In any age it is important for people to be able to discern and weigh the issues of the day. Because we are creatures of body and soul, the discernment of how we are to live our lives and to confront the joys and sorrows of the time in which we find ourselves must involve both faith and reason.

 

We must use the earthly gifts of thought and experience to recognize what is truly good and what is harmful to human flourishing. But because we are also spiritual beings with a calling to seek life eternal after death, our faith helps to guide and purify our human reasoning. Our faith is given particular guidance from the Scriptures and from the living teaching of the Catholic Church.

 

On the basis of faith and reason, then, we might ask ourselves what is the preeminent issue of our day and in our American society? In November of 2019, the Catholic Bishops of the United States addressed this question.

 

They stated that “The threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family, and because of the number of lives destroyed.” (Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States, Introductory Letter).

 

That is a very strong statement and one which must weigh heavily on the formation of our consciences. That teaching recognizes that our widespread practice of abortion stands amid other issues of importance in our day such as “racism, the environmental crisis, poverty and the death penalty.” (ibid.).

Still, do we not see how abortion has become predominant? Our political discussions are dominated by this as a first question for candidates and for our political parties. There are debates about expanding and packing the Supreme Court precisely so that abortion may continue and even expand.

 

Here is where reason makes us feel uneasy. Since abortion was legalized in the United States, over 60 million children have been killed. As a country we have tried to look away, to tell ourselves that it was not a child but a conglomeration of cells that was removed. 

 

We say that there is only one life, not two that is impacted by each abortion. And as viability is achieved earlier and earlier because of medical advances, we suddenly find it uncomfortable to “trust science” which tells us what we know — that child is alive.

 

In recent weeks this issue has become preeminent once more in our news cycle. In Texas, a bill has been passed that gives protection to the new life when a heartbeat can be detected, an obvious indicator of human life. When the Supreme Court refused to intervene against the law (for legal reasons, not even on a moral basis), political outrage has resulted.

 

Most sadly, President Biden, who personally and as President has professed his devout Catholicism and attachment to the Church, announced that he no longer believes what faith and reason both tell us: that life begins at conception. 

 

According to press reports he has also said he will seek means from the Federal Government to oppose the law and professed his support for Roe vs. Wade.

 

We are all part of our American society. We have obligations to work for the good of our society and for its harmony with creation and the plan of God. At the heart of so many issues is, in fact, the right to life and the associated respect for human dignity that is also part of human life.

 

We need to love and support all expectant mothers. We need to become again a society that loves and respects human life. But first and foremost, we must recognize that abortion takes an innocent human life. We should join with Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco who recently wrote, “Please, please, please: the killing must stop.”