The End Of The Beginning

05-15-2022Pastor's LetterFr. John Bonavitacola

We stand at the turning point. After almost 50years of defending the sanctity of human life it looks like we are poised for a long-awaited victory with the overturning of Roe v Wade. Granted this will not end abortion but it will demonstrate the faulty logic of Roe and the power of changing hearts and minds, one at a time.

We stand too at a collision course. The pro-abortion side will not take this sitting down. The message they are sending is that “if we don't get our way, it’s your fault and we will burn the house down.” Not subtle at all. But we cannot be intimidated. We did not come this far to back down. We shall not be moved.

Though Justice Alito’s draft opinion is most welcomed, it is an example of reasoned logic and solid jurisprudence but it is not the Catholic position nor an imposition of the Catholic position by a Catholic jurist. Our position is that there should be a constitutional protection for the unborn, a fundamental right to life.

And so, the battle for life will turn to the state by state arena. The overturning of Roe is not the end. We need to recall all that has come after Roe and that poisons our society, our politics, our science and our thinking. There is still much to be done.

What started out in 1973, as the legalization of abortion in the first trimester for health reasons has now become a full onslaught on human life. What has Roe wrought?

• Abortion on demand from conception to the moment of birth 
• Women lied to about the truth of abortion & its effects, scarred and broken
• The US imposition of “reproductive rights” on countries needing our aid
• Tax dollar funding of abortion mills
• Increased teen pregnancy, widespread venereal disease including HIV 
• Partial birth abortion; often outright infanticide
• Legalization of assisted suicide in many states and the justification of Euthanasia by the AMA
• The willful dehydration/starvation death of Terri Schiavo (in my opinion the single worst thing that has happened since Roe) and the new medical ethics that say vulnerable humans should not be protected and that cognitively impaired or comatose humans have no rights
• The destruction of Hippocratic medicine particularly allowing physicians to kill their patients
• Embryo destruction, the instrumental use of human life for experimentation
• In-Vitro Fertilization Chaos, the “octo-mom,” the wrong embryos implanted in women, genetic engineering for “designer babies”, millions of frozen embryos.
• Biological colonialism: exploiting poor peoples of the world for their body parts, eggs, wombs because first world people want the benefit & not the inconvenience.
• Redefinition of brain death so organs can be harvested from not-yet-dead people 
• Radical environmentalism that pushes for government-imposed population control, sterilization, forced abortion.
• The denial of conscience protection for health care workers and others 
• The separation of parenting from marriage

The foundations of our culture have been unraveling for almost 50 years. What was promoted as the “exception” soon became the norm, found its rationalizations, and now is promoted as a “good”. The good news though is that because of the faithful witness of the Pro-Life Movement more Americans than ever describe themselves as “Pro-life”. It seems more and more people are catching on to what is at stake if we topple human exceptionalism or no longer hold that all human life is equal just because it is human. And that includes nascent human life in the process of development or human life in any stage of decline.

The moral implosion that Roe v. Wade triggered is fully upon us. Maybe now we can begin to reverse it. This battle for Life will make or break us. What will happen from here depends on how willing God’s people are to rebuild the Culture of Life. St. Gianna, pray for us.

Love, Fr. John B.