DENVER — On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver said his exposure to abortion as a hospital orderly still haunts him and prompts him to urge penitence and pro-life action.
“Today is a day to repent,” Archbishop Aquila said in his Jan. 22 letter “40 Years of the Culture of Death.”
He said that the 40 years since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide have “given the culture of death a firm footing and foundation in our nation.”
“The 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade is a day to commit to a culture of life,” he urged. “Today the Lord is calling us to stand up.”
Archbishop Aquila’s letter began with a grim story of his experiences with two abortions.
“I witnessed the death of two small people who never had the chance to take a breath. I can never forget that,” he said. “I learned what human dignity was when I saw it callously disregarded. I know, without a doubt, that abortion is a violent act of murder and exploitation. And I know that our responsibility is to work and pray without ceasing for its end.”
The archbishop said he had arrived at college in 1968 intending to become a doctor at a time when he was not consistently practicing his faith. He spent his first three summers of college as a hospital orderly in California, where laws had begun to protect abortion.
His first encounter with the procedure was in an outer room of a hospital’s surgical unit, where he was “stunned” when he found in the sink the body of “a small unborn child who had been aborted.”
His second exposure to abortion, however, was “more shocking.”
He recalled how a young woman came into the emergency room screaming, saying she had had an abortion already and the doctor had told her she would pass the remains naturally. She was bleeding, and the medical staff, including the future Archbishop Aquila, put her on the table.
“I held a basin as the doctor retrieved a tiny arm, a tiny leg and then the rest of the broken body of a tiny unborn child,” Archbishop Aquila said. “I was shocked. I was saddened for the mother and child, for the doctor and the nurse.”
“I witnessed a tiny human being destroyed by violence,” he said. The experience made him pro-life, and he eventually returned to his Catholic faith.
Need for Repentance
In his pastoral letter, Archbishop Aquila reflected on sin and repentance. He asked for forgiveness for the doctors, nurses, politicians and others who “ardently” support abortion, urging that Catholics pray for their conversion.
“We must also recognize our sinfulness,” he said. “When we survey the damage abortion has caused in our culture, we must repent for our sins of omission.”
He said some Christians have supported pro-choice politicians or have failed to “change minds or win hearts.”
“In the prospect of unspeakable evil, we’ve done too little, for too long, with tragic results,” he said.
“Today many Catholics seem to believe that, while abortion is unfortunate, it is not always a moral evil. Secular arguments to justify abortion abound,” he lamented.
“Catholic political leaders who claim that they can separate the truths of faith from their political lives are choosing to separate themselves from truth, from Christ and from the communion of the Catholic Church,” he added.
In contrast, he praised Catholic political leaders who try to develop “new and creative ways to end the legal protection for abortion.”
Energy Toward a Culture of Life
“All of us must put our energy and effort into ending the legal protection for abortion. It is, and must be, the primary political objective of American Catholics. It is difficult to imagine any political issue with the same significance as the sanctioned killing of children,” he said.
The archbishop acknowledged the difficulties of pregnancy, saying the Church should respond to women who have had abortions with “compassion, solidarity and mercy.”
“The fathers and mothers of aborted children are beloved by God and in need of the mercy and healing of Jesus Christ,” he said.
He nonetheless emphasized that the right to life is “inviolable” and taught in Scripture, sacred Tradition and the natural moral law.
“The Church believes that life is a God-given right and a gift. Our very being is an expression of the love God has for us — the Lord literally loves us into existence, and his love speaks to the worth of the human person. We take the gift of life seriously because each human being is a unique creation of God the Father.”
This gift of life is enriched because Jesus Christ “chose to live among us as a human being.”
Archbishop Aquila called for the creation of a “culture of life” that “celebrates the Divine gift of life” to the disabled, the unborn and the aged. This culture must start with charity, beginning in the family, but also advancing through works of mercy and social justice.
“A true culture of life is infectious,” he said. “The joy which comes from living in gratitude for the gift of life — and treating all life as gift — effects change. When Christians begin to live with real regard for human dignity, our nation will awaken to the tragedy of abortion, and she will begin to change.”
The archbishop also reminded Catholics of the power of prayer and sacrifice, saying this will “transform hearts and renew minds.”
“In prayer, we entrust our nation to Jesus Christ,” he said. “In doing so, we can be assured of his victory.”
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I remember the year abortion became legal in New York State, before it became legal in the whole nation. I worked at the New York Foundling Hospital and it was not unusual for us to take in at least three or four newborns a week. Most were given up for adoption. After legalized abortion, we barely took in three babies a year. Only older children. It left me with a profound sadness to know what became of the babies.
