Life is not respected when we allow our nation to kill its enemies – including mostly innocent civilians – in war, ignore genocide being committed in real time, live with an attitude of indifference toward unborn babies brutalized by abortion, condone the death penalty, turn a blind eye to the uninsured sick and the poorly served elderly in many nursing homes, refuse to welcome needy migrants, fail to compassionately address the fact that more than 700 million people suffer from hunger – among them over 8,000 children who die every day because they are too poor to live – and when we deny that our earth is very dangerously heating up.
When we ignore suffering and death, we are not respecting life!
The poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the unborn, the war-torn, the sick, the dying, the old, the young, drug addicts, prostitutes, the uneducated, the unemployed, the underemployed, the uninsured, prisoners, migrants, and yes, even the enemy, are our brothers and sisters in Christ. And so, ignoring them is not an option.
St. Pope John Paul summed this all up perfectly: “Where life is involved, the service of charity must be profoundly consistent. It cannot tolerate bias and discrimination, for human life is sacred and inviolable at every stage and in every situation; it is an indivisible good. We need then to ‘show care’ for all life and for the life of everyone.”
Reaching out to every person we can – especially those who suffer the most, what Catholic Social Teaching calls the “preferential option for the poor” – with active compassion, generosity, social justice, and peacemaking is such a fundamental requirement to faithful Christian discipleship, that our very salvation is at stake (see: Matt 25: 31-46).
While God knows you and I can’t physically help everyone. It is also true that most of us can do much more. After all, look at the saints.
We can place peacemaking, the poor, and vulnerable at the center of our prayer life. We can sacrificially give money, time and skills to assist those in desperate need.
We can sign up to receive action alerts from groups that advocate for the unborn, poor, hungry, homeless, refugees, elderly, war-torn and the environment.
Connecting with groups like Bread for the World, Pax Christi International, Catholic Climate Covenant, Laudato Si’ Movement, Network, Churches for Middle East Peace, Catholic Relief Services, World Beyond War, Americans United for Life, and your state and national Catholic conferences can help you make a difference.
And try to get your parish more involved.
In Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s words, “Love for widows and orphans, prisoners, and the sick and needy of every kind, is as essential [to the church] as the ministry of the sacraments and preaching of the Gospel” (“Deus Caritas Est,” No. 22).
During this time when so many of those who hold political and economic power are cutting anti-poverty assistance programs (see: https://www.crs.org/act/budget?ms=mamcrs2026app00her00), and waging war on the born and unborn, the followers of the God of Life and the Prince of Peace must prophetically proclaim: Respect life – every life, everywhere, no exceptions!
Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated Catholic social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings. Tony can be reached at tmag6@comcast.net.
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