transmit.
Our lordship is, however, not absolute,
but ministerial and to be exercised with wisdom and love,
sharing in God's wisdom and love.
And this comes about through obedience to God's holy law.
We am the "ministers of God's plan" (HV 13).

"From one person in regard to another person I will demand
an accounting for human life" (Gn 9:5): Human Life Is Sacred
and Inviolable

53. Human life is sacred because from its beginning
it involves "the creative action of God."
"You shall not kill" is a divine commandment.
God is the absolute Lord of the life of the human being.
The inviolability of human life
reflects the creator's inviolability.
God is the goel, the defender of the innocent (cf. Gn 4:9-15).
Only Satin can delight in the death of the living.

54. The precept "you shall not kill" is strongly negative.
It implies, however, a positive attitude of absolute respect for life.
It leads to promotion of life and to progress along the way of love,
which gives, receives, and serves.
The people of the covenant slowly matured
while preparing for Jesus' proclamation
that the commandment to love one's neighbor
is like the commandment to love God:
"On these two commandments
depend all the law and prophets" (Mt 22:36-40)
words repeated by Paul (Rom 13:9) and John (I Jn 3:15).
The oldest nonbiblical Christian document, the Didache,
categorically repeated the commandment "you shall not kill."
It spoke about two ways, the way of life and the way of death.
It said of the way of death:
"The way of death is this:
'They show no compassion for the poor,
they do not acknowledge their Creator,
they kill their children and by abortion
cause God's creatures to perish....
May you be able to stay away from all these sins."
The church always considered murder
one of the most serious sins.

55. Yet there are in fact situations
in which values proposed by God's law
seem to involve a genuine paradox.
This happens for example in the case
of legitimate defense,
when the right to defend one's own life
and the duty not to harm someone else's life
are difficult to reconcile in practice.
The Old Testament's and Jesus' commandment
of love of neighbor
presuppose love of oneself:
"Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mk 12:31).
No one can renounce the right to self-defense
out of lack of love for life or for self.
This can be done only in virtue of a heroic love
that deepens the love of self into a radical self-offering,
of which the self-offering of Jesus is a sublime example.
Moreover "legitimate defense
can be not only a right but a grave duty,
for someone responsible for another's life
the common good of the family or the state" (CCC 2265).
It does happen that the need to render aggressors
incapable of causing harm involves taking their lives
an outcome attributable to the aggressors.

56. In this context we have to place
the problem of the death penalty.
In the church and civil society there is a growing tendency
to apply it in a very limited way or to abolish it completely.
This problem should be viewed in the context of a penal justice
ever more in line with the dignity of the human person
and God's plan for humanity and society.
The violation of personal and societal rights
must be adequately punished as a condition for the offender
to regain the exercise of his or her freedom.
In this way the public order is defended,
public safety is ensured, and the offender is offered an incentive
to change and be rehabilitated.
The nature and extent of the punishment
ought not to go to the extreme of executing the offender,
except in cases of absolute necessity:
in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise
to defend society.
Today, however, as a result of steady improvements
in the organization of the penal system,
such cases are very rare if not practically nonexistent.

57. If such care should be taken
to respect the life of criminals and unjust aggressors,
how much more is this true
in the case of weak and defenseless human beings.
Faced with the weakening of the moral sense
in individuals and in society
as regards the taking of innocent life
the church's papal magisterium seconded by that of the bishops
has spoken with increasing frequency
in defense of the sacredness and inviolability of human life.
Therefore by the authority that Christ
conferred upon Peter and his successors
and in communion with the bishops of the Catholic Church,
I confirm that the direct and voluntary killing
of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral.
To deprive innocent human beings of their lives
can never be licit either as an end in itself
or as means to a good end.
As far as the right to life is concerned,
every innocent human being is absolutely equal to all others.
"It makes no difference whether one is the master of the world
or the ‘Poorest of the poor’" (VS 96).
"Your eyes beheld my unformed substance" (Ps 139:16):
The Unspeakable Crime of Abortion

