Respect for Life
The Roman Catholic Church, truly believes in the sanctity of human life. The Church teaches that new life starts at the moment of conception and should end naturally only when God calls a person back to him. Human life is sacred and is a gift from God to us. The Catholic Church believes it is unlawful to take a life. Everyone is equal and has the right to life no matter what colour, race, religion or stage of life they are at. The following quote "Nobody has the right to interfere with God's designs over a human life" in Evangelium Vitae, No 44, teaches us that nobody has the right to decide when or how a life should end. No-one should intervene in God's plan for his/her own purposes.
In the Book of Genesis we read about the story of the creation. It states: "Man is created in the image and likeness of God". God left human kind in charge, to take care of the world and everything in it. For the Jewish people of those times and Orthodox Jews to this day, all human life has as its author the One God whose creative power produces the child in the mother's womb and brings it step-by-step to full life. The Old Testament revelation, which the Church inherited and accepted, gives clear evidence that life in the womb was considered sacred. Moses proclaimed, "When you harken to the voice of the Lord, your God, all these blessings will come upon you and overwhelm you: May you be blessed in the city, and blessed in the country! Blessed be the fruit of your womb, the produce of your soil and the offspring of your livestock, the issue of your herds and the young of your flocks!" (Deuteronomy 28:2-5). The Old Testament also testifies how God has specially marked individuals for an important role of leadership from the very first moment of their lives: "Beloved of his people, dear to his Maker, dedicated from his mother's womb, consecrated to the Lord as a prophet, was Samuel, the judge and priest" (Sirach 46:13). God gave the ten commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai and the
In the Book of Genesis we read about the story of the creation. It states: "Man is created in the image and likeness of God". God left human kind in charge, to take care of the world and everything in it. For the Jewish people of those times and Orthodox Jews to this day, all human life has as its author the One God whose creative power produces the child in the mother's womb and brings it step-by-step to full life. The Old Testament revelation, which the Church inherited and accepted, gives clear evidence that life in the womb was considered sacred. Moses proclaimed, "When you harken to the voice of the Lord, your God, all these blessings will come upon you and overwhelm you: May you be blessed in the city, and blessed in the country! Blessed be the fruit of your womb, the produce of your soil and the offspring of your livestock, the issue of your herds and the young of your flocks!" (Deuteronomy 28:2-5). The Old Testament also testifies how God has specially marked individuals for an important role of leadership from the very first moment of their lives: "Beloved of his people, dear to his Maker, dedicated from his mother's womb, consecrated to the Lord as a prophet, was Samuel, the judge and priest" (Sirach 46:13). God gave the ten commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai and the