Clarification and Guidance of the Pro-Life Movement in the Gospel of Life Message
There are two fields
Type of People
Type of Work
In general, most people are pro-life and not pro-abortion, but they say it’s not my business and that’s not my problem. But we in the pro-life movement say: Yes, it’s your business and their business. A mother who wants to abort her child is our sister, and a child who may die is both our brother and sister. Therefore, it concerns us, and it is our duty to rescue them from the swamp of the evil of murder. Because the culture of death is the work of Satan. The struggle is not only physical but spiritual, with the rulers of this world.
Types of People
In spreading the message of the Civilization of Life, we must focus on understanding the people we are speaking to about the sanctity of life from the moment of conception to the hour of natural death. Father Frank Buffon, director of the Priests for Life movement in the United States, says that when we talk about abortion, we see four types of people:
The Aggressive
The Lukewarm
The Converts
The Activists
The Aggressive: These are a small number, 1-2%. These are people who support abortion in any situation. Among them are activists who promote abortion by killing babies in sanctuary in pro-choice movements like Planned Parenthood International (PPI). They use moral relativism to justify abortion. Moral relativism says that we create the truth, each person has their own truth… Let people choose… and women have the right to choose. But when we ask these people: “What do you choose?” they don’t answer. They start talking about religion, clergy, fundamentalism, priests, the Pope, poverty, societal problems, financial hardship, etc. These people must be confronted lovingly, using reason and logic, by trying to lukewarm them. And ask them difficult and powerful questions.
The lukewarm are those who say, “It’s none of my business. I’m neither for nor against abortion. If someone wants an abortion, it’s none of my business.” But we can’t say this about crimes and child molestation. For example, when my neighbor rapes his children, and we witness this crime, it’s our duty to inform the police. Some might say, “We don’t see abortion; the child is small, not a person.” But we, as Christians, don’t say this about the body of Jesus in the Eucharist. It is very small, not a person, and we don’t believe in it! The lukewarm must be converted to pro-life.
The converts: Their number is large. These people say, “I am for life and against killing children in abortion.” But if I speak out, I will upset people and lose my friends. I don’t want to rock the boat. Let others defend life. These people must be upset in such a way that we can move them and encourage them to do something in defense of life, that is, instill in their hearts a holy anger. Because life belongs to no one. God is the Creator of life. Because if abortion is legalized in the country, or if the law is not applied to protect the innocent, what guarantees does society offer to protect adults from evil in society? If the authorities allow the killing of the weak, or if the law is not applied to protect them, everyone’s life is at risk. The evidence for this is the ongoing security chaos in Lebanon. Therefore, the right to protect the child in the womb comes first. Lebanese law must be applied to protect the beginning of life first. Because protecting the beginning of life is the foundation upon which society is built. If the law is not applied to protect the child in the womb first, why is it so surprising that there is a security chaos throughout Lebanon and that all people are not protected by the state and the army?
Every person with a conscience must stop this war on the innocent in the womb, because when society opens a small door to death, that same door will expand to kill every weak and rejected person in society, because society has begun to believe that the problem of the rejected can be solved by killing them. Here, the life of every human being is at risk as a result of the killing of innocents in the womb.
Activists: They are those who reject the culture of death and say, “Yes, every weak person exposed to the culture of death belongs to me, because they are my brothers and sisters in humanity and in Christ, and I see Christ in them.” Therefore, I can no longer remain silent. I work every day to end the culture of death, both its roots and its fruits. I defend the sanctity of life from the moment of conception to the hour of natural death.
A type of work in defense of life.
In a guidance from the Pro-Life Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the United States of America, it states that there are four areas in which work can be done to defend the sanctity of life:
Educating the public
Pastoral work
Political activism
Prayer and worship
Educating the public about the dangers that threaten life from the moment of conception to the hour of natural death: which includes abortion and euthanasia. Before educating people, we must educate ourselves about these dangers by studying two of the most important encyclicals:
Humanae Vitae by Pope Paul VI on contraception
Evangelium Vitae by Pope John Paul II on the Church’s teachings on the sanctity of life
This campaign includes several methods:
Printing and distributing leaflets on life wherever possible.
A media campaign, sending letters to local newspapers, magazines, and journals expressing the sanctity of life and exposing the evil of abortion and its impact on society as a whole.
The Internet is an easy way to spread the pro-life message.
Studies
Lectures and seminars throughout the country on the sanctity of life from the moment of conception to the hour of natural death.
Pastoral work – or go to
includes assisting women experiencing difficulties in their pregnancies and convincing them not to commit the crime of abortion, and providing them with the moral, spiritual, and material support they need. From preparing the child for the mother to protecting the child in the womb from the risk of miscarriage. This includes free consultation and referral to a gynecologist who cares for the pregnancy. Care for the mother who has lost her child through miscarriage, i.e. after the miscarriage, is provided, providing her with spiritual, moral, and psychological support. The miscarriage tore her apart psychologically and even physically, leaving her almost destroyed from within and in need of God’s compassion, tenderness, and mercy.
Political Action
This includes political campaigns to demand the implementation of laws where abortion is a crime, such as in Lebanon, Syria, and many other Arab countries.
Political campaigns to criminalize abortion in places where it is legal, such as Western countries and Iran.
Contacting representatives and politicians and educating them about the sanctity of life.
Elections: Electing those with a conscience who protect life. If a politician accepts the killing of a child in the womb, how can you trust them to protect your life? If they support abortion, they should not be in their political position.
Speaking to people on the street, at work, and everywhere else, exposing acts of violence against children in the womb and the exploitation of women through abortion.
Prayer and Worship
Complete reliance on God through prayer and fasting to end abortion through the power of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Because behind this victory, we work with complete reliance on God.