Cardinal Keeler Issues Statement
to Open Respect Life Program

WASHINGTON (October 1, 2001) -- In a statement marking the opening of the Catholic Church's annual Respect Life Program, Cardinal William Keeler said that, while it may seem to some that human life has become cheap, the response to the terrorist attacks showed humanity at its best.

"We learned of office workers, fleeing for their own lives, who stopped to carry their disabled coworkers to safety. Of firefighters who risked, and sometimes forfeited, their own lives in the effort to save others. Of ordinary people facing death whose last words were to reassure their spouses and children that they loved them."

"Here was the Christian message about human life in action," Cardinal Keeler said. "As Pope John Paul II reminded us in his encyclical The Gospel of Life, it is by emptying ourselves in service to the lives of others that we become most truly alive, most truly human. The ‘gospel of life' is nothing but the Gospel itself -and that Gospel is the truth about our highest human destiny."

The Catholic Church in the United States designates time each October to launch anew a program--the Respect Life Program--that highlights and reflects gratitude for God's first gift-the gift of human life. The program focuses attention on such issues as abortion, assisted suicide, capital punishment, embryonic stem cell research, and human cloning.

The program begins this year on Respect Life Sunday, October 7.

"The Respect Life Program aims to bring to the attention of Catholics information about these and other issues within the context of the dignity and sanctity of human life," Cardinal Keeler said. "Catholics--individually and in community--are encouraged to help build a culture in which every human life, at every stage and in every circumstance, is defended and cherished. More than ever before, promoting this culture of life and love is essential to our civilization."

Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore, is Chairman of the Committee for Pro-Life Activities, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The full text of Cardinal Keeler's statement follows.

Statement by Cardinal Keeler in conjunction with the beginning of the Respect Life Program (October 7).

The Catholic Church in the United States designates time each October to launch anew a program that highlights and reflects gratitude for God's first gift to us B the gift of human life. Beginning on the first Sunday of October B Respect Life Sunday, October 7 B we recommit ourselves to building a culture in which every human life is valued, no matter how poor or sick, how old or microscopic, that life may be.

Recent tragic events may tempt us to think we are very far from living in a world that values life. When terrorists can readily destroy themselves and thousands of innocent people to promote their cause, it may seem that human life has become cheap.

However, as so often happens in times of crisis, we have also seen humanity at its very best. We learned of office workers, fleeing for their own lives, who stopped to carry their disabled coworkers to safety. Of firefighters who risked, and sometimes forfeited, their own lives in the effort to save others. Of ordinary people facing death whose last words were to reassure their spouses and children that they loved them.

Here was the Christian message about human life in action. As Pope John Paul II reminded us in his encyclical The Gospel of Life, it is by emptying ourselves in service to the lives of others that we become most truly alive, most truly human. The Agospel of life@ is nothing but the Gospel itself B and that Gospel is the truth about our highest human destiny.

Our culture sometimes seems to teach that life is not a basic good, that love is but a feeling rather than a commitment to serve others, that we may reject or ignore those who seem burdensome or inconvenient. Women with difficult pregnancies are encouraged to accept abortion, then abandoned to grieve in silence for a lost child. Commercials aimed at elderly citizens subtly caution them not to burden their families or society, while groups advocate suicide and assisted suicide as an end to their problems. High-profile executions become headline-grabbing media events, while society pays little heed to the many anonymous prisoners with inadequate legal counsel who face death with no fanfare. In recent debates on embryonic stem cell research and human cloning, some try to dismiss respect for human life as an obstacle to the noble goal of curing disease.

The Respect Life Program aims to bring to the attention of Catholics information about these and other issues within the context of the dignity and sanctity of human life. Catholics B individually and in community B are encouraged to help build a culture in which every human life, at every stage and in every circumstance, is defended and cherished. More than ever before, promoting this culture of life and love is essential to our civilization.

NOTE: Over 50,000 copies of program materials designed to help parishes and others take part in the Respect Life Program are being sent to parishes, schools and Catholic organizations across the nation. Copies are available from the USCCB Pro-Life Secretariat, and can be viewed at www.usccb.org/prolife.




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