“Happy Resurrection Day”to each and everyone. In the hour of darkness when we are suffering with the pandemic and world problems, it is a good time to reflect on Easter and its meaning for us. Pope Francis asks us to reflect this year on what it means to go to Galilee. He states that Christians need to take to heart the Easter message and Not to Be Afraid, assuring us that in Galilee where the Lord preceded us, Christian expectations will be fulfilled, their tears will be dried and their fears will be replaced by hope.
Where do we begin? Is it possible to become instruments of peace when hatred and divisions run so deep? The answer is yes and there are small actions we can also take on an individual basis.
Abortion is the modern-day Massacre of the Innocents. We, as women, wish our feminine cry to be heard round the world. This declaration comes from the depth of our maternal hearts, which are devoted to defending the cause of life and combatting the culture of death. We therefore wholeheartedly affirm: “We will not be complicit in the modern-day Massacre of the Holy Innocents and we therefore refuse to accept any and all vaccines made using cells derived from aborted human fetuses.”
St. Boniface stated: “The Church is like a great ship being pounded by the waves of life’s different stresses. Our duty is not to abandon ship, but to keep her on her course.” This means that each of us has a responsibility to stand up for truth, defend the weak and stand up against the forces of evil in our society.
Eighty-six Catholic women from 25 countries issued a letter Monday opposing what they called “abortion-tainted” COVID-19 vaccines, and arguing Church statements approving their use rely on “an incomplete assessment of the science of vaccination and immunology.”
Currently, elderly patients comprise the fastest growing segment of the world’s population. The number of people worldwide 65 years and older was estimated at 506 million as of 2008 and by 2040 will increase to 1.3 billion. As patients age, the incidence and prevalence of certain pain syndromes increase. One example is Japan. Because its population is aging and cancer is the number one cause of death, Japan leads the world in consumption of painkillers.
Catholic teaching on homosexuality is laid out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and in a number of magisterial documents. The Church teaches that while homosexual sexual acts, like other sexual acts outside of marriage, are sinful, having a homosexual orientation itself is not a sin.
Let me share a story with you. The other day I read an article about a woman who lost her daughter in a car accident. The woman wrote, “I was driving to the supermarket with my four-year-old daughter, Naomi, who was in the back seat. A man drove through a red light and crashed into us. In the accident, Naomi was killed.”
Opposition to abortion is not just a “Catholic issue,” and it is not even a Christian issue. Buddhists, Hindus, Jainists, Muslims, Jews, Krishnas, and many other non‑Christians oppose abortion on both religious and secular grounds.
In recent weeks, news agencies and various information sources have reported that, in response to the Covid-19 emergency, some countries have produced vaccines using cell lines from aborted human fetuses. In other countries, such vaccines are being planned.
