Transcript The Consistent Ethic of Life

Life Issues Formation Program
What is the consistent ethic of life?
Theologian Kenneth Overberg, SJ explains it this way:
 A comprehensive ethical system that links together many
different issues by focusing attention on the basic value of
life
 It rules out contradictory moral positions on issues
involving human life – we cannot be against abortion but
in favor of the death penalty, we cannot work against
poverty but support euthanasia
What is the consistent ethic of life?
 It is not sufficient to be pro-life on some issues; we
must be pro-life on all issues
 “If we are consistent, we must speak and act
concerning abortion and euthanasia but also
concerning welfare and immigration, sexism and
racism, cloning and health-care reform, trade
agreements and sweatshops, the buying and selling of
women for prostitution, genocide and many other
issues.”
Formulation of a Consistent Ethic of Life
The idea of a consistent ethic
of life was first articulated by
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin of
Chicago in the 1980’s.
Bernardin was serving as
chair of the Pro-Life
Committee of the United
States Conference of Catholic
Bishops.
Cardinal Bernardin
Let’s consider some highlights of Bernardin’s
Gannon lecture at Fordham University
A Consistent Ethic of Life:
An American-Catholic Dialogue
Cardinal Bernardin
 At the time of this lecture, the US Bishops had recently
issued the pastoral letter The Challenge of Peace: God’s
Promise and Our Response on war and nuclear
weapons
 In this pastoral letter the same ethical principle that
underlies the wrongness of abortion -- namely, that
the directly intended taking of innocent human life is
wrong -- was applied to the case of war
Cardinal Bernardin
“…the connection drawn between Catholic teaching on war
and Catholic teaching on abortion. Both, of course, must be
seen in light of an attitude of respect for life. The more
explicit connection is based on the principle which prohibits
the directly intended taking of innocent human life. The
principle is at the heart of Catholic teaching on abortion.
…the same principle yields the most stringent, binding, and
radical conclusion of the pastoral letter: that directly
intended attacks on civilian centers are always wrong.”
Cardinal Bernardin
“The use of this principle exemplifies the meaning of a
consistent ethic of life. The principle which structures both
cases, war and abortion, needs to be upheld in both places. It
cannot be successfully sustained on one count and
simultaneously eroded in a similar situation.”
 The terminology “seemless garment” is used to express the
idea that respecting life is an attitude that we must have
across the board.
 And Bernardin talked about yet other life issues in his
lecture
Cardinal Bernardin
“Asking these questions along the spectrum of life from
womb to tomb creates the need for a consistent ethic of
life. For the spectrum of life issues cuts across the issues
of genetics, abortion, capital punishment, modern
warfare and the care of the terminally ill.”
Cardinal Bernardin
“We [US Bishops] have also opposed the death penalty
because we do not think its use cultivates an attitude of
respect for life in society. The purpose of proposing a
consistent ethic of life is to argue that success on any one
of the issues threatening life requires a concern for the
broader attitude in society about respect for human life.”
Cardinal Bernardin
Bernardin also established a connection between the “right to
life” and “quality of life” issues:
“If one contends, as we do, that the right of every fetus to be
born should be protected by civil law and supported by civil
consensus, then our moral, political and economic
responsibilities do not stop at the moment of birth. Those
who defend the right to life of the weakest among us must be
equally visible in support of the quality of life of the
powerless among us: the old and the young, the hungry and
the homeless, the undocumented immigrant and the
unemployed worker. Such a quality of life posture translates
Cardinal Bernardin
into specific political and economic positions on tax
policy, employment generation, welfare policy, nutrition
and feeding programs, and health care. Consistency
means that we cannot have it both ways. We cannot
urge a compassionate society and vigorous public policy
to protect the rights of the unborn and then argue that
compassion and significant public programs on behalf of
the needy undermine the moral fiber of the society or
are beyond the proper scope of governmental
responsibility.”
Beyond Cardinal Bernardin
A consistent ethic of life is
not limited to Cardinal
Bernardin.
It has been endorsed by
the bishops of the United
States.
US Bishops on a Consistent Ethic of Life
“Adopting a consistent ethic of life, the Catholic Church promotes a broad
spectrum of issues ‘seeking to protect human life and promote human
dignity from the inception of life to its final moment.’ 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.” Living the Gospel of Life: A
Challenge to American Catholics A Statement by the Catholic Bishops of
the United States, no. 23.
Beyond Cardinal Bernardin
A consistent ethic of life
has also been adopted
internationally, by the
Catholic Bishops of New
Zealand (see readings)
Bishops of New Zealand
Note the range of issues included in their statement on a
consistent ethic of life
 Protection of the environment
 Discrimination
 Poverty (the number one killer in the world!)
 The arms race
 War as a means of settling disputes
 Abortion
 Euthanasia
 Death penalty
John Paul II and Evangelium Vitae
While Evangelium Vitae
does not use the phrase
“consistent ethic of life,”
the content of the
encyclical affirms it.
---theologian Kenneth
Overberg, SJ
Evangelium Vitae
Although extended attention is given to abortion and
euthanasia, a wide spectrum of life issues are also
mentioned.
“Other [threats] are the result of situations of violence,
hatred and conflicting interests, which lead people to
attack others through murder, war, slaughter, and
genocide.” (no. 10)
Evangelium Vitae
“And how can we fail to consider the violence against life done to millions
of human beings, especially children, who are forced into poverty,
malnutrition and hunger because of an unjust distribution of resources
between peoples and between social classes? And what of the violence
inherent not only in wars as such but in the scandalous arms trade, which
spawns the many armed conflicts which stain our world with blood?
What of the spreading of death caused by reckless tampering with the
world’s ecological balance, by the criminal spread of drugs, or by the
promotion of certain kinds of sexual activity which…involve grave risks to
life? It is impossible to catalogue completely the vast array of threats to
human life, so many are the forms, whether explicit or hidden, in which
they appear today!” (no. 10)
Evangelium Vitae
Also discussed are
 Assisted reproductive technologies which involve the
death/destruction of embryos
 Experimentation on embryos
 Contraception and sterilization as responses to expanding
populations
 Death penalty
The bottom line…
To recognize the broad scope
of the Church’s concern with
life issues.
Our Project
Through the remainder of this course we will
study various issues which form part of the
Church’s consistent ethic of life.
Acknowledgments
Pictures in this power point were obtained from the following
sources:
 Cardinal Bernardin www.renewamerica.com
 USCCB logo concordpastor.blogspot.com
 New Zealand Bishops Conference www.catholic.org.nz
 John Paul II catholicknight.blogspot.com