All human beings ought to value every person for
his or her uniqueness as a creature of God, called to be a brother or sister of
Christ by reason of the Incarnation and the universal Redemption. For us, the
sacredness of human life is based on these premises. And it is on these same
premises that there is based our celebration of life—all human life. This
explains our efforts to defend human life against every influence or action
that threatens or weakens it, as well as our endeavors to make every life more
human in all its aspects.
And so, we will stand up every
time that human life is threatened. When the sacredness of life before birth is
attacked, we will stand up and proclaim that no one ever has the authority to
destroy unborn life. When a child is described as a burden or is looked upon
only as a means to satisfy an emotional need, we will stand up and insist that
every child is a unique and unrepeatable gift of God, with the right to a
loving and united family. When the institution of marriage is abandoned to
human selfishness or reduced to a temporary, conditional arrangement that can
easily be terminated, we will stand up and affirm the indissolubility of the
marriage bond. When the value of the family is threatened because of social and
economic pressures, we will stand up and reaffirm that the family is “necessary
not only for the private good of every person, but also for the common good of every
society, nation and state.” When
freedom is used to dominate the weak, to squander natural resources and energy,
and to deny basic necessities to people, we will stand up and reaffirm the
demands of justice and social love. When the sick, the aged or the dying are
abandoned in loneliness, we will stand up and proclaim that they are worthy of
love, care and respect.
-Saint John Paul II, Homily at the National Mall, 1979
