Vigils Reading

THE VALUE OF HUMAN LIFE

From the encyclical “The Gospel of Life” by Pope St John Paul II

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The human person is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the

dimensions of earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very life of

God. The loftiness of this supernatural vocation reveals the greatness and the

inestimable value of human life even in its temporal phase. In a special way

believers in Christ must defend and promote this right, aware as they are of the

wonderful truth recalled by the Second Vatican Council: By his incarnation the

Son of God has united himself in some fashion with every human being”. This

saving event reveals to humanity not only the boundless love of God who “so

loved the world that he gave his only Son”, but also the incomparable value of

every human person.

The Church acknowledges this value with ever new wonder. She feels

called to proclaim to the people of all times this Gospel, the source of invincible

hope and true joy for every period of history… Today this proclamation is

especially pressing because of the extraordinary gravity of threats to the life of

individuals and peoples, especially where life is weak and defenseless. In

addition to the ancient scourges of poverty, hunger and disease, violence and

war, new threats are emerging on an alarmingly vast scale…

All this is causing a profound change in the way in which life and

relationships between people are considered. The fact that legislation in many

countries, has determined not to punish these practices against life, and even to

make them altogether legal, is both a disturbing symptom and a significant

cause of grave moral decline. Choices once unanimously considered criminal

and rejected by the common moral sense are gradually becoming socially

acceptable. Even certain sectors of the medical profession, which by its calling

is directed to the defense and care of human life, are increasingly willing to carry

out these acts against the person.

The end result of this is tragic; not only is the fact of the destruction of so

many human lives still to be born or in their final stage extremely grave and

disturbing, but no less grave and disturbing is the fact that conscience itself,

darkened as it were by such widespread conditioning, is finding it increasingly

difficult to distinguish between good and evil in what concerns the basic value of

human life.

The present encyclical, the fruit of the cooperation of the episcopate of

every country of the world, is therefore meant to be a precise and vigorous

reaffirmation of the value of human life and its inviolability, and at the same

time a pressing appeal to each and every person, in the name of God, respect,

protect, love and serve life, every human life! Only in this direction will you

find justice, development. True freedom, peace and happiness.