A Post - Election Reflection: Pray, Plan and Participate

This is not the time to withdraw from the culture or from the political process. We must strategically plan our next effort to build the culture of life and never lose hope.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - Like millions of Catholics, other Christians, other people of faith and many people of good will, I followed the recent Presidential election in the United States with deep concern. I prayed, proclaimed, wrote and worked very hard to ensure that the person elected to this important office would recognize the fundamental truth that every single human person, from the moment of conception, throughout life and until the last voluntary breath has an inviolable dignity and possesses a fundamental Right to Life which must be respected and protected by the positive Law.

As a faithful Catholic, I know that this truth is expressed without any equivocation in the infallible teaching of the Magisterium (teaching office) of the Catholic Church. I also know that this truth does not depend upon that teaching to be true. It is revealed in the Natural Law which is written on every human heart. The primacy of this first Right to Life must become a part of the positive law of any just society. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, expounding upon the Natural Law and relying on the Sacred Scripture and the unbroken Christian Tradition affirms this as do all of the modern magisterial documents. Let me use Par. 2273 as an example: "The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation: "The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death."

When a Society fails to recognize this right it is properly called unjust. It must be challenged by those who know the truth because they are duty bound to defend those who will suffer evil as a result of this injustice. This same paragraph affirms this duty with these words: "The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined.... As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child's rights."

Witness the Words of Jesus Come to Life

As Editor of Catholic Online, I know how deeply concerned many of our readers are that President - Elect Barack Obama pledged to Planned Parenthood that one of his first acts in office would be to sign the "Freedom of Choice Act". This is an evil piece of legislation which, if enacted, will undo every restriction on the intentional killing of innocent children in the womb which occurs in every procured abortion. I am a constitutional lawyer and I have spent much of my legal career fighting to establish the recognition of the Right to Life in American Jurisprudence. However, I am also a student of Church History and know that this is not the first time in our history as Christians that we have found ourselves living in a Culture of death. In fact, the cultures into which the early Christians were sent to continue the redemptive mission of the Lord were often cultures of death. Christians in the United States of America need to view ourselves as a missionary church. I suggest the sooner we do so the better. Let me suggest as well in this brief article what I will call the "3 P's" as we begin the serious work ahead together - Pray, Plan, and Participate.

Pray

When the Apostle Paul wrote to his young disciple Timothy whom he had established over the nascent Christian community in Ephesus, he knew that the task of evangelization and the gradual transformation of that Culture of death would require focused and unrelenting Prayer. Notice that he told Timothy to particularly pray for those with governing authority: " First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior (1 Tim. 2: 1-2)" We must now do so as well. Prayer is a powerful weapon in our arsenal. We need to pray that our President - Elect would see the truth, yes the TRUTH, that children in the womb are our neighbors and that a truly just society must not allow the killing of neighbors to remain "legal". Can he be converted on this issue? Of course he can. We have the historical witness to prove it in other missionary ages. We also need to pray that those from whom he seeks counsel in his task of governance would tell him the truth concerning this fundamental right to life and persuade him that he must, if he is truly serious about building a just society, bring an end to legal abortion and the dangerous advance of euthanasia.

Enjoy Daily Readings? Pay it Forward

We must pray for one another as well. The comments which we have received to the articles we have published on Catholic Online since the election have convinced me that there is extraordinary fear and distress within the Pro-Life Christian community. Again, St. Paul shared these words with the early Christians in Philippi who lived in a similar Culture of death: "Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4: 6-7)Finally, even though we know that some who worked against our efforts to defend the innocent came from within our own community and betrayed the truth taught by the Church, we must pray for them as well. The Master Himself made this clear through his own witness of life and in His teaching. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you." (Matt. 5: 43 - 44)

Plan

I did not think it was accidental that the readings for the Liturgy on the day after this Presidential election contained these words from the Gospel of St. Luke: "Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, 'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.'(Luke 14: 28 - 30)" We must get up now, shake off the disappointment and begin to strategically plan our next effort to build the culture of life. We should honestly assess where we failed in our efforts to persuade our fellow citizens of the truth concerning what occurs in every procured abortion. Perhaps finally, we will also wake up to the fact the neither major political party is a place where we can truly find a home, reject the limiting labels of current political discourse and really decide to become a prophetic voice and community speaking truth to power.

I have long written of the need to build a new alliance, a new movement, informed by a true reading of Catholic Social teaching which, not using overly religious terms or confined to Catholics, engages our age. Such a movement must not be held captive by either the "left" or the "right" or become the hostage of any political party. It should become a new "Catholic Action" which is open to all men and women who recognize the primacy of life, defend true marriage, promote an authentic human freedom and insist upon our obligations in solidarity to all the poor including children in the womb, the infirmed, the disabled , and the elderly. They are all at risk in a society which speaks of being our "brother and sisters keeper" but then protects - with the Police Power of the State- the hideous act of reaching into wombs and dismembering children who are not wanted. Those who help to build this movement must be prepared to be opposed with great ferocity. It will require "calculating the cost" for its completion, like the tower the Lord speaks of.

Free Prayer PDFs | Available in English, Spanish and French

Participate

This is not the time to withdraw from the culture or from the political process. To the contrary, we must inject ourselves even more into the public square by articulating with a new language the truth concerning the dignity of every human person and the fundamental right to life as the framework through which every other right first flows. We must not retreat from our defense of true marriage as the first and vital cell of society. We must continue to defend true freedom against its counterfeits and insist on the full ramifications of our obligations to one another in solidarity. We must prepare new candidates for public office and get them elected, raising the substantial funds required to do so. We must propose the judicial nominees, prepare the litigation and appellate strategies, strategically use the "new" media, teach the next generation and re-catechize our own within the Church who have strayed. This is not the time to lick our wounds, it is time to join them to the One whose wounds can make them become meaningful and then get back up and fight.

We need a well thought out and developed Pro-life strategy which has many fronts. For example, in response to Doug Kmiec's request, Catholic Online published his recent piece. Some of our readers were pleased, some were not. Anyone who has read my own articles knows that I relentlessly opposed his position during the primaries and did all I could to expose what I believed was an incorrect presentation of the Catholic Social teaching and Moral theology. However, we cannot pretend that this line of thought does not exist. In addition, the chances are that Doug Kmiec will play a role in advising the President - Elect. So, when he suggested in this piece that a "...more modest constitutional amendment could be pursued that would presume life to begin at conception", I am willing to listen. Of course, like most of our readers, I could not understand what he meant in this one article so I subsequently wrote to him asking for a further elaboration. If he responds, I will let you know. After all, anything that might limit the shedding of the blood of more innocent children while we pursue the goal of their full recognition as human persons, inclusion within our community and full legal and constitutional protection should be pursued. I for one will do everything I can to work with this new administration to achieve this end. I will also assist in other efforts which will truly serve the common good.

Announcing NEW Catholic Online News - Visit Today!

However, be assured, I am not naďve. I am also not afraid. I know how serious this all has now become. However, none of us should be afraid because the Lord is our strength. Neither can any of us retreat. Remember that for those of us who bear the name Christian, this is a part of our Baptismal vocation and we stand on the shoulders of giants who point the way forward.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'