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On May 10, 2000, President Clinton, Vice-President Gore, Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush, other public officials, ecumenical representatives and Catholics from around the world gathered at St. Patrick's Cathedral to pay their final respects at the funeral of a man who made such a difference in the last years of the twentieth century -- John Cardinal O'Connor.
During his homily, Cardinal Bernard Law stated the obvious -- that Cardinal O'Connor was "unambiguously pro-life."What happened after this simple statement, I believe, is what will one day be seen as the turning point in the struggle to promote the culture of life and defeat the culture of death in American society.
The Cathedral suddenly came to life. Small bits of applause crescended into a deafening standing ovation that brought everyone to their feet, including the occupants of the first rows of the Cathedral. This moment, along with the presence of the Cardinal's beloved Sisters of Life, was in a sense a reminder from the good Cardinal that he would continue to be with us in our struggle to rebuild our American society on the foundation of a respect for human life.
In 1998, the U.S. Catholic Bishops issued a statement entitled Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics which is particularly relevant in a year when we elect a president, a vice-president and a host of Federal, State and local representatives.
The Bishops write: "Opposition to abortion and euthanasia does not excuse indifference to those who suffer from poverty, violence and injustice. Any politics of human life must work to resist the violence of war and the scandal of capital punishment. Any politics of human dignity must seriously address issues of racism, poverty, hunger, employment, education, housing and health care. Therefore, Catholics should eagerly involve themselves as advocates for the weak and marginalized in all these areas."
"Catholic public officials are obliged to address each of these issues as they seek to build consistent policies which promote respect for the human person at all stages of life. But, being 'right' in such matters can never excuse a wrong choice regarding direct attacks on innocent human life. Indeed, the failure to protect and defend life in its most vulnerable stage renders suspect any claims to the 'rightness' of positions in other matters affecting the poorest and least powerful of the human community."
"If we understand the human person as the 'temple of the Holy Spirit' -- the living house of God -- then these latter issues fall logically into place as the crossbeams and walls of that house. All direct attacks on innocent human life, such as abortion and euthanasia, strike at the house's foundation. These directly and immediately violate the human person's most fundamental right -- the right to life. Neglect of these issues is the equivalent of building our house on sand. Such attacks cannot help but lull the social conscience in ways ultimately destructive of other human rights." (#23)
Cardinal O'Connor was not one to allow the Catholic American conscience to be lulled to sleep and inaction by the rhetoric and ploys of the culture of death. He urged Catholic Americans not to check their consciences at the door of the political process but to bring their well-formed Catholic consciences and principles to the public square in a true spirit of democracy.
I urge all citizens, especially Catholics of the Diocese of Wilmington in the states of Delaware and Maryland, to embrace their citizenship in this millennium not merely as a duty and privilege but as an opportunity to participate in building the culture of life.
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