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"When the moment of our definitive
'passage' comes, grant that we may face it with serenity, without regret for
what we shall leave behind. For in meeting You, after having sought You for
so long, we shall find once more every authentic good which we have known
here on earth, in the company of all who have gone before us marked with the
sign of faith and hope." ~Pope John Paul II
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"A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up
throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may
an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every
Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and
from the heart of every believer.”
~
Evangelium Vitae |
"To claim the right to abortion, infanticide,
and euthanasia, and to recognize that right in law, means to attribute to
human freedom a perverse and evil significance: that of an absolute power
over others and against others. This is the death of true freedom: 'Truly,
truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.'" John 8:34
~
Evangelium Vitae 20.3 |
At the conclusion of the 1998 ad limina visits of the bishops of the
United States, Pope John Paul II spoke these words:
"Today I believe the Lord is saying to
us all: do not hesitate, do not be afraid to engage the good fight
of the faith (cf. I Tim 6:12). When we preach the liberating message
of Jesus Christ we are offering the words of life to the world. Our
prophetic witness is an urgent and essential service not just to the
Catholic community but to the whole human family."
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"Every human person - no matter how vulnerable or helpless, no
matter how young or how old, no matter how healthy, handicapped
or sick, no matter how useful or productive for society - is a
being of inestimable worth created in the image and likeness of
God. This is the dignity of America, the reason she exists, the
condition for her survival - yes, the ultimate test of her
greatness: to respect every human person, especially the weakest
and most defenseless ones, those as yet unborn... At the center
of the moral vision of your founding documents is the
recognition of the rights of the human person, and especially
respect for the dignity and sanctity of human life in all
conditions and at all stages of development. I say to you again,
America, in the light of your own tradition: love life, cherish
life, defend life, from conception to natural death." -
Pope John Paul II at the Detroit Airport on 19 September, 1987 |
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