IV
His mother
Abortion
The young woman’s profile tends to accentuate her advanced pregnancy.
The background of empty sky and horizon suggest her sense of isolation and
loneliness. She looks off into the empty distance, the expression on her face
revealing the sadness and pain she is experiencing because she has
decided on abortion. Her distress seems to be further emphasized by her
dress, a black field upon which are scattered little flowers, symbols of
countless lives which have been cut short. |
| A reflection by Brother Bernard Couvillion |
“The days are coming,” Jesus told the women, “when they will say, ‘Happy are the sterile, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.’” We already know those days. I choose not to enter the political debate
surrounding abortion. I cannot know the suffering caused by an unwanted
pregnancy; still less can I know what pain the unborn experience. I have
been moved by the horrible pictures and the eloquent pleas that give
outraged voice to the thousands of voiceless infants aborted each day. Chief among those voices giving hope to the unborn is that of Pope John
Paul II. Since being in Rome I am more aware of the depth of his
personal pain on their behalf. I admire his courage in speaking out for
the grace of new life from the moment of conception. Some world
organizations which otherwise mobilize international response to
children’s issues do not show proof of such courage. They keep silence
or they compromise when it comes to abortion. On November 11, 1996, I was at St. Peter’s Square when eight thousand
Polish pilgrims were assembling enthusiastically to greet the pope on
his 50th anniversary of ordination. He told them, “respect
the right to life from conception to natural death.” Like Jesus who
deflected the women’s attention from himself to their children, the
Holy Father turned the thoughts of guests who came in his honor to the
rights of the suffering unborn. |
| We give voice to the prayer of
unwanted children |
Psalm 71 O Lord, free me from the hand of the wicked, from the
grip of the unjust, of the violent ones. It is you, O Lord, who are my
hope, my trust, O Lord since I was conceived. On you I have leaned from
my birth, from my mother’s womb you have been my help. My hope has
always been in you. Do not reject me now, . . . do not forsake me. For
my enemies are speaking about me; those who watch me take counsel
together. They say, “God has forsaken him; away with him; there is no
one to save him.” O God, do not stay far off. My God, make haste to
help me! |