Isn't it strange that the Catholic Church is totally pro-life and yet the Catholics on the pew appear to be so indifferent to the subject? At least that is my own experience. Pro-life leaflets and information are left unread, talks given by people who want to do something to help are sparsely attended, prayer meetings for the end of abortion are neglected by all but the usual dedicated few.
It's not surprising therefore that the more 'scary' option of standing outside the abortion clinics, holding only Rosary beads, a Crucifix, and a picture of Our Lady of Guadaloupe almost never takes place - at least here in Bristol and Bath, in the SW of England.
I sympathise with many of those who feel that it is a lost cause in this country. For a long time I thought that myself. I said private prayers and supported pro-life organisations financially, but I never 'went public' because I was embarassed at standing out from the maintream view that abortion and euthenasia were somehow 'private' decisions. It is taken for granted that if we as individuals do not have personal experience of these problems, then we have no authority to speak out against them.
But then, in 2002 Pope John Paul II warned that the "grave danger that the false interpretation of human rights" which would permit abortion, "can drive democratic regimes to transform themselves into totalitarian regimes."
"The church affirms the right to life to every innocent human being at the moment of its existence," he told the participants. The Pope condemned the "distinction sometimes made in certain official documents between a human being and a human person" which would "apply the right to life and physical integrity only to people who are already born," as "an artificial distinction without scientific or philosophical foundation." He continued: "Every human being, from his conception to his natural death, has the inviolable right to life and deserves all respect due to the human person."
See the full text of the Pope's address:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/
2002/february/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20020227_pont-acad-life_it.html
At this point I recognised the absurdity of my own position. After all citizens of every nation will go on strike, protest, resort to the Courts etc. to remedy any perceived infringement of equal rights for women, people with disabilities, or any individual on the basis of their age,sex or race etc. We had street riots against the Poll Tax, marches in support of our National Health Service, endless Court cases to protect someone's Human Rights. We are all happy to speak out on these issues, and it is generally accepted in modern democracies that their citizens have both the right and the duty to use their freedom to express their views.
How is it that the pro-life issue is the only one which we are supposed to ignore. Or if we oppose what is happening, we are supposed to keep our opinions to ourselves.
Just as I was beginning to realise how profoundly influential this idea of the need for self-censorship had become I met a tiny group of people who meet once a month in Bristol and Bath, cities near where I live, to simply pray fifteen decades of the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet outside one of the clinics or hospitals where abortions are performed. On any occasion I have attended, there were a maximum of about nine people. Most are middle aged, some are elderly, the only young person being my nineteen year old daughter who loves to join us when she can.
What does it feel like standing there - a little group of 'religious cranks' on the side of the pavement - praying in public among the shoppers, the tourists, the students? I'll tell you - it feels embarrassing! Who likes to look like a crank? But, so what? I now realise that this is simply a feeling of discomfort. It is not martyrdom. I can do this little thing for God, and to demonstrate to myself as much as to anyone else, that my so-called 'beliefs' are not just nice words. Embarrassment, and the minimal amount of discomfort I experience is as nothing compared to the horrific agony of these babies in their mothers womb.
Is ending abortion a lost cause? Perhaps it's only lost because we refuse to do anything about it!
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