58. The Second Vatican Council defines abortion,
together with infanticide, as an "unspeakable crime" (GS 51).
The perception of its gravity has become progressively obscured.
Its acceptance in the popular mind
is a sign of a crisis of the moral sense.
As the prophet says:
"Woe to those who call evil good" (Is 5:20).
There is widespread use of ambiguous terminology
especially in the case of abortion,
such as the term "interruption of pregnancy,"
which tends to hide its true nature.
This playing with words is maybe itself a sign
of an uneasiness of conscience.
No word has the power to change things:
procured abortion is direct killing.
We are dealing with the murder
of a human being at the very beginning of life,
lacking even that minimal form of defense
consisting of the cries and tears of a newborn baby.
Sometimes the mother herself makes the decision,
not out of selfish reasons or out of convenience,
but to protect her own health
or a decent standard of living for her family.
Sometimes it is feared that the child would live in such conditions
that it would be better not to be born.
These and similar reasons can never justify
the deliberate killing of an innocent human being.

59. In addition to the mother others might decide
upon the death of the child in the womb.
The father may be to blame,
or the pressure of the wider family circle and friends.
Moral responsibility lies with all those
who directly or indirectly obliged her to have the abortion.
Doctors and nurses who put their skills
at the service of death also am responsible,
like the legislators who promote or approve abortion laws
and the administrators of abortion centers.
Responsibility lies with those who spread sexual permissiveness
or a lack of esteem for motherhood
and those who do not support effective family policies.
Then there is the international network
that systematically campaigns for the legalization of abortion
even beyond the responsibility of individuals
and giving it a distinctly social dimension.
We are facing what can be called a "structure of sin"
that opposes unborn life.

60. Some people justify abortion by claiming
that for a certain number of days
the result of conception cannot be considered
a personal human life.
But from the time of fertilization
a life of a new human being is begun,
from the first instant there is established
what this living being will be: a person.*
Even if the presence of a spiritual soul
cannot be ascertained by empirical data,
scientific research provides a valuable indication
of a personal presence at the first moment of a human life.
Furthermore, even the mere possibility
that a human person is involved
would suffice for an absolute prohibition
of killing a human embryo.
Over and above all scientific and philosophical affirmations,
the church has always taught
that "the human being is to be respected and treated as a person,
from the moment of conception."

61. The texts of Sacred Scripture never address
the question of deliberate abortion,
though they show great respect for the human being
in the mother's womb as belonging to God.
Christian tradition, confronted with abortion
in the Greco-Roman world, radically opposes it,
as shown by the Didache mentioned earlier (cf. 54),
a condemnation confirmed by early Christian authors
like Athenagoras and Tertullian.
Throughout Christianity's two-thousand-year history
this same doctrine has constantly been taught.
*Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Procured Abortion (November 18, 1974), nos. 12-13.
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on Respect for Human Life in
Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation, Donum Vitae, I.1.

62. Pius XI, Pius XII, John XXIII,
the Second Vatican Council and Paul VI
all reaffirmed the same doctrine.
Therefore, I declare that direct abortion,
that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means,
always constitutes a grave moral disorder.

63. This evaluation of the morality of abortion
must also be applied to
recent forms of intervention on human embryos,
which inevitably involve the killing of those embryos.
We uphold as licit procedures carried out on the human embryo
that respect its life, do not involve disproportionate risks,
and are directed to its healing, improvement, or survival;
but the use of embryos for experimentation
constitutes a crime against their human dignity.
This moral condemnation also regards procedures
that exploit living human embryos and fetuses
-sometimes specifically "produced" for this purpose
by in vitro fertilization-
either to be used as "biological material"
or as provider of organs or tissue for transplants
in the treatment of certain diseases.
Special attention must be given to the evaluation
of prenatal diagnostic techniques
that enable the early detection of anomalies
in the unborn child.
These techniques are morally licit
when they do not involve disproportionate risks
for the child and the mother
and are meant to make early therapy possible
or to favor the acceptance of the child not yet born.
To use these techniques for eugenic purposes
- as not infrequently happens -
is utterly reprehensible,
since it presumes to measure
the value of human life
only within the parameters
of "normality" and "physical well-being,"
thus opening the way
to euthanasia and infanticide.
So many of our brothers and sisters
suffering from serious disabilities
live their lives with courage and serenity
when shown acceptance and love.
The church is close to those married couples
who willingly accept gravely disabled children
and who adopt those abandoned by their parents.

