Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales - Abortion = Automatic Excommunication
The letter itself is short & sweet (link below in article), but the message is clear, abortion can never be right. Nor can any law change that fact. The Archbishop also goes on to call for people to live the virtue filled life God wants us to.
He also makes a very interesting point that could be easliy overlooked. "He writes: Human lives are always precious to God and any violation of it will be dealt with by Him for He said, “Vengeance is mine . . ." While he is using this to remind us of how grave a sin abortion is & why the penalty is excommunication it also should serve to remind us that God will not continue to let a society go on forever killing its unborn via abortion. At some point a society will have to answer for its sins just as an individual does. & if a society as a whole continues to allow abortion & ignores the call of those to turn away from this horrible act, it will someday, sooner or later, face judgment & destruction. The murdering of so many unborn by a society will be avenged. History has proven this fact time after time. The blood of the millions of unborn shed by abortion is crying out just as the blood of Abel did. Fortunately, it is still not too late to turn back. But for how long?
Manila Archbishop: "Grave Sin" of Abortion Leads to Automatic Excommunication
By Thaddeus M. Baklinski
MANILA, Philippines, September 17, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales has issued a pastoral letter, to be read at all Masses in the Archdiocese of Manila on Sunday, September 19, condemning abortion as a "crime against life" and a symptom of "abandoned values."
The archbishop addressed the recent spate of aborted babies that were left near churches this week.
News sources reported that human fetuses were found in the cities of Manila and Malabon, and a living newborn baby was rescued from a garbage bin inside a Gulf Air flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Police reported that a 5-to 7-month-old unborn child was found inside a green plastic bag at the Manila Cathedral, while another baby was found at the doorstep of the Church of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo district.
Malabon City police also reported that a fetus, wrapped in plastic and then stuffed into a sack, was found at the corner of Salmon and Pampano streets in the Catmon district of that city.
Archbishop Rosales said he considers the public exposure of aborted babies as either malicious, or a symptom of "grave moral decadence" that is threatening Philippine society.
"With possible malicious intent the ugly part of life is again gaining the limelight in our country as the frequency of aborted fetuses is publicly exposed. The placing and exhibiting of aborted human fetuses in public places is not favored in other cultures, and decent people refuse to do the same," Archbishop Rosales wrote in the pastoral letter.
"If the expositions of discarded human fetuses are not done with evil intent, then the practice alone of rampant abortion is symptomatic of a grave moral decadence and irresponsible behavior that now seriously threaten the country."
The archbishop condemned abortion as a "moral evil," and reminded the faithful that those who abort their children, as well as those who facilitate abortion, face excommunication.
"Thou shalt not kill! A deliberately procured abortion is a moral evil and the Catholic Church attaches the canonical penalty of Excommunication on those who procure it and on those who help obtain abortion," Archbishop Rosales said.
"Human lives are always precious to God and any violation of it will be dealt with by Him for He said, ‘Vengeance is mine . . . He will avenge the blood of his servants’ (Gene 4:15, Deut. 32:43). Abortion is a grave sin against a defenseless life; and for this the severe canonical penalty to perpetuators is Excommunication," the archbishop warned.
Urging the faithful to the virtues of selflessness, self control and self-sacrifice as the way to avoid unwanted pregnancies, the archbishop said, "Unwanted pregnancies could be avoided if only people are less selfish, are more disciplined and capable of self control, exercising a strong will, and capable of making sacrifices. These are virtues that are much needed in a country of disciplined people."
Archbishop Rosales also condemned the attempts to introduce laws allowing abortion in the country, saying, "Short cuts to progress even by way of new laws cannot compensate for abandoned values. Human life, created in the image of its Maker, the very source of the rights and dignity of the human person, must always be respected and defended."
The archbishop said that special prayers and acts of reparation will be made in churches where public exposure of aborted babies occurred and urges to the faithful to pray "for the perpetrators and instigators of this grievous sin against the life of the innocent."
The full text of Archbishop Rosales' pastoral letter "Abortion, A Crime Against Life" is available here. (http://www.rcam.org/Homilies/2010/cardinal_rosales/abortion_a_crime_against_life.html)
MANILA, Philippines, September 17, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales has issued a pastoral letter, to be read at all Masses in the Archdiocese of Manila on Sunday, September 19, condemning abortion as a "crime against life" and a symptom of "abandoned values."
The archbishop addressed the recent spate of aborted babies that were left near churches this week.
News sources reported that human fetuses were found in the cities of Manila and Malabon, and a living newborn baby was rescued from a garbage bin inside a Gulf Air flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Police reported that a 5-to 7-month-old unborn child was found inside a green plastic bag at the Manila Cathedral, while another baby was found at the doorstep of the Church of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo district.
Malabon City police also reported that a fetus, wrapped in plastic and then stuffed into a sack, was found at the corner of Salmon and Pampano streets in the Catmon district of that city.
Archbishop Rosales said he considers the public exposure of aborted babies as either malicious, or a symptom of "grave moral decadence" that is threatening Philippine society.
"With possible malicious intent the ugly part of life is again gaining the limelight in our country as the frequency of aborted fetuses is publicly exposed. The placing and exhibiting of aborted human fetuses in public places is not favored in other cultures, and decent people refuse to do the same," Archbishop Rosales wrote in the pastoral letter.
"If the expositions of discarded human fetuses are not done with evil intent, then the practice alone of rampant abortion is symptomatic of a grave moral decadence and irresponsible behavior that now seriously threaten the country."
The archbishop condemned abortion as a "moral evil," and reminded the faithful that those who abort their children, as well as those who facilitate abortion, face excommunication.
"Thou shalt not kill! A deliberately procured abortion is a moral evil and the Catholic Church attaches the canonical penalty of Excommunication on those who procure it and on those who help obtain abortion," Archbishop Rosales said.
"Human lives are always precious to God and any violation of it will be dealt with by Him for He said, ‘Vengeance is mine . . . He will avenge the blood of his servants’ (Gene 4:15, Deut. 32:43). Abortion is a grave sin against a defenseless life; and for this the severe canonical penalty to perpetuators is Excommunication," the archbishop warned.
Urging the faithful to the virtues of selflessness, self control and self-sacrifice as the way to avoid unwanted pregnancies, the archbishop said, "Unwanted pregnancies could be avoided if only people are less selfish, are more disciplined and capable of self control, exercising a strong will, and capable of making sacrifices. These are virtues that are much needed in a country of disciplined people."
Archbishop Rosales also condemned the attempts to introduce laws allowing abortion in the country, saying, "Short cuts to progress even by way of new laws cannot compensate for abandoned values. Human life, created in the image of its Maker, the very source of the rights and dignity of the human person, must always be respected and defended."
The archbishop said that special prayers and acts of reparation will be made in churches where public exposure of aborted babies occurred and urges to the faithful to pray "for the perpetrators and instigators of this grievous sin against the life of the innocent."
The full text of Archbishop Rosales' pastoral letter "Abortion, A Crime Against Life" is available here. (http://www.rcam.org/Homilies/2010/cardinal_rosales/abortion_a_crime_against_life.html)
posted by Al @ 3:18 AM
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