Bringing Life to the World: The Pro-Life Mission As Evangelization
by Fr. Frank Pavone
The fundamental call of the Church is to evangelize, and never before has the success of evangelization been so necessary—not only for the survival of humanity’s religious faith, but for the survival of humanity itself. The Gospel proclamation is one of hope, which gives us the strength to say yes to life. Evangelization contains within itself the proclamation of the sanctity of human life. Therefore, the pro-life movement, which proclaims and defends human life, is itself an aspect of evangelization.
The Nature of Evangelization
Evangelization is distinct from catechesis (believers deepening their “yes” of faith as they hear more of the Gospel) and theology (comparing the truths of faith to each other and to reason). Evangelization (in Latin, evangelium or gospel) is the initial announcement of the Gospel: Jesus Christ is Lord! Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again! The Gospel is, in fact, the Person of Christ, and is the greatest news given to the human family. It is news all about life: We belong to God, and in Christ we find the renewal of humanity, the sharing of eternal, divine life that comes through repentance, faith, and Baptism. The Church evangelizes by her very nature. The Great Commission given by Jesus before His Ascension is at the heart of the Church’s responsibilities: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to carry out everything I have commanded you.”
Thus, the announcing of the Gospel, as it occurs in every nation on earth, does not only adapt itself to culture but also challenges culture. Ways of behavior must change. If a culture fails to recognize the youngest human beings as persons who are to be protected, then evangelization confronts that blindness with the announcement of human dignity in Christ—and this announcement is directed to restoring that protection.
Why does God allow abortion to continue? Part of the answer very well may be that God is saying to His people, “Look what happens when you forget My Son and His Gospel.” Indeed, evangelization is necessary for the survival of the human species.
The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Unborn, was given to St. Juan Diego in the midst of a culture that practiced human sacrifice. The Aztecs killed people because of a theology of despair—they thought that the gods would destroy them all unless they sacrificed human beings on the altar. But the image of Mary bearing “God with us” in her womb brought them new hope. God is not against us; in fact, He is so much “for us” that He has become one of us! This evangelization, brought about through this miraculous image, restored the hope that enabled the Aztecs to stop the practice of human sacrifice as they embraced Christ, the Author of Life.
Witness of Life and Witness of Words
This does not mean that every pro-life teaching is explicitly religious or that every talk about abortion ought to mention the name of Christ. First of all, the Church teaches that there are certain truths about God and the natural moral law that can be known by human reason alone. The Church’s announcement of such truths strengthens reason in the face of its susceptibility to error and confusion. The Church also announces truths—such as the Trinity and the Eucharist—that could never be attained by reason alone, but only by God’s having revealed them.
Applying this to the pro-life message, Pope John Paul II explained it this way in his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life):
The Church knows that this Gospel of life, which she has received from her Lord, has a profound and persuasive echo in the heart of every person—believer and non-believer alike—because it marvelously fulfils all the heart’s expectations while infinitely surpassing them. Even in the midst of difficulties and uncertainties, every person sincerely open to truth and goodness can, by the light of reason and the hidden action of grace, come to recognize in the natural law written in the heart (cf. Rom. 2:14–15) the sacred value of human life from its very beginning until its end, and can affirm the right of every human being to have this primary good respected to the highest degree. Upon the recognition of this right, every human community and the political community itself are founded.
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 . . . but also the incomparable value of every human person.
The Church, faithfully contemplating the mystery of the Redemption, 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. The Gospel of God’s love for man, the Gospel of the dignity of the person and the Gospel of life are a single and indivisible Gospel. (no. 2)
Twenty years before John Paul II wrote these words, Pope Paul VI wrote the following in his 1975 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi (On Evangelization in the Modern World):
Above all the Gospel must be proclaimed by witness. Take a Christian or a handful of Christians who, in the midst of their own community, show their capacity for understanding and acceptance, their sharing of life and destiny with other people, their solidarity with the efforts of all for whatever is noble and good. Let us suppose that, in addition, they radiate in an altogether simple and unaffected way their faith in values that go beyond current values, and their hope in something that is not seen . . . Through this wordless witness these Christians stir up irresistible questions in the hearts of those who see how they live: Why are they like this? Why do they live in this way? What or who is it that inspires them? Why are they in our midst? Such a witness is already a silent proclamation of the Good News and a very powerful and effective one. Here we have an initial act of evangelization. (no. 21)
He continues:
Nevertheless this always remains insufficient, because even the finest witness will prove ineffective in the long run if it is not explained . . . and made explicit by a clear and unequivocal proclamation of the Lord Jesus. The Good News proclaimed by the witness of life sooner or later has to be proclaimed by the word of life. There is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God are not proclaimed. (no. 22)
Teaching and Serving
Believers, then, must be able to articulate the pro-life message in purely secular, rational truths as well as in Gospel terms. In fact, in every sphere of human knowledge—including psychology, sociology, genetics, medicine, law, and philosophy—the arguments line up on the pro-life side. Abortion advocates have run out of arguments, which is why they speak more and more of abortion as a decision “between a woman and her God.” They appeal to God as a substitute for any other arguments. We, on the contrary, appeal to God as the basis for every other argument. We can adapt our message to our audience.
Likewise, in serving, we use both word and deed. Providing alternatives to abortion and giving a young woman who is tempted to abort her child the hope and strength to say yes to life does not necessarily start with a religious message. But when we show her who the child is and assure her that she is not alone and that people are ready to help her and her baby, we are introducing her to Christ. When we heal someone of the wounds of abortion, we make use of the best tools and insights psychology has to offer. Even before Christ is proclaimed, she is experiencing His presence. Both before and after His name is used, she is encountering Him.
Above all, when we lay down our lives for the unborn, we wake up the world to Christ. Dr. Bernard Nathanson, when he was still unsure of whether God existed, watched Christians block abortion clinic doors and endure ridicule and arrest to save the lives of the unborn. They were happy. They were praying. And Dr. Nathanson saw that there was a power at work there beyond what he could explain. It was the early Church all over again—“See how those Christians love one another, and how they are willing to die for each other.” Dr. Nathanson is now a practicing Catholic.
Indeed, evangelization presses on.
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Fr. Frank Pavone, M.E.V., is the national director of Priests for Life and founder of the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life, a new Society of Apostolic Life whose members include priests and laity who devote their lives and ministries to the defense of unborn children. Contact them at www.priestsforlife.org or call (718) 980-4400.
Article courtesy Lay Witness Magazine. All rights reserved.
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