Touching story
Your Excellency - Thank you for your powerful testimony. I, like you, was changed when I actually saw photos of aborted babies. Today I pray: Upon those who have encouraged an abortion - Lord, we pray, have mercy. Upon those who has obtained an abortion - Lord, we pray, have mercy. Upon those who have assisted with an abortion - Lord, we pray, have mercy. Upon the faithful who have remained silent about the evil of abortion - Lord, we pray, have mercy.
Great article by Bishop Aquila. We are obligated to work for the end of abortion. Read this great homily: http://greatcatholichomilies.com/2013/01/fifty-four-million-abortion-deaths-cry-out-to-god-for-justice/
Smetimes God works in strange ways to rein us back into the Church. This was one of those times, in my opinion. Thank you Archbishop Arquila for sharing this story and helping to fortify those of us who fight for life each day. BTW don’t discount the workings of your Guardian Angel-they are more acitive than the credit we give to them.
A great article. The Archbishop touched on many ideas and advice for the faithful. There is one thing missing. The Bishops and priests need to speak to the faithful via the pulpit. When the priest is standing at the pulpit, it is the same as a teacher infront of the classroom teaching students. This is what has been missing for the last 40 years.
so powerful!
The AB gave two GREAT sermons on 20 January (Mass for Life) and 21 January (MLK Day Mass). They likely will show up soon on the AB’s page on the Archdiocese of Denver website. http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/9151/Homily-Archive/ Keep an eye on the page.
If the Church truly believes abortion is murder, it can start by ex-communicating ALL pro-abortion Catholic politicians. I haven’t seen that happen yet. What’s the problem?
The problem, Catherine, is that your suggestion isn’t even a little bit how excommunication works. We don’t just excommunicate everyone who is wrong on some issue—excommunication is very clearly defined and moderated by the Code of Canon Law.
The Church leaders have been beating their gumbs for the past 40 years and some all too little. How about beating the gavel: EXCOMMUNICATO!
It’s called tough love and the soul of the offender is at stake. Have mercy on them by separating them from the Church. Perhaps they’ll understand the seriousness of their offense and repent.
Thank you Archbishop Aquila for a great and very inspiring article.
Our politicians in the Philippines have just recently rushed and passed a Reproductive Health Law against protests of many Catholics who make up 84% of the population.
Your very positive and encouraging article will help see us through this difficult period when we are striving to have it declared unconstitutional by our Supreme Court.
I will try to keep in mind your admonition that a joyful and grateful acceptance of the great gift of life together with prayer and sacrifice are the best way to promote a culture of life for our times.
I was deeply moved by Archbishop Aquila’s personal account of two abortions. There were about a dozen of us today at our local Planned Parenthood office. If people could see what actually happens in an abortion, the number of protesters would be in the hundreds.
I’m not sure that some of the commenters here understand excommunication. It is not a punishment imposed by the Church on a wayward soul. It is not a decision to withhold the sacraments from a sinner (who would dare to presume such a thing as to stand between God and Man?!)
As I understand it, excommunicatio is a formal recognition that, by his or her own actions, a person has removed him or herself from full communion with the Mystical Body of Christ. It is a declaration that the soul of that sinner has hardened itself and is unable to participate in sacramental life, until they relent from their sin.
I also wish to weigh-in on those wanting our pro-choice politicians to be excommunicated… while I am incredibly, INCREDIBLY saddened at those politicians - and wish, that somehow, they would be taken out of office - I cannot wish an excommunication on them - as I am also a sinner. Though I haven’t ever promoted abortion, nor taken a stand for abortion - I have watched R-rated movies, I have had some wild, crazy nights of partying, I have read magazines filled with trash… at the time, I did these things in the name of being “an adult” and “knowing right from wrong” - yet, I still chose to do those things… it makes me as big a sinner as a person who has had an abortion… All I can do is pray, ask God to forgive me of my past sins, including my sins of omission, and try to promote the good that is required of me. Let him who has not sinned, cast the first stone… The best thing we can do for our country is to PRAY, PRAY, PRAY - and partake of all the beautiful sacraments God has given us. May God bless our beloved United States of America!
IN A HEALING MASS GOD GAVE ME THE VISION OF A BABY BEING ABORTED. I TOOK THIS REQUEST TO MY PRAYER GROUP SO WE BEGAN TO PRAY FOR THE UNBORN IN DANGER TO BE ABORTED, A YEAR LATER I FOUND OUT I WAS PRAYING FOR ALL BABIES BUT SPECIALLY FOR MY GRANDSON WHOM I DID NOT HAD BEEN CONCIEVED. JESUS CHRIST SAVE AND PROTECT THE UNBORN IN DANGER OF ABORTION!!!
Hopefully he will counsel those who represent or work for the Catholic Church in health care in his state. I find nothing on NCR reporting on this case—perhaps the Colorado Independent story is inaccurate??
http://coloradoindependent.com/126808/in-malpractice-case-catholic-hospital-argues-fetuses-arent-people
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