Denver Catholic

rts RESPECT LIFE I 7 DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER I OCTOBER 23, 2013 Experts: Defend life and Archbishop prays at 40 Days for Life avoid slippery slopes ARCHBISHOP Samuel Aquila, left, assisted by Father Matthew Book, leads the rosary for a 40 Days for Life prayer service held across the street from Planned Parenthood of the Rockies in east Denver Oct. 18. BY JULIE FILBY Anyone who claims to be Catholic has an inescapable responsibility to be unconditionally pro-life. That message was delivered by Archbishop Samuel Aquila during his homily to nearly 200 people gathered at St. Thomas More Church in Centennial Oct. 19 for the annual White Mass honoring health care professionals. "It is essential for us to be those that proclaim that truth," he exhorted. When culture is rooted in relativism, not in truth and love, there is no common approach to the truth, he said. "If each person is deciding what truth is," he said, "there is going to be conflict, which leads to war, violence and hatred." The first step to transforming culture is forming consciences. "People are told frivolously to 'follow their conscience,'" he said, however most don't know what conscience is, let alone that they are called to form one. "If they deny there is a God, conscience becomes deadened and hardened," he said. "When anyone takes the life of an unborn child, or when they (support) assisted suicide, their conscience is dead ... and they are not listening to the voice of God." The archbishop referred to the new evangelization promoted by Blessed John Paul II during his visit to Denver for World Youth Day in 1993 when the pontiff encouraged the faithful to preach the Gospel "from the rooftops." "This is the commitment of the new evangelization which requires often going against the current," he said. "... the Lord also counts on you to spread the Gospel." Approximately 60 of those gathered for the Mass sported white coats signifying a vocation in health care; many are members of the Catholic Medical Association: a group that upholds faith in science and medicine, assists the Church in communicating medical ethics, and supports Catholic health care providers (see accompanying box for more information). "Be those who truly give witness to Our Lord in the public square," Archbishop Aquila said, "... do not let fear or discouragement keep you from proclaiming the gospel of life." Following the Mass, the majority of attendees moved to the nearby school for the Gospel of Life Conference organized by Respect Life Resources of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Denver. Father Tad Pacholczyk, Ph.D., director of education for the National Catholic Bioethics Center, delivered the first keynote: "In-Vitro Fertilization and Assisted Reproductive Technologies." He asked attendees to reflect on the concept of "creating humans in laboratory glass," suggesting that culture has lost sensitivity to the idea. "This has become standard operating procedure," he said, adding that some 4 million children worldwide have been born by IVF. "IVF is the best example of what we mean by 'slippery slope,'" he explained, WHITE MASS HOMILY Archbishop Aquila's homily will be available at www.DenverCatholic.org or on iTunes. RESPECT LIFE RESOURCES OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES PHOTO BY ROBERT LINN FOR THE DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER Online: www.ccdenver.org/RespectLife Contact: LGrandon@ccdenver.org or 303-742-0828 CATHOLIC MEDICAL ASSOCIATION DENVER GUILD Online: www.denvercma.org Next presentation: "Help prepare for end of this life and beginning of eternal life" When: 7:15 p.m. Nov. 13 at Spirit of Christ Church, 7400 W. 80th Ave., Arvada RVSP or questions: Teresa Kempfer 303-386-6832 or dtkempfer@msn.com due to the moral and ethical difficulties of discarding embryos and turning "procreation into production." He also pointed out the good intentions of couples who attempt IVF. "They want to have a baby," he said and the Church does not fault this intention, but the means. "Every child is a gift, a blessing ... and the Church never targets the child." Father Pacholczyk also spoke on endof-life issues later in the day. Attorney Nikolas Nikas, president and general counsel of the Bioethics Defense Fund, educated attendees on: "What has Roe wrought? Abortion, the Supreme Court and the Culture of Death." Nikas detailed five cases that have impacted abortion in the United States: Roe v. Wade (1973), Doe v. Bolton (1973), Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), Stenberg v. Carhart Nebraska Partial Birth Abortion Statute (2000) and Gonzalez v. Carhart (2007). As the cases have proceeded, Nikas explained, the pro-life movement has made progress "at least with the rhetoric." "I predict that Roe will be reversed some day," he said of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Understanding that pro-life work can be depressing and at times frustrating, he encouraged the group not to give up: "We're in year 40," he said of the 1973 decision. "Social reforms movements take time," he said "We... just have to be faithful and keep fighting... and pass this battle on if we don't see victory." 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