"It is I who bring both death and life" (Dt 32:39):
The Tragedy of Euthanasia

64. The experience of dying is today marked by new features.
When pleasure and well-being are considered to be life's only value
and suffering is seen as an unbearable setback,
death is "senseless" when it suddenly interrupts life
but it becomes a "liberation" when life is filled with pain.
When they deny their fundamental relationship with God,
people think they are their own rule and measure,
with the right to demand that society guarantee them
the ways and means of deciding what to do with their lives.
In the developed countries science and medical practice
today can sustain and prolong life in situations of extreme frailty;
they can resuscitate patients
and make organs available for transplants.
In this context euthanasia is a temptation,
which is one of the more alarming symptoms
of the "culture of death."
It occurs above all in prosperous societies
marked by an excessive preoccupation with efficiency,
which considers the growing number
of elderly and disabled people,
often isolated by their families and by society,
as intolerable and burdensome.

65. Euthanasia in the strict sense is an action or omission
which of itself and by intention causes death,
with the purpose of eliminating all suffering.
It must be distinguished from the decisions
to forego so-called aggressive medical treatment,
medical procedures that are
disproportionate to any expected results,
or that impose in excessive burden
on the patient and his or her family.
To forego these extraordinary or disproportionate means
is not equal to suicide or euthanasia.
In this context arises the issue of whether it is licit to use
painkillers and sedatives to relieve the patient's pain
when this involves the risk of shortening life.
While praise may be due to the person
who accepts suffering in order to remain lucid
or as a believer to share consciously in the Lord's passion,
such "heroic" behavior cannot be considered the duty of everyone.
It is licit to relieve pain with narcotics
even when the result is decreased consciousness
and a shortening of life,
"if no other means exist, and if, in the given circumstances,
this does not prevent the carrying out
of other religious and moral duties."*
In such a case death is neither willed nor sought;
there is simply a desire to ease pain.
Yet it is not right to deprive the dying person of consciousness
without a serious reason.
People ought to be able to satisfy their moral and family duties
and to prepare for their meeting with God.
Taking into account these distinctions,
in harmony with my predecessors,
and in communion with the bishops of the Catholic Church,
I confirm that euthanasia
is a grave violation of the law of God.
Euthanasia is a practice that involves the malice
proper to suicide or murder.

66. The church has always rejected suicide as a gravely evil choice.
It involves the rejection of love of self
and the obligation of justice and charity toward one's neighbor,
the communities one belongs to, and society as a whole.
Suicide is the rejection
of God's sovereignty over life and death.
To assist someone who intends to commit suicide,
and to help carrying it out can never be excused.
Even when not motivated by a selfish refusal
to be burdened with the life of someone who is suffering,
euthanasia is a perversion of "mercy."
True compassion leads to sharing another's pain;
it does not kill the person whose suffering we cannot bear.
This is even more true when family members are involved.
Euthanasia becomes more serious
when a person has not requested it
and never consented to it.
It is the height of injustice
when people assume the power
to decide who ought to live and who ought to die.
God alone has the power over life and death.
*Pius XII, Address to Physicians, III (February 24, 1957).
When people seize this power,
they inevitably use it for injustice and death.
The life of the weak is put in the hands of the strong,
and mutual trust is undermined.

67. The human heart confronted with suffering and death,
especially when faced with the temptation to give up in desperation,
requests above all companionship, sympathy, and support -
a plea for help to keep on hoping
when all human hopes fail.
Our faith promises and offers a share
in the victory of the risen Christ.
Saint Paul expressed this newness
in terms of belonging to the Lord:
"If we live, we live to the Lord;
if we die, we die to the Lord;
so then, whether we live or whether we die,
we are the Lord's" (Rom 14:7-8).

