(quiet gentle music)
FUTURE LIBBY: Okay, now tell me why
society should let you live.
KAI: Uh, what kind of
reasons do you need?
FUTURE LIBBY: What do you
bring to the table?
Are you famous?
Rich?
A genius?
Or are you smelly,
diseased and annoying?
KAI: Uh, how about I'm
a unique human being
with unique DNA and
inherent dignity and worth?
FUTURE LIBBY: (laughing) Oh please, that
stopped being a valid reason
for existence ages ago.
(laughing)
KAI: No!
No!
(sighs) Lucky I don't have to
prove my worth to
you, Mr. Cuddles.
(pops kiss)
(energetic rock music)
LIBBY: Hi, and welcome to
Catholic Central.
I am Libby.
KAI: And I am Kai.
LIBBY: And today we're
talking about the issues
that fall under the
umbrella of pro-life.
KAI: I'll just sum it up,
Catholics care about
the beginning, the end
and everything in between.
I think we're done here.
LIBBY: No, okay, let's dive
in a little deeper.
Living a committed
pro-life world view
is a beautiful, yet
challenging path.
Caring about the
beginning, middle and end
is what Catholics call a
consistent ethic of life.
KAI: A consistent ethic
of life holds that
there is a sacredness
within all human lives
that goes deeper than
our physical existence
and that there is a
purpose and meaning
to be found in
every stage of life.
LIBBY: That means that, at
the foundational level,
the Church stands in opposition
to all direct taking of life.
KAI: This includes
abortion and euthanasia,
but also the death penalty
and the direct targeting
of civilian populations in war.
LIBBY: But a consistent ethic
of life also addresses
social issues and condemns
things that devalue human life.
KAI: Or, according to the Vatican
II document Gaudium Et Spes,
whatever violates the
integrity of the human person.
LIBBY: And whatever
insults human dignity.
KAI: So that includes torture,
arbitrary imprisonment,
abuse of the environment,
lack of access to healthcare.
LIBBY: Bingo, as well as
forced deportation,
human trafficking,
hunger, homelessness
and disgraceful
working conditions.
KAI: The reason behind this
is the fundamental belief
that all lives are
equal in dignity.
No one is worth more
than anyone else.
LIBBY: And Jesus commands
us to treat everyone
as we would want to be treated.
RICH GUY LIBBY: (laughing) Surely
not those scurrilous,
good for nothings who steal
from us upstanding citizens
and drain our society.
LIBBY: Yes, Catholics believe that
you and every other person
is created by God, with
an equally important life
that should be protected
in every aspect of society.
KAI: For Catholics, life issues
are a matter of human rights.
The lives of the vulnerable
have to be defended,
no matter how the current
culture frames them.
LIBBY: Especially since
history has proven that
the lives labeled
dispensable can change
depending on who's in power.
KAI: So that includes the poor.
LIBBY: The disabled.
KAI: The homeless, the sick.
LIBBY: The
marginalized, the bullied.
KAI: The immigrant,
the refugee.
LIBBY: You get the idea.
To be pro-life means
believing that all the messy,
stinky, sinful people mean
as much to God as you do,
you stinky, messy,
sinful person.
KAI: We are called to speak
up and give a hand to those
less fortunate as
children of God.
LIBBY: Which brings us to some of
the most vulnerable among us,
the children of humans.
KAI: Right, the entire premise
behind a pro-life worldview,
is to hold sacred every
human life from conception
to its natural end,
and Catholics believe
what science confirms, at
the moment of conception,
a human being begins its journey
through all the uniquely
human phases of life.
Everything is in place,
the genetics, the DNA,
the building blocks that create
a specific and unique physical
and emotional human person.
LIBBY: Unlike any other cluster
of cells in our bodies,
a fertilized egg is
on a specific journey
to become an
individualized human being
and Catholics believe
that is a holy creation,
a growing child worthy
of being protected.
KAI: Even before it can breath
on its own or feel pain.
LIBBY: For Catholics, it's the
life itself that has value.
FEMINIST KAI: Yeah, right.
Everyone knows that Catholics
are really just pro-birth
so that they can control
women and their bodies.
LIBBY: Okay, abortion does
get a lot of attention,
but it's not about
control at all.
KAI: As we said before, Catholics
believe that a new life
has the exact same value
as it's mother's life
and all other lives
and Catholics dedicate
a lot of time and
money to helping people
throughout those lives.
LIBBY: Catholic groups are
among the biggest providers
of social services in the world,
operating hospitals,
schools, orphanages,
shelters, soup kitchens and
supporting life in other ways.
KAI: But those aren't
that controversial,
so yada, yada, yada,
lots of great moments
of human triumph and
fast forward to the end.
COMIC KAI: So I said, euthanasia, (laughs)
what do I care what teens
in Mongolia are up to?
Youth in Asia, Mongolia's
in Asia, anybody?
WOMAN: You're racist.
CROWD MEMBER: Get off the stage!
LIBBY: You died up there.
KAI: And without dignity,
which, by the way,
is the opposite of what the
Church wants for everyone,
to die with dignity, naturally
and with as little
suffering as possible.
LIBBY: Yes, and to be clear, the
Catechism of the Catholic Church
clarifies that medical treatment
can be refused or stopped.
KAI: That is, basically,
to say that you can refuse
over-zealous treatment.
It's the difference between
the will to cause death
and accepting the
inability to impede it.
The Church clearly
sees that sometimes
complicated or painful
circumstances and choices
that disease and modern
medicine lay before us.
KAI: Catholics believe that the
person who's life is ending
is of great value to the world
up to their very last breath.
LIBBY: And even though Catholics
don't want anyone to suffer,
they believe that
suffering can have meaning.
KAI: Part of that meaning
is having a community
that enters along side both
the suffering and
the caregivers.
LIBBY: The dying teach us compassion,
patience, tenderness,
selflessness
and prepare us to face
our own end of life.
KAI: On that light hearted note,
let's remember that defending
human rights takes effort.
It's disruptive and demanding.
In every stage of
the human journey,
Catholics realize that there
can be complicated
circumstances.
LIBBY: And recognize there is
a fraught cultural history
in which the Church
did not always live up
to its own guidelines
and still struggles
to grow in integrity today.
KAI: But what we are
talking about is the core
of Catholic beliefs
and human rights.
Also remember that
applying Catholic teaching
transcends politics.
LIBBY: While we can work
towards having just laws,
it goes beyond what is
legal versus illegal.
KAI: A consistent ethic
of life requires us
to examine how we are
supporting human dignity
in our interactions
everyday, with everyone,
especially those
we disagree with.
LIBBY: Being Catholic
does not require you
to solve every social and
economic ill all by yourself.
Catholics are called
to a deeper activism,
love in action.
If only everyone did
their best with that,
our culture would
be transformed.
KAI: To sum up, respecting,
upholding and defending
every human life from
conception to its natural end,
is good news.
LIBBY: To paraphrase
Flannery O'Connor,
the life that's saved
may be your own.
KAI: For Catholic Central, I'm Kai.
LIBBY: And I'm Libby.
KAI: Until next time, choose life.
LIBBY: And choose love.
KAI: For more on living a
consistent ethic of life,
go to our website,
catholiccentral.com.
LIBBY: And check out our episode
on Catholic social teaching
and be sure to hit subscribe.
KAI: Do it.
LIBBY: Right now.
KAI: I dare you.
LIBBY: It's so good.
(cheerful energetic music)
