Some might wonder, "Poglitsh, don't you think our world has problems other than abortion? Consider war, hunger, disease, poverty, lack of clean water, lack of education opportunities, sex discrimination, racism, lack of good housing, etc. Don't these things matter?"
Absolutely they do. Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, a Roman Catholic prelate, worked tirelessly on numerous issues of human suffering. He popularized the term "consistent ethic of life", a term meaning that human life ought to be respected at all stages and in all circumstances. Before his death from cancer in November 1996, Bernardin addressed the threats of modern warfare to human life, opposed the death penalty, spoke against violence in the middle East and Ireland, dedicated a facility to the care of AIDS victims, participated in an anti-pornography group, and as cancer began to affect his own life, began a ministry to cancer victims. Cardinal Bernardin valued human life, and acted to promote human advancement against all manner of insults.
Here is what the Cardinal said in 1989: "Not all values, however, are of equal weight. Some are more fundamental than others. On this Respect Life Sunday, I wish to emphasize that no earthly value is more fundamental than human life itself. Human life is the condition for enjoying freedom and all other values. Consequently, if one must choose between protecting or serving lesser human values that depend upon life for their existence and life itself, human life must take precedence."
We need not, and should not, promote one human good and ignore others. Let us advance human development in all its aspects, beginning with protecting the right to life. With the right to life secure, we can work for human betterment in all other areas.
Rudy Poglitsh
rpoglitsh@live.com
more letters at http://letterstotheTOS.blogspot.com