"We must obey God rather than any human authority" (Acts 5:29):
Civil Law and the Moral Law

68. There is a trend to demand a legal justification
for the present-day attacks on life,
as if they were rights the state must acknowledge
- at least under certain circumstances -
with the safe and free assistance of medical personnel.
Some claim that the relative good of an unborn child
or seriously disabled person should be compared with
and balanced against other goods.
It is said that only someone directly involved
can correctly do this and decide on the morality of the choice
and that the state should respect this choice.
Then again it is claimed that civil law cannot demand that everyone
live according to moral standards
higher than what all the citizens themselves acknowledge and share.
The law should express the majority opinion,
recognizing that people have - in certain extreme cases -
the right to abortion and euthanasia.
A prohibition would lead to illegal practices
carried out in a medically unsafe way.
The law would not be enforceable
and undermine ultimately the authority of all laws.
More radical views even go so far
as to hold that in a modem and pluralistic society
people should be allowed the freedom
to dispose of their own lives
as well as of the lives of the unborn.

69. It is held that in the democratic culture of our time
the legal system should take into account and accept
what the majority considers moral and actually practices.
It is believed that if in a democratic system
an objective truth shared by all is in fact unattainable,
the autonomy of the citizens should be acknowledged.
In other words the only determining factor
should be the will of the majority,
whatever this may be.
So we are facing two opposed tendencies:
on the one hand individuals claim complete freedom of choice,
and the state should guarantee maximum freedom.
On the other hand it is held that
-in the exercise of one's duties -
respect for the freedom of the other requires
that one set aside one's own convictions
in order to satisfy every demand of the other
that is recognized and laid down by the law.
Individual responsibility would be turned over to civil law,
with a renouncing of personal conscience,
at least in the public sphere.

70. At the root of all these tendencies
lies the ethical relativism of our present-day culture,
a relativism many think in essential condition of democracy,
for it guarantees tolerance and mutual respect.
Objective moral norms are then considered
as leading to authoritarianism and intolerance.
It is true that crimes have been committed in the name of "truth,"
but equally so in the name of "ethical relativism."
Everyone's conscience rightly rejects
those crimes against life of which our century
has had such a sad experience.
But would these crimes cease to be crimes if,
instead of being committed by unscrupulous tyrants,
they were legitimated by popular consensus?
Democracy cannot substitute for morality
or be a panacea for immorality.
Democracy is a "system," a means and not an end.
The value of democracy
-considered by the church as a positive "sign of the times"-
stands or falls with the values it embodies and promotes.
The basis of these values cannot be changeable "majority" opinions,
but only the acknowledgment of an objective moral law,
written as the "natural law" in the human heart.
If the fundamental principles
of the moral law were to be shaken
-by an obscuring of the collective conscience-
the democratic system itself would be shaken
and reduced to a mere mechanism for regulating
different and opposing interests.
It would not be able to ensure peace
without an objective moral grounding.
The most powerful would make democracy an empty word.

71. The future of society and the development of democracy
depend on the rediscovery of the innate human and moral values
no one, no majority, and no state can create, modify, or destroy.
There is a need to recover the relationship
between civil and moral law.
"In no sphere of life can the civil law
take the place of conscience
or dictate norms concerning things
outside its competence" (Donum Vitae, III).
The purpose of civil law is to guarantee
in ordered social coexistence in true justice.
For that reason it must ensure
that in the first place the fundamental right to life
of every innocent human being is respected.
The legal toleration of abortion and euthanasia
can in no way be claimed
to be based on the respect for the conscience of others,
precisely because society his the right and the duty
to protect itself against abuses
that can occur in the name of conscience
and under the pretext of freedom.
Any government that refused to recognize these human rights
would not only fail in its duty;
its decrees would lack binding force.

