News Archives » consistent life ethic
Death Penalty Abolished in Maryland May 10th, 2013
On May 2, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed a law repealing the state’s death penalty. Supporters of the death penalty have announced they will try to to petition for a referendum to re-instate the penalty. Death penalty opponents are gearing up for a campaign supporting the repeal should the needed signatures force a referendum.
One of those who devoted much effort to the repeal effort was Vicki Schieber (pictured) of the Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Use of the Death Penalty, who spoke at a workshop during the Consistent Life 25th Anniversary Conference on her experience as a mother of a murder victim.
For more information please visit the Consistent Life web page
Peace & Life Connections: November 16 November 16th, 2012
We are now reproducing the Consistent Life “Peace & Life Connections” weekly newsletter on our website. If you are interested in more information, or in subscribing to the e-newsletter, please visit www.consistent-life.org/
Consistent ethic of life supporters, are you ready for your close-up?
This note comes from CL member group Sojourners: “To go along with an interview in an upcoming issue, Sojourners magazine is planning a web-extra photo-essay focused on the wide variety of people who oppose all forms of killing. We’d love to include you! Just take a pic of yourself holding a sign that says, “I’m a [fill in the blank] and I support a consistent ethic of life,” and email it, along with your name and hometown, to eramsey@sojo.net by Wednesday, November 28! We’re hoping for a wide variety of fill-in-the-blanks—libertarians, progressives, conservatives, nuns, agnostics, Quakers, Tea Partiers, feminists, LGBT activists, you name it—so please forward this invitation widely. Thanks, the editors at Sojourners.”
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Peace & Life Connections: November 9, 2012 November 9th, 2012
We are now reproducing the Consistent Life “Peace & Life Connections” weekly newsletter on our website. If you are interested in more information, or in subscribing to the e-newsletter, please visit www.consistent-life.org/
A Pass to Catholic Politicians? Say What?
Many have argued in favor of the bizarre notion that the consistent life ethic is actually a liberal scheme to allow Catholics to vote for politicians who don’t oppose abortion. This is strange, of course, since anyone who doesn’t oppose abortion cannot, by definition, be following the consistent life ethic. We do the opposite: if politicians are in fact good on our other issues, we challenge them to be consistent on abortion as well. We also hope that pointing out the connections of violence may help persuade them to oppose abortion. Additionally, of course, we’re not just Catholic, but pride ourselves on the religious and philosophical diversity we represent.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had a November 1 article making this criticism, and then also published a response. We encourage our readers to post comments and/or send in letters to the editor to strengthen the understanding of what our ethic really is.
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Peace & Life Connections Newsletter October 12th, 2012
From now on, we will be reproducing the Consistent Life “Peace & Life Connections” weekly newsletter on our website. If you are interested in more information, or in subscribing to the e-newsletter, please visit www.consistent-life.org/
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October is Respect Life Month
The Catholic Church in the U.S. designates October as Respect Life Month with a program in its parishes that includes distribution of a set of educational materials. Non-Catholics may find some of the materials suitable as well. Issues of abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty are normally covered.
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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Coerced abortion is one of many forms of domestic violence against women, and domestic violence also makes women more likely to seek abortions. Domestic violence can result from abortions as well, in the stressful aftermath. Feticide is itself a form of domestic violence – the strong committing lethal violence against the weak.
Coerced euthanasia is also itself a form of domestic abuse against the elderly. The very presence of euthanasia as a “voluntary” option can be pressure against the vulnerable, especially those already subjected to abuse.
We anticipate having more to offer on these points in future October issues. Anyone who has a specific resource or education on this point (or any other) can share it with us at weekly@consistent-life.org.
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World-wide Poverty
Today roughly 1.3 billion people—about one-fifth of humanity—live on what would be equivalent to a little over $1 in the United States.
As an illustration, consider the Indian district of Udaipur, where about half the population lived at this poverty level in 2004: most households living in such poverty owned a bed but more than 90 percent lacked a chair or table; none had indoor running water. The infant mortality rate was 10 percent—a striking fact for pro-lifers.
Such figures are discouraging, but we should also remember that more than half of humanity lived at roughly this level of poverty only about 30 years ago. If we have made genuine progress in the past in reducing poverty, why can we not do so in the future?
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No Exceptions
Long-time CL Endorser Dr. Karen Swallow Prior has written a piece called “No Exceptions: The Case for a Consistent Pro-Life Ethic.” Despite its title, the consistency does refer to abortion alone and not other issues, but it does refer to being consistent on abortion.
Dr. Karen Swallow Prior
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Quotation of the Week
October 2012 Respect Life Statement, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
“Faith Opens Our Eyes to Human Life in All Its Grandeur and Beauty”
“In addition to opening the door to abortion on request for all nine months of pregnancy, the Supreme Court’s decision eroded respect for human life and led to a growing acceptance of death as the “solution” to personal and societal problems.
Euthanasia and assisted suicide are now promoted as answers to declining health and disability. Human embryonic stem cell research, in which week-old embryos are sacrificed, is championed as a means to cure disease. To solve the problem of low fertility, many doctors create human embryos in their clinics, knowing full well that few embryos will survive to birth and the majority will be discarded or die. And the death penalty is still vigorously defended as the answer to violent crime.”
Issue #130 10.05.12; Consistent Life web page/ Join or Donate / Previous Issues / Index
Oblate US JPIC Committee Gathers in Godfrey, Illinois October 19th, 2009
US JPIC Committee Members and Staff Visit the Shed Dedicated to Darrell Rupiper, OMI on the Community Supported Agriculture Project at Godfrey, IL
On October 15 and 16, the United States Province Oblate Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) committee held a bi-annual strategy meeting in Godfrey, Illinois to review, share progress and discuss how to continue the JPIC work most effectively. Part of the agenda included brief updates from staff from the Washington JPIC office, the Oblate Ecological Initiative based in Godfrey and the General Service office in Rome. Committee members also reported on their JPIC work.
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