On one of the message boards that I frequent, the conversation often turns to the Church meddling in politics. Often posters are irate in what they consider the Church making noise about issues which are seen as civil in nature. Specifically life issues.
But this is where the Church belongs. Our basic understanding of our relationship with God begins with the Genesis story. God formed us out of the clay of he earth, and breathed life into us. As we stumbled through life God sustained us and guarded us. When we forgot to love each other God pointed out the Sinfulness of our misdeeds. And of course as John describes it, God so loved the world... . This is the springboard which we go back to again and again to reaffirm the sanctity and dignity of all life.
Holy men and women like Francis of Assisi, Vincent DePaul, Frances, Cabrini, and Dorothy Day, were so utterly fixated on the sanctity of life, that they gave their entire selves to the care and goodness of peoples around them. They went beyond being "nice" to people. To be sure they were counter-cultural in their lifestyle.
The Church teachings up to Rerum Novarum and since then have begun and ended with the understanding that life is sacred. This is where we get into trouble because we speak publicly about these truths. We also as our legislators to guarantee the protection of human life. Some might see this as interfering with public policy. The Gospels would suggest that we are conveying the 'Good News.'
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