72. Thomas Aquinas wrote,
"Every human law can be called a law
insofar as it derives from the natural law.
But if it is somehow opposed to the natural law
then it is not really a law
but the corruption of law" (ST, Ia-IIae, q. 95, a. 2).
This applies in the very first place to the source
of all other rights, the right to life.
Laws that legitimize the direct killing of innocent human beings
through abortion or euthanasia are in opposition to this right to life.
This is the case even when euthanasia
is requested with full awareness of the person involved.
Any state that makes such a request legitimate,
authorizing it to be carried out,
would be legalizing suicide-murder,
thus lessening respect for life
and destroying mutual trust.

73. There is a clear and grave obligation
to oppose such laws by conscientious objection.
Christians have the duty to obey
legitimate public authorities,
but they must obey God
rather than human beings (cf. Acts 5:29).
In the case of a law permitting abortion or euthanasia,
it is never licit to obey it or
"to take part in a propaganda campaign
in favor of such a law, or vote for it."
A problem can arise when there is the possibility
of voting for the restriction of an existing pro-abortion law.
In such a case people known
for their opposition to procured abortion
could vote in favor of such a law to limit the harm done.

74. Unjust laws raise difficult questions
for morally upright people as regards to cooperation.
The choices to be made arc sometimes difficult;
prestigious positions and careers might be at stake.
One should recall here the general principles
concerning cooperation in evil actions.
It is never licit to cooperate formally in evil, not even by appealing to the freedom of others or to the fact that the law permits the action.
To refuse to take part in committing an injustice
is not only a moral duty;
it is also a basic human right,
a right that as such should be acknowledged
and protected by civil law.
Those who have recourse to conscientious objection
must be protected not only from lawsuits
*Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Procured Abortion (Novem-
ber 18, 1974), no. 22.
but also from other negative effects
on the legal disciplinary, financial, and professional plane.

" You shall love your neighbor as yourself"(Lk lO:27):
"Promote" Life

75. The negative moral commandments
indicate the minimum we must respect,
beneath which we cannot lower ourselves.
They are the beginning and the first stage
of a further journey toward freedom.

76. The commandment "you shall not kill"
is a point of departure.
It leads us to promote and serve life actively.
With the gift of his Spirit,
Christ gives new content and meaning
to our being entrusted to one another.
The Spirit becomes the new law.

77. Jesus laid down his life for us,
and we ought to lay down our lives
for our brothers and sisters (I Jn 3:16).
We are committed to ensure a service of love
to our neighbors, defending and promoting their lives,
especially when they are weak or threatened.

IV. You Did it to me:
For a New Culture of Human Life
"You are God's owns people, that you may declare the wonderful
deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous
light" (1 Pet 2:9): A People of Life and for Life

78. The church received the Gospel of Life
- an integral part of which is Christ himself -
as a gift, a proclamation, and a source of joy and salvation.
The church his received it as a gift from Jesus, sent by the Father,
" to preach good news to the poor" (Lk 4:18).

79. We are the people of life,
ransomed by the "Author of Life."
Through baptism we hive been made part of him,
renewed by the grace of the Spirit.
We have been sent.
We have been sent as a people
with the obligation to be at the service of life.
We have a community commitment
that does not lessen our individual responsibility.

"That which we have seen and heard we proclaim
also to you"(1 Jn 1:3): Proclaiming the Gospel of Life

80. Jesus is the only Gospel;
we have nothing further to say
or any other witness to bear.
To proclaim Jesus is to proclaim life,
the eternal life given to us.
We feel a need to proclaim this good news
that exceeds every human expectation.
Our gratitude and joy
impel us to share this message with everyone.

