The Faith Explained Today by Joe Babendreier

Author:Joe Babendreier [Babendreier, Joe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scepter Publishers
Published: 2014-10-14T00:00:00+00:00

FATHERS OF THE CHURCH

God drove Cain out of his presence and sent him into exile far away from his native land, so that he passed from a life of human kindness to one which was more akin to the rude existence of a wild beast. Because he preferred the correction rather than the death of a sinner, God did not want a homicide to be punished by the exaction of another act of homicide.

St. Ambrose, cf. St. John Paul II, The Gospel of Life, n. 9

Comfort the dying This means showing a sick person warmth and affection. At the very least, you must provide food and water and other basic necessities. You may also want to provide special medical treatment, like having an operation. However, if medical treatment has ceased to offer any hope of healing the patient or it becomes burdensome to the patient, you can suspend it, even if this will hasten the moment of death. Likewise, you can use medicines to relieve pain, even if these shorten the patient’s life or reduce consciousness, as long as you do so not to bring about death but to help the patient endure his or her suffering calmly. You are guilty of euthanasia whenever you seek the patient’s death and then cause it. In the case of terminating medical procedures or using painkillers, it is not euthanasia because you do not intend the patient’s death and, in fact, would like the patient to survive.

Parable of the Good Samaritan: Luke 10:29–37

Evils to avoid

Homicide This means taking the life of an innocent person. It is called murder when it is direct, i.e., when you kill the person yourself. It is still seriously wrong when indirect—i.e., when you place someone in danger hoping it will lead to death.

God punishes David for killing Uriah: 2 Samuel 12:9

Abortion This is a special case of homicide. It means killing a child while still in the mother’s womb. If a doctor needs to carry out a medical procedure to save the life of a pregnant woman, knowing this could be harmful to the unborn child, no one is guilty of abortion if the child dies as long as every reasonable effort was made to save the child. However, it is murder if the doctor decides to kill the unborn child even if he does it only because he wants to save the mother’s life. No one has the right to save another person’s life by killing an innocent person. An unborn child is always innocent. An unborn child can never be considered as an unjust aggressor, as if the mother had a right to defend herself against her own child.

God gives life to the child in the womb: Psalm 139:13–15; Jeremiah 1:5 St. John the Baptist, still in his mother’s womb, recognizes the presence of Jesus, the unborn baby in the Virgin’s womb: Luke 1:39–44

God punishes the Israelites for killing their babies: Psalm 106:36–40

Euthanasia This is a special case of homicide. It means causing death to someone

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