Respect Life

The GOSPEL OF LIFE is at the heart of Jesus’ saving message to the world. Through the Incarnation and birth of Christ, God reveals to us the dignity of all human life. Human life, as a gift of God, is sacred and inviolable. The Son of God has united himself with every human being and desires for us to share eternal life with him. For this reason, direct attacks on human life, such as abortion and euthanasia, are always unacceptable...Not only must human life not be taken, but it must be protected with loving concern. Each of us is made in the image and likeness of God, and we reflect his glory in the world. God made the human person with the capacity to love and reason and share in a relationship with the Creator. The human person bears an indelible imprint of God and is the pinnacle of all creation. The source of our dignity is not only linked to our creation by God, but to our final end and destiny to spend eternity with the Father...Our lives are a gift from God and ultimately belong to him. He has sole authority over life and death. We are therefore called to reverence and love every human person, loving our neighbors as ourselves. It is our responsibility to care for and  (Excerpts from Evangelium vitae (The Gospel of Life) Pope St. John Paul II in 1995)