81. This involves above all the core of this Gospel,
the proclamation of a God who is close to us,
who calls us to profound communion with God,
awakening in us the hope of eternal life.
It is the affirmation of the inseparable connection
between person, life, and bodiliness.
It is the presentation of human life
as God's gift, the fruit and sign of God's love.
It is the proclamation that Jesus
has a unique relationship with every person,
which enables us to see in every human face
the face of Christ.
It is the call for a "sincere gift of self"
as the fullest way to realize personal freedom.
It also involves making clear
all the consequences of this Gospel:
human life is sacred and inviolable,
procured abortion and euthanasia
are absolutely unacceptable.
The meaning of human life is found in giving and receiving love,
and in this light human sexuality and procreation
reach their true and full significance.

82. Teachers, catechists, and theologians
have the task of emphasizing the reasons
for our respect for human life.
It is in all this that we shad find
important points of contact and dialogue with nonbelievers.
With so many opposing and negative points of view,
all of us -and above all those who are bishops -
have to announce all this "in season and out of season" (2 Tim 4:2).
We need to make sure that this sound doctrine is taught
in theological faculties, seminaries, and Catholic institutions.
We should not fear hostility or unpopularity,
and we should avoid all ambiguity.
We must be in the world but not of the world (cf Jn 16:33).

"I give thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made" (Ps 139:14):
Celebrating the Gospel of Life

83. As "people for life" we must celebrate the Gospel of Life.
We need to foster a contemplative outlook,
seeing in fife a deeper meaning,
accepting it as a gift,
and seeing in each person God's living image.
This outlook will encourage us
when confronted with those who are sick, suffering,
outcast, or at death’s door.
We cannot but respond
with songs of joy, praise, and thanksgiving
for the priceless gift of life.

84. We must celebrate eternal life,
from which all life flows.
In our daily prayer as individuals and as a community
we bless and praise God,
who knitted us together in our mother's womb (Ps 139:13).
God granted us a dignity that is near to divine (Ps 8:5-6),
while the celebration of the paschal mystery
and the sacraments make us sharers
in the life of the crucified and risen Christ.

85. We also need to appreciate and make good use
of the symbols and traditions of different cultures and peoples
that express their joy for life.
That is why I propose that a "Day for Life"
be celebrated each year in every country,
with attention to issues like abortion and euthanasia.

86. The Gospel of Life is to be celebrated above all
in daily living filled with self-giving love for others.
It is in this context that heroic actions are born,
made up of gestures of sharing, big and small,
with the particularly praiseworthy example
of the donation of organs.
Part of this daily heroism
is the silent witness of all those brave mothers
who devote themselves to their own family.
They do not always find support in the world around them;
on the contrary the media often do not encourage motherhood,
calling its values of fidelity, chastity, and sacrifice obsolete.
We thank you, heroic mothers, for your invincible love!

"What does it profit, my brothers and sisters, if someone says
I have faith, while not having the works?"(Jas 2:14):
Serving the Gospel of Life

87. Our promotion of human life
must be accomplished through the service of charity.
We must care for the other as a person
for whom God has made us responsible.
This service cannot tolerate bias and discrimination.
We need to show care for all life.
Every Christian community should continue to write
the history of charity, developing programs of support for life.

88. All this involves education
and the promotion of vocations to service,
particularly among the young.
Centers for natural methods of regulating fertility
should be promoted
as a help to responsible parenthood.
Marriage and family counseling agencies
and centers for unmarried mothers and couples in difficulties
offer a valuable help by their work.
Communities for treating drug addiction,
residential communities for minors or the mentally ill,
care and relief centers for AIDS patients,
associations for solidarity
especially with the disabled, the terminally ill, and elderly
-all are eloquent expressions of what charity is able to devise
in order to give new hope and practical possibilities for life.
The role of hospitals, clinics, and convalescent homes
needs to be reconsidered,
so that they might become places
where pain and death are understood in their Christian meaning.

89. A unique responsibility belongs to health-care personnel.
They are the guardians and servants of human life,
but in today's climate they are often tempted
to become manipulators of life and death.
Their absolute respect for every innocent human life
requires the exercise of conscientious objection
as regards procured abortion and euthanasia.
"Causing death" can never be considered medical treatment.
Biomedical research too, promising great benefits for humanity,
must always reject experimentation
that under the guise of helping people actually harms them.

90. Volunteer workers have a special role to play.
The Gospel of life has to be taken into account in politics;
individuals, families, and groups, all have a responsibility
in shaping society and developing projects
so that the life of all is defended and enhanced.
Civic leaders, called to serve the people and the common good,
have the duty to support life through legislation.
In a democratic system the sense of personal responsibility
can never be renounced.
Though laws are not the only means
of protecting human life,
nevertheless they play
an important and sometimes decisive role
in influencing patterns of thought and behavior.
The church knows that it is difficult to defend life by law
in a pluralistic society,
but the church encourages political leaders
not to give in and to make those choices
that will lead to the reestablishment of a just order
in the defense and promotion of life.
But that is not enough;
a good family policy must be the basis
of all social policies,
taking into account labor, urban,
residential and social service policies.

91. Population growth is another important issue.
Public authorities have a responsibility to intervene
to orient the demography of the population.
But they have to take into account
the responsibility and rights of married couples,
beginning with the right to life.
It is morally unacceptable that they encourage or impose
contraception, sterilization, and abortion to regulate birth.
Nationally and internationally
they must strive for solutions
by establishing a true economy of communion
and sharing of goods,
so that everyone can share equitably in the goods of creation.
Service of the Gospel of Life is a complex and immense task,
requiring cooperation with other churches
and the followers of other religions.

"Your children will be like olive shoots around your table"
(Ps 128.3): The Family as the "Sanctuary of Life"

92. Within the "people of life and the people for life"
the family his a decisive responsibility
as a natural community of life and love,
the parents being the co-workers with God's love.
It is the "sanctuary of rife,"
where life is welcomed and protected
and where it can develop
in authentic human growth.
The family is the domestic church,
proclaiming, celebrating, and serving
the Gospel of Life.
It is in raising children that the family fulfills
its mission to proclaim the Gospel of Life,
teaching the children
the true meaning of suffering and death
and fostering assistance and sharing
toward sick and elderly family members.

93. The family celebrates the Gospel of Life
through daily individual and family prayer,
in living together in a life of love and self-giving.
An expression of solidarity between families
is a willingness to adopt or take in children
abandoned by their parents.
In cases of extreme poverty
adoption-it-a-distance
should also be considered,
helping the family
without the children having to be uprooted
from their natural environment.

94. Special attention must be given to the elderly,
who are often regarded as useless and left to themselves.
It is important to preserve or to reestablish
a sort of covenant between the generations
something required by the divine commandment
to honor one's father and one's mother (cf. Ex 20:12).
Elderly people themselves have a contribution to make
to the Gospel of Life,
as sources of wisdom and witnesses of love and hope.
In all this the family needs to be helped
to meet the problems of the day
by the community and the state.

"Walk as children of the light" (Eph 5:8):
Bringing about a Transformation of Culture

95. We must build a new culture of life
that confronts today's problems affecting life.
The purpose of the Gospel is, in fact,
to transform humanity from within and to make it new.
We need to begin within our Christian communities themselves.

96. The first step is forming consciences
in regard to the inviolable worth of human life
and reestablishing the connection between life and freedom.
There is no true freedom
where life is not welcomed and loved,
and there is no fullness of life except in freedom.
In the formation of conscience is the necessary link
between freedom and truth.
Only by admitting our innate dependence on God
can we live and use our freedom and at the same time
respect the life and freedom of every other person.
When God is denied, human life also ends up being rejected.

97. There is a need for education
about the value of life from its very origins.
We have to help the young
to accept and experience sexuality and love
according to their true meaning and in their interconnection.
The trivialization of sexuality
is among the principal factors
that lead to the contempt for new life.
Only a true love is able to protect life.
There is a duty to offer adolescents and young adults
an authentic education in sexuality and in love;
this involves training in chastity as a virtue
and learning respect for the "spousal" meaning of the body.
This education involves the training of married couples
in responsible procreation,
with openness to new life and the service of it,
even if - for serious reasons and with respect to the moral law-
they choose to avoid new birth for the time being.
If they control the impulses of instinct and passion
and respect the biological laws inscribed in their persons,
they can legitimately use natural methods of regulating fertility
in the service of responsible procreation.
These methods are becoming more and more accurate.
An honest appraisal of them
should dispel certain prejudices
that am still widely held.
The church is grateful to those who devote themselves
to the study and spread of these methods.
This education should also consider suffering and death.
Even pain and suffering have meaning and value.
In this regard I have called for the yearly celebration
of the "World Day of the Sick."
Death is anything but an event without hope,
it is the door that opens on eternity;
for those who believe it is a participation
in the death and resurrection of Christ.

98. The cultural change we are calling for
asks for the primacy of being over having,
of the person over things.
Others are not rivals but brothers and sisters,
to be loved for their own sakes.
In this mobilization for a new culture
no one must feel excluded;
everyone his in important role to play.
Catholic intellectuals have a special role to play,
as do all those involved in mass media.

99. In this transformation of culture
women play a unique and decisive role.
It depends on them to promote a "new feminism,"
rejecting the temptation to imitate models of "male domination"
and affirming the true genius of women in life and society
in order to overcome all discrimination, violence, and exploitation.
I ask them to "reconcile people with life."
Motherhood involves a special communion
with the mystery of life;
it gives life room, respecting it in its otherness.
I would like to say a special word to women
who have had in abortion.
The church is aware of the many factors
that may have influenced your decision,
and it does not doubt that in many cases
it was a painful and even shattering decision.
The wound in your heart may not yet have healed.
Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong.
But do not give in to discouragement
and do not lose hope.
Try to understand what happened
and face it honestly.
The Father of mercies is ready
to give you his forgiveness and peace
in the sacrament of reconciliation.
Nothing is definitively lost,
and you will be able to ask forgiveness from your child
who is now living in the Lord.
With the help of others and as a result of your experience
you can be among the most eloquent defenders
of the right to life.

100.There is in enormous disparity
between the powerful resources available
to the forces promoting the "culture of death"
and the means of those working for a "culture of life and love."
But God is with us.
Prayer is needed;
Jesus himself showed that prayer and fasting
are the most effective weapons
against the forces of evil (cf Mt 4:1-11).

101.The Gospel of Life
is not for believers alone; it is for everyone.
To be actively pro-life is to contribute
to the renewal of society through the promotion
of the common good.
Only respect for life can be the foundation of democracy and peace.

Conclusion

102.The one who accepted "Life" in the name of all
and for the sake of all was Mary, the Virgin Mother.
Mary, like the church of which she is the type,
is a mother of all those reborn in life.
"A great portent at appeared in heaven, a woman clothed
with the sun" (Rev 12:1): The Motherhood of Mary and
of the Church

103.In the book of Revelation,
the woman clothed with the sun" was with child.
The church, too, bean within herself the Savior of the world.
Like Mary, the church lives her motherhood in suffering
through the birth pangs and the labor of childbirth,
that is to say, in constant tension with the forces of evil
that roam the world.

"And the dragon stood before the woman... that he might devour
the child when she brought it forth" (Rev 12:4): Life Menaced
by the Forces of Evil

104.Here, too, Mary helps the church realize
that life is always at the center of the great struggle
between good and evil, between light and darkness.
In a way her threatened child
is a figure of every person, every child,
especially every helpless baby whose life is threatened,
because by his incarnation
"the Son of God has united himself
in some fashion with every person" (GS 22).

"Death shall be no more" (Rev 21:4):
The Splendor of the Resurrection

105.Mary's whole life is pervaded by the certainty
that God is near to her.
The same is true of the church,
and Mary is its comfort in its struggle against death.
In the "New Jerusalem," that new world
toward which human history is traveling,
"death shall be no more."
And on our way, we, the pilgrim people, look to her who is for us
"a sign of sure hope and solace" (LG 68).
0 Mary, Mother of the Living,
to you do we entrust the